Eating Paletas

I had lunch on Monday with my old coworkers and took the opportunity to visit my friend Steve on the way home...but I just couldn't show up empty handed. :-) Since I was in Escondido anyway and it was like 90 degrees out, I decided to pick up some paletas at my favorite paleteria, Paleteria Azteca (by the way, yes, this is another food post):


If you're not familiar, paleta is the Spanish word for popsicle. Paletas are (mostly) fruit flavored popsicles that are popular in Mexico and the Latino communities of southern California. What makes these extra special are that they are usually homemade and they come in a ton of different flavors, most with chunks of fruit or some other filling. Some popular flavors are mango, coconut, strawberry, and so on. Here's a shot of one of the display cases:


My absolute all-time favorite flavor is called Leche Quemada (leh-chey kay-mada), which means burnt milk. I think of it like a slightly carmelly and creamy milk flavor. I picked up two of those, a strawberry, and a mango and headed over to Steve's house. Here's some more stock:


Yum yum! If you're in north county San Diego, run by the shopping center at the corner of Broadway and Washington streets in Escondido. The paleteria is kinda' in the corner by the oil change place. You won't be sorry.