Paleteria La Michoacana. Have. You. Discovered. This. Yet. South Florida is home to a chain of ice cream shops, originally from Mexico, which offer tasty and complex concoctions at reasonable prices. Running at about $2 per paleta, you really can’t do better. This summer we’re recommending making La Michoacana your go-to spot to cool down with delicious popsicles… if it isn’t already.
At the local spot in my neighborhood there are 16 sabores de fruta and 18 de crema for a total of 34 flavors. No joke. And that’s only counting the paletas sold here in the US–in Mexico there are many more flavors. Can you imagine-pepino con chile?
I tried the most popular flavor: arroz is delicious. It’s a softly frozen rice pudding complete with sweet raisins and a milky, grainy texture. As I was finishing the arroz, a friendly dude came in twice, first buying an arroz and then asking for a tamarindo popsicle, which was sold out. A bummer. Next I sampled a flavor they brought out from the back for me—a specialty tequila flavor. This paleta is a golden orange color and sweet with a subtle sting of tequila (there is actually a little tequila in there, but not enough to get you drunk–I asked).
If you’re visiting La Michocana for the first time, don’t forget to ask a little bit about the history of the chain. It began in Mexico en los pueblos afuera de DF in the ‘70s, with the trademark logo of a little girl, “la michoacana,” in black & pink. (Strangely like a little goth girl.) You most likely won’t see this logo in the stores here in the US though, where you are more likely to see some kind of unidentified happy little paletas on packages. Either way these popsicles are delicious. Find La Michoacana closest to you and head there immediately.