The hot, sticky, miserable-without-an-air-conditioner NYC summer has yet to arrive, but when it does you should be prepared. Luckily, we’ve got the intel on the good frozen treat spots. Paletas — Mexican popsicles made with real fresh fruit (no high fructose corn syrup!) — are a win no matter how you look at them: they’re cold and refreshing, they satisfy your sweet-tooth, and they’re healthy enough that you could eat three in one sitting and still fit comfortably in your jorts. Here are three NYC hidden gems where you can get some #rare paletas:
This nondescript Bushwick deli is stocked with tons of paleta flavors you rarely see in NYC, like tart but sweet nance fruit, creamy mamey, super sweet grosella, and even rompope, a flavor reminiscent of egg nog. At $1.50 a pop, you can try all of them and still have money leftover for a metrocard (does anyone else ride the subway sometimes just for the AC?).
Tulcingo Deli Grocery
115 Wyckoff Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Bushwick
Paletas are a family thing at this Borough Park bodega. Its owner, Simon Leyba, used to work in his family’s Puebla paletería, and he brought his traditional techniques to BK, where his family now makes paletas in-house and supplies them to over 100 other establishments. Stuffed in a freezer in the back of Sley you can find more than 30 flavors of paletas, including horchata, mango con chile, and coconut. The paletas are $1.25 a pop.
Sley Deli & Grocery 4217 Fort Hamilton Pkwy
This is probably the best-known of the bunch — we’ve been fans of La NewYorkina‘s unconventional paleta flavors (like avocado, queso fresco y fresas, and nieve de jalapeño!) for several years now. But while you may be familiar with Fany Gerson’s carts — or even her stand at Smorgasburg — you may not know that she plans to open a new shop in June or July. The menu will include 30 to 40 different kinds of paletas, but it will further dominate the frozen treat space with chamuyadas and sorbets.