Paletas are Mexican popsicles, and paleterias are where you’ll find them. Experience the wondrous rainbow of homemade pops (watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, kiwi, blackberry) or indulge in a milk-based bar, with avocado, chocolate, pecan, or the crowning glory, a coffee popsicle.
Yet good paleterias have more in store, like mangonadas (aka chamangos), a delicious mango-based fruit drink. Versions vary, but each marries two ingredients: mango ice with an accent called chamoy sauce. Chamoy is a fruit dip created from salt-pickled fruit — apricot, mango, tamarind, plum — with lime juice and chilies.
At outposts of Paleteria la Michoacana (Mount Vernon, Yonkers), a perfect mangonada awaits in a large cup with chamoy swirled around the inside and soft, fruit-flecked mango ice piled to the rounded top. If you’d like, choose to drink from a paja de tamarindo — a sipping straw caked with tamarind, chili, and salt.
Or order a chamango at Paleteria Fernandez (Port Chester, Mamaroneck), and they’ll blend you up a more homogenized version: tangy, reddish, and less frozen. Or, select a cup of mango ice topped with chamoy, and if you wish, fresh fruit and candy. Any version benefits from a shake of tajin: a simple but addictive seasoning made from chilies, limes, and salt.
