We want pops!
Ew.
I miss going out after dark, lounging on the tiny patio of a dimly lit bar, thirstily sucking down minty cocktails and eyeing the clientele, staying up so late because it’s too hot to sleep, buzzing with the energy of summer. We’re having a heat wave, and I’m stuck at home, my AC running, and my lights occasionally flickering ominously, threatening to go out. I like being sweaty after dark, when I have places to go, but right now, all I can do is go on a night-time walk and walking alone in the dark makes me nervous.
So what’s a girl to do but get herself some popsicles with some friends? Island Pops is a cute space I’ve walked past a couple times. On a 92 degree day a friend texted, “Let’s be gross outside together!” I happily agreed.
Island Pops is beautiful — very airy, with lots of light and pops of color. So, the problem with going to a popsicle place during a heat wave is they’re likely to be out of a lot of stock. I tried to order the passion fruit and lemon-lime, but they were out of both; all they had left was the coffee biscuit flavor which didn’t sound appealing in the heat. So instead I got a simple scoop of strawberry.
I thought I had wanted something more tangy and icy, but the strawberry ended up being great — really luscious and sweet. It pleasantly coated my tongue and mouth, not as cloying or thick as some other flavors can be. My only slight criticism is that the strawberry flavor was a little lighter than I would have wanted — the ice cream base was tasty, but definitely overpowered the fruit flavor.
I also sampled my boo’s vegan strawberry ice cream, which felt more like a deconstructed popsicle than a vegan ice cream — it was icier and had no creaminess to it. The strawberriness was more intense, but it also had some surprising warm spice mix — it tasted of nutmeg and allspace, which was interesting, but not exactly what I wanted to be eating on a hot day.
Strawberry:
4 spoons and a soft hum of pleasure
Vegan Strawberry
3 spoons and a little exclamation of surprise