If you have been outside this week, you probably know it’s too flippin' hot!
Needing a cool snack on a recent 100-degree day, I made the bold executive decision that I needed ice cream and I needed it now. Wanting the best, the girlfriends and I got in the sweltering hell-mobile and made our way to Tizo’s Pops and Ice Cream, 5125 S. Western for some frostbitten relief.
In case you don’t know, Tizo’s is locally famous, at least in my social circles…
From a young kid growing up in Aguascalientes, Mexico, proprietor Roberto Godinez learned the secrets to making pure helado, like a frosted Willy Wonka. While on a business trip to Oklahoma City, he fell in love with the town and he opened Tizo’s (originally called El Buen Gusto Michoacano) and, really, he came up with a truly winning formula.
It’s a true success story, American or otherwise.
So, I always come to Tizo’s for my iced specialties, especially in the summer. And, of course, the joint is really popping today, with customers lining up for everything from dairy pops to non-dairy pop flavors, ice cream flavors, sorbets, and other assorted pool snacks.
Peeling ourselves out of the car and into the chilled parlor, it has a real 70s-newsprint vibe that makes it look like a modern coffee shop in the swanky part of town without the pretension. But Tizo takes that formula and Mexi-cizes it, making it one of the coolest places in town, even without the ice cream.
We looked over the menu and were impressed with the ingenuity of the popsicle flavors, with everything from chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla to avocado, prune, and black beans. Wanting to try a new flavor, I got a non-dairy Prickly Pear Cactus ($2.49) popsicle, as well as a small cup of Cheese-flavored ($2.49) ice cream.
While the cheese ice cream is one of my favorites—I got sprinkles this time!—the prickly pear cactus was phenomenal. With the sweet fruit and supple juices frozen in the mold of an ice pop, it was a cold treat that warmed my heart. My brain froze as I gobbled it down.
My girlfriend, on the other hand, was intrigued by their Fresas con Crema ($6.49), a remarkably sinful way to take strawberries and cream. With frozen strawberries, Tizo’s milk (of the condensed variety), whipped cream, and, for her topping, some Cocoa Pebbles, it was magnificent.
She slurped it down. The strawberries and cream is sinful enough, but the Tizo’s milk—better than the Braum’s dairy, I tell you—was delectable. And even though I didn’t counter on the Cocoa Pebbles, I approve of her choice in tasty snacking.
Thinking I was done, as I was taking my tray to the waste bin, I noticed that some Chocobananas ($2.99) were coming out of the freezer into my mouth—I had to at least have one. A hard frozen banana dipped in chocolate and covered in peanuts, I stored it in my icebox for a little midnight snack.
And, oh boy, when the clock struck twelve, with the finest firm bananas and a rich chocolate coating. It was a powerful taste sensation that couldn’t be held to any other standard.
Sure, it’s a one-time snack, but I could have eaten a whole bunch of them.
And, maybe, that’s the strident mágica of Tizo’s and the coldest treats in town. Make sure to swing by before the haziest and craziest days of summer are finally over.
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
