We All Scream For Ice Cream

By: Lauren Rosalanko

After days of 90 degree weather and humidity the start of Rosa Mexicano’s Ice Cream Festival (Festival de Helados) will be the perfect treat to cool off from the heat. I have had the pleasure of dining at Rosa Mexicano before and absolutely love their homemade guacamole that is prepared table-side. I was excited to see that the guacamole would be incorporated in one of the desserts.

The first dessert was the ice cream and sorbets (helados y sorbete) and I had plenty of choices. I decided to sample the Sweet Cream with Mexican Chocolate and Cajeta Swirl, Honey-Amaranth Crunch and the Gherkin and Jalapeño sorbet. The sweet cream was rich and the Mexican chocolate added a nice cinnamon flavor to the ice cream. The Honey-Amaranth Crunch was very sweet and I enjoyed the amaranth pieces to give the ice cream a crunch. Although I generally prefer sweet over savory I decided to be adventurous and try the Gherkin and Jalapeño sorbet, which I surprisingly enjoyed. Since it was sorbet it was a little lighter than the other two ice creams and the Gherkin’s, a pickled cucumber, salty flavor came through without being overwhelming. The jalapeño added a kick, but not too much so even someone who cannot handle a lot of spice could enjoy this sorbet. Overall, I enjoyed all three ice creams but I am a huge chocolate fan so the Sweet Cream with Mexican Chocolate and Cajeta Swirl was definitely my favorite.

Next, I sampled the “paletas” which are the Mexican popsicles. They have an aesthetic presentation with crumbles at the bottom, a piece of fresh fruit on the side and a rim of sprinkles. I decided to try the Arroz con Leche and Peach option; which comes with a cinnamon crumble and a slice of peach. It reminded me a lot of rice pudding in a popsicle and the peach flavor mixed nicely with the sweet creamy arroz con leche half of the Popsicle.

Finally, my favorite dessert of the night was the Dessert Guacamole (Postre de Guacamole). As always, Rosa Mexicano prepares guacamole table-side and this dessert version came with fresh raspberries, white chocolate shavings, coconut and fresh mint mixed in. On the side were cinnamon sugar buñuelos with the chocolate and raspberry dipping sauce. I loved everything about this dessert!! The ice cream was still cold even though it was prepared tableside and the raspberries and white chocolate mixed in perfectly to give a dessert feel to guacamole.

I would definitely stop by Rosa Mexicano for their Ice Cream Festival which runs from July 31-August 25. It’s a great way to cool off and indulge in unique and tasty desserts. Also, the service is always impeccable. I was able to speak with the General Manager, Mario Bernal who was friendly and welcoming. The service was the cherry on top for this delicious night of desserts. Here is a look at their full menu for the Ice Cream Festival.