Corn on the cob from Nevería La Flor de Mayo
If the cartoon portrait of a big-eyed cow with a daisy in her mouth on its sign isn’t enough to encourage a visit to Nevería La Flor de Mayo (1117 W. Lincoln Ave.), its plethora of Mexican treats may serve as sufficient enticement.
Nevería translates to “ice cream parlor,” but the snack shop’s menu proffers items both warm and savory as well as sweet and frosty.
Elotes, or Mexican corn on the cob, is street vendor fare in its homeland; here, de-cobbed kernels remain in clusters, nestling amid mayonnaise, cojita cheese and spices for a dish skimming the edge of richness. At a higher indulgence factor, a small mangonada served as my dessert.
Flor’s preparation of this panoply of flavors is standard extraordinary with chunks of mango topping scoops of mango ice cream drenched in chamoy sauce, a slightly salty condiment sweetened with apricot and given some heat from roasted, ground ancho pepper.
Flor’s menu otherwise runs a gamut of snacks with a variety of paletas (creamy frozen confections on sticks that practically shame popsicles) and a cornmeal-thickened, cinnamon and brown sugar beverage known as atole.
Quesadillas, tortas and other heartier luncheon items may also be had for a full meal.
