I Scream, You Scream, we all scream for…Mexican Treats

By Angela Hernández

Click aqui para español- >Yo quiero, tú quieres, todos queremos los postres mexicanos

I stumbled upon La Michoacana by accident. I was on the hunt for some elote, but when I quickly peered through the window it seemed like the place was just like any other Kenner Latin store. The bright pink and green walls did call my attention, so I looked in and saw they served ice cream, which I wasn’t in the mood for. I turned to my brother and said, “This is just an ice cream shop, let’s go somewhere else.”
Two days later, my friend Melisa posted an Instagram story of what looked like the tastiest mangonada I have ever seen.

It was from the same place I had ignored before, so I immediately regretted not going in. Melisa had discovered La Michoacana on Instagram, and she decided to check it out because “being from California, this type of stuff is big back home, so I just had to try it.The elote and the mangonada are my two favorites. It tastes just like back home and it brings back memories,” she told me.

I’ve only had a mangonada once before in Laredo, TX, and back then, it was foreign to me. I remember the taste of mango chunks drenched in a sweet and spicy syrup called chamoy. It was unlike any dessert I have ever tried with a mixture of tangy, spicy, and sweet flavors all at once, so I decided to head back to La Michoacana and get one before the weekend was over.

The following day, I stood in a long line on a hot afternoon. La Michoacana was only allowing six people to enter at a time due to social distancing guidelines. This time, I peered in the window with great anticipation, trying to figure out what to order. I saw their large menu that listed items like exotic flavors of ice cream, milkshakes, popsicles, and ironically, they also had the elote that I was longing for a few days earlier. 

While the bubble waffle ice cream cone and concha ice cream sandwich were tempting, I decided to get the mangonada. This one was way better than the one I had in Texas. Chamoy syrup lined the cup filled with generous amounts of freshly made mango sorbet. It is topped with fresh mango chunks, traditional sweet and spicy Mexican candy, an additional drizzle of chamoy, and a Tajin rim.

After the first bite, I was hooked! I even devised a plan to get my dad to treat me to another visit to La Michoacana arguing “I’ve never been.” Within one week, I visited the ice cream shop again and tried their fresh fruit paletas, ice creams, elote, and mangonadas. So much for trying to stay fit during the self-quarantine!

The thing that I like most about La Michoacana is its ties to Mexican and Latino food culture. No one gets it if I sprinkle Tajin on my mango slices. The concept of kernels of corn covered in Valentina hot sauce, cotija cheese, mayonnaise on top of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos may be disgusting to some people. The masses can keep their synthetic fruit popsicles. I’ll be enjoying my paletas with real fruit inside. These snacks are more than snacks, they are a part of the culture I grew up in and that makes me proud to be Latina.

For years snowballs were my favorite treat to beat the New Orleans heat. But it’s time to make way for an array of Mexican frozen desserts and snacks. La Michoacana is located at 2309 David Dr., Ste D, in Metairie, Louisiana. If you visit there, you might just catch me trying to decide which dessert to try next.