Walking into Frozen Crush Ultimate Italian Ice, there are a lot of kids jumping around, laughing with tinted blue and green lips revealing the flavor syrup they chose for their Italian ice.

In the middle of a Monday afternoon, the line is out the door. Frozen Crush is the place to be during the hot summer days. In line people are discussing the whether they will stick to their favorite or venture to try a new flavor.

From the outside, the shop is pretty indistinct from the neighboring businesses but once inside customers are greeted  by a striking graffiti mural and a wide vibrant variety of colored syrups for the Italian ices. There is also a TV and a number of free video games to play such as Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground and even a Ms. Pac-Man arcade.

Even though there wasn’t too much space, the customers made it work. Children were leaning on each other on a couch watching TV and families huddled around tables talking.

The workers were eager to help customers and they allowed them to sample flavors before committing.

The shop has a menu of over 15 flavors and offers sugar-free options as well. Some of the flavors offered are Blue Raspberry, Mango, Lime, Sour Cherry, Horchata and Watermelon. All of the Italian ice cups are fat free, dairy free and cholesterol free.

Owner Sara Laucius said the menu is changed often so customers can taste a variety of flavors instead of always having the same experience.

Frozen Crush also offers a “Yog-A-Swirl,” which is Italian ice layered with fat-free vanilla yogurt and a “Yog-A-Blend” that is a blended combo of the Italian ice and the fat-free vanilla yogurt.

The prices vary for each of the items in the menu. A regular-sized cup of Italian ice costs $3 while the regular-sized cup of “Yog-A-Swirl” and “Yog-A-Blend” cost $4 each.

I decided to try two cups that were mixed. One contained sour cherry, sugar-free lemon and blue raspberry. The other had mango, sugar-free tangerine and watermelon. The blue raspberry was fruity and very tasty. It was also a good match for a cold treat such as Italian ice.

Although the flavors were tasty, they weren’t sweet in an overpowering way. They were just right as the flavors complemented each other.

I wasn’t a fan of the mango because I didn’t enjoy the taste of the syrup but the sugar-free flavors, tangerine and lemon, were also delicious and still retained their fruity flavors.

The consistency of the ice isn’t like ice cream but it’s actually still very smooth. It doesn’t feel like you are just eating crushed ice chips. It is soft and the flavors blend well together.

One of the great things about the shop is just how refreshing the coldness of the Italian ice can be and the variety of choices they offer.
After being outdoors for hours, the actual temperature is extremely cold and it definitely hit the spot. I also appreciated how they don’t just offer a small variety.

Another good feature about the shop is that they really pack in the ice. I highly recommend this shop especially on hot days.

8850 Tampa Ave. Unit 102
Northridge, CA  91324
11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. daily