This South L.A. Mexican ice parlor, which was hopping during the recent Central Avenue Jazz Festival, has been around for about a decade, run by a woman from Acapulco, Mexico. Cascada Refrescante features some playful, layered paletas. Bionico is a milk-based popsicle with strawberries, bananas, papaya, cantaloupe, apple and cream, raisins, coconut and granola. Pico de Gallo is an ice-based popsicle studded with watermelon, jicama, cucumber, and mango, seasoned with chile, lime and salt, a riff on spicy Mexican street fruit.

L.A. native Eugene Mar planned on opening a fire and ice concept in Las Vegas, with fiery Taiwan-style hot pots and frozen ice pops. However, a fruitless real estate hunt in the Nevada desert convinced him to return to L.A. and focus on ice (bars) in a former West Covina fro-yo shop. The modern space features white tables and chairs, along with a Tetris-like wall assembled with grey, white and aqua panels. The Ice Bar’s menu includes “Sweet & Creamy” Nutella Bananas & Cream, “Tangy & Sour” Strawberry Lemonade, and my personal favorite, the “Light & Refreshing” Korean Pear Blueberry bar. Mar dresses a two-toned fruit ice bar with Calpico gel, blueberry gel, fresh frozen blueberries and a dusting of micro-herbs: lemon thyme and Thai basil.

Oaxaca native Priciliano Mateo Bautista has proven to be quite the paleta maven, with three Mateo’s Ice Cream & Fruit Bars locations scattered throughout Los Angeles, and certainly one of the city’s largest popsicle varieties. He divides paleta flavors by Fruit Cream (milk-based) or Real Fruit (ice-based). Favorites include Nance (yellow cherry), Black Sapote or Guava, many bars embedded with fresh fruit.

Lucy Danovic’s glass-fronted cafe with the Art Deco spire provides plenty of sweet distractions from daily life in Mid-City, and soon enough, Silver Lake. MILK contains a counter overflowing with pastries and cakes. A variety of frozen treats includes indulgent ice cream bars in flavors like Strawberry Shortcake, Cookies and Cream, Nutella, and Coconut.