Athens just got
more delicious. King of Pops, an all-natural ice-pop food-cart, originally
started on the busy street corners of Atlanta, but its booming success has
brought it to towns like Charleston, Ashville and now thankfully, Athens. What
makes these frozen treats unique is that they are paletas, Latin American ice pops made from organic juices
that usually include bits of frozen fruit or confections.
The creative force
behind this orgasm on a stick is Steven Carse—a pretty chill guy that has
day-dreamed of bringing the fresh, gourmet paletas he once fell in love with while visiting a beach in
Central America back to the United States. After getting laid off by AIG, a
corporate insurance company, Carse no longer had an excuse not to follow his
ice-pop passion. With help from his brother, Nick Carse, Steven went from
corporate to mom-and-pop successfully establishing a dessert food-cart
sensation.
In addition to
providing the Athens neighborhood with delicious frozen treats, the King of
Pops’ goal is to be a waste free company. All of their fruit waste goes to
community gardens and most other supplies are recycled. Carse only uses natural
ingredients from local farmer’s markets to create unique smoothie-like flavors
such as Pineapple Habenera, Chocolate Sea Salt, and Raspberry Ice Tea. “I’ve
never thought to combine blueberry and lemonade before,” customer Jake
Moskowitz says, “and it was absolutely delicious. I miss popsicles; it’s a
relic of my childhood.”
Walking back from
the gym in downtown Athens, I stumbled across the King of Pops food cart on the
corner of College Ave. and East Clayton Street. The delightful old-fashioned
white pushcart stamped with a crowned creamsicle logo caught my eye, and I
suddenly craved a refreshing treat. Considering I just exercised, I indulged in
the juicy Watermelon Orange pop, which was unquestionably equipollent to biting
into a ripe slice of watermelon, sprinkled with tarty citrus raindrops.
However, the flavor of the Orange Creamsicle, another fruity ice pop, tasted
muted like a watered down diet orange soda.
If you are looking
for a more filling treat, fear not, because I am still drooling over the
Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cream pop—a light chocolate icy bar filled with
three fat, doughy, fat chocolate chip cookies. I was at first skeptical towards
the wet-dry combination, but after biting into the frosty chocolate which
quickly melted into the sugary homemade cookie, my taste buds realized the
ingredients blended together magically. What intrigued me about this pop was
how the ice cream’s light and frosty flavor mimicked Pink Berry’s chocolate
frozen yogurt, but the cookies were as rich as a pastry from a New York Confectionery.
The flavor combinations are endless, and if you are a foodie like me, you can
salivate over a complete list of flavors on the King of Pops website.
King of Pops now
comes to Athens weekly, Tuesday through Sunday, from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm and
cost approximately $2.50 a pop. They set up on the corner of College Avenue and
East Clayton Street during the week, but you can find them in front of The
Globe on Georgia game-days. So if you want to rekindle your forgotten childhood
memories, then you must indulge into this savory and healthy treat.
