Savory street tacos and spicy salsas come to mind when one thinks of great Mexican cuisine, but not enough people know of or appreciate the art of Mexican ice cream and popsicles.

Fans of Mexican style ice cream called nieve and popsicles called paletas, praise them for being handmade and all natural. Containing only fresh fruits, spices and little sugar, they are more refreshing than anything else in the summertime.

Right off the Garden Highway in Natomas, Paleteria and Niveria Michoacána is only one of two Mexican style ice cream parlors in the Sacramento area offering this style of ice cream, and thankfully it does not disappoint.

Standing outside the ice cream parlor, it is hard to get over bad first impressions of an ugly exterior surrounded by a rundown strip mall off Northgate. With crumbled concrete, trash and deserted businesses, this strip mall has definitely seen better days. Inside however, was some of the best ice cream I have had since my last trip to Mexico.

The parlor itself was microscopic. Our group of three felt like we were cramped in a shoebox, but were in happy company after seeing more than 20 barrels of ice cream and a freezer full of popsicles. Trained as an ice cream maker in Michoacán, the Mexican state famous for ice cream, the owner boasted day’s selection of flavors were made by himself the night before.

Having so many choices to pick from quickly became stressful. The range of flavors covered everything from fruity, savory, spicy and sour. For someone who likes to try new things, this was perfect.

We started by tasting a few of the nieves de agua, similar to sorbets, comparing to what we had in Mexico. The guava, pineapple and lime flavors tasted just how I remembered them to be-smooth, refreshing and natural. The only ingredients were fruit, water and a touch of agave nectar. You could only taste the essence of each fruit and nothing else.

A favorite was the nieve de tequila which had a clean taste. Slightly sweet and a little bitter from the lime, the sorbet went down smooth. Our group assumed there must have not been any actual tequila, but soon it hit us-we were buzzed. It was then the owner laughed and told us he uses two bottles of tequila for each batch.

The cheese ice cream, called nieve de queso, was amazing. Every spoonful was creamy and melted in my mouth like cheesecake. The chunks of cotija and cottage cheese mixed in were intimidating at first, however the salty taste cut through the sweetness of the cream in just the right way. Salty, sweet and velvety, it was the star of the place and put my frozen yogurt obsession to shame.

There were coordinating paletas for each ice cream flavor. Hundreds were lined perfectly like soldiers in a massive ice chest. Each one was so jam-packed with fruit, nuts and other fresh ingredients inside we didn’t know how they managed to keep together. It ended up not mattering, because we devoured six in less than ten minutes.

On the menu our group saw something we had not found since moving to Sacramento State-mangonadas. Popular in Mexican communities, mangonadas are similar to a smoothie.

Imagine scoops of mango sorbet blended with juice and made into a fruit cocktail with mango slices and drizzled with chili tamarind syrup. Instead of a straw, you drink this through a hollowed tamarind candy tube. This one in particular had the perfect balance of freshness, sweetness and tart pucker.

The prices were a bit high. One paleta is almost $3 and three small scoops of ice cream in a cup was almost $5. Considering everything is handmade and all natural, the high prices are easy to forgive. Do not let the hole-in-the-wall appearance of this place stop you from trying it out.

Alex Hernandez can be reached at [email protected]