When I think of summer in San Francisco, I think of a hot day in Dolores Park, wedged somewhere between the hipsters, relishing a lime popsicle from one of the many paleta carts that ring-a-ding over the bumpy lawn.
I recommend getting your fix this summer because by next September, the park will be closed for a big facelift, displacing the entire fixie bike community. But fear not, there are more popsicle options in town.
• Polly Ann Ice Cream (3138 Noriega St., 415-664-2472), the old-school ice cream shop in the outer Sunset, makes excellent popsicles that are sold at their store as well as distributed around town. In fact, I just found them at Duc Loi (2200 Mission St., 415-551-1772) in the Mission. Flavors incude coconut, red bean, green tea and my new choice flavor: Thai iced tea. Thai iced tea makes a brilliant popsicle it turns out.
• For a fruit-forward, upstanding popsicle, turn to Bi-Rite Creamery. Their strawberry is my favorite. Frog Hollow also makes a peach (duh) popsicle that they sell at their Farmers Market stands that I have yet to try.
• New to the streets is Twirl and Dip (@twirlanddip), who will be serving both soft serve ice cream and fruitsicles as well. Keep track of them on Twitter as their launch their truck. Their watermelon-strawberry and cucumber-lime fruitsicles are available at Chiotras Grocery (858 Rhode Island Street) in Potrero Hill.
• The only popsicles I don't recommend are the ones from the juice joint, Mandarina in Hayes Valley, which hasn't figured out how to make a non-icy, rock hard pop. But they're certainly a big step up from Lovesicles, a blog of popsicle soft porn, which was recommended to me by one of our readers.
