Paletas were a huge part of my childhood growing up. In addition to the creepy jingle from the ice cream trucks, the paleterros who pushed the ice cream carts with their pop stash and bells were just as welcomed. If they didn’t have a snow cone for me, I would always go for the paletas, a Latin American popsicle typically made from fruit.
My favorite flavors were always the cream based ones: coconut, creamy strawberry, or rice. I would have the occasional icey ones such as watermelon or lime, but you can’t beat that coconut.
So when Steel City Pops took the place of the old Zubar, I wasn’t sure how I felt about paying more for a childhood favorite that used to cost a dollar. Fortunately, the up charge of $2.77 a pop or 5 for $10 wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was prepared for the a steep $5, old-concept-turned-trendy BS. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. And the search for paletteros were becoming more scare. I love that this place was just down the street from home. There were an array of the usual favorite flavors and quite a few adventurous ones.
For my first time, I went for my go-to: coconut and it was just as good, if not even better. Creamy. Sweet. Perfect for summer. The second flavor I tried was an fruity one, the blood orange. Sweet, slight tang. All good.
The shop is small and carries about 20 flavors. Nice porch area outside to quickly devour your popsicle before the summer heat takes it.
I’ve also had a chance to try the banana, strawberry balsamic, buttermilk, avocado, and regular strawberry. Coconut is still my favorite while the strawberry balsamic and avocado were definitely not. I’ll come back just so I can try more. This place seems to be a big summer favorite and is so close to Truck Yard. Perfect for a quick and relatively inexpensive dessert.
