Legend has it that Roman Emperor Nero played the lyre or fiddle while the city of Rome was engulfed in flames. From among a succession of emporers renowned for their erratic, cruel, or even psychotic behavior, Nero may have been the worst. Notoriously cruel and profligate, he arrested and tortured all the Christians in Rome, before executing them with lavish publicity. Some were crucified, some were thrown to wild animals and others were burned alive as living torches. Nero didn’t even like his family, murdering his stepbrother, his wife, and his mother.
Perhaps his most (maybe only) beneficient act was in popularizing a version of ice cream in the first century AD. According to another legend (Nero had a great publicist), the cruel emporer would send runners to the mountains to collect snow and ice which were then flavored with fruits and honey. This luxurious treat was served at his extravagant banquets. Hmm, flavored snow and ice. Doesn’t that sound like the progenitor of so many frozen treats enjoyed around the world over the millennia.
Culinary history has it that one of those frozen treats, albeit one that’s misnamed, has its genesis in New Jersey. That treat is Italian ice which was first created about a hundred years ago by a Sicilian woman living in The Garden State. It’s called Italian Ice because it’s based on an Italian creation called granita, which is a semi-frozen dessert, originally created in Sicily, that’s made from sugar, water, and various flavorings. Italian ice is smoother and has a thicker consistency than granita, so it gets more comparisons to ice cream and sorbet.
Denizens of the Duke City have been enjoying Italian ice for decades. For years, Itsa Italian Ice (later Philly’s N Fries) kept us cool during Albuquerque’s oppressive summers. In 1997, a newcomer with roots in Philadelphia (which also claims to have “invented” Italian ice as we know and love it) launched in a strip mall on Montgomery just east of Eubank. Walls at Pop-Pop’s were festooned with an assortment of Phillies, Flyers and 76ers paraphernalia. The menu was simple: Italian ice, along with gelati and Icequakes—Italian ice blended with soft serve.
In 2018, Pop-Pop’s was acquired from founder Pete Kropf by Ty Martinelli and Dominic Maestas who have since launched a phalanx of food (eight of this writing) trucks. In September, 2022, they opened their first brick-and-mortar operation on San Mateo just north of Academy. About the same size as its inaugural Liliputian lair on Montgomery, Pop-Pop’s is in the same strip mall which once housed the phenomenal Budai Gourmet Chinese. We discovered Pop-Pop’s after another wonderful meal at Budai. We quickly discovered Italian ice is the perfect postprandial treat after enjoying Chinese food.
With eight mobile units at the ready to hit the mean streets of Albuquerque, Pop Pop’s can be booked for corporate festivals, weddings, birthday parties, graduations, sporting events, school events and virtually any type of event. Pop-Pop’s offers seven flavors of Italian ice (including a “flavor of the week), as well as gelati (a layered dessert combining Italian Ice and soft serve ice cream) and other snacks you won’t find elsewhere in Albuquerque. Among the more rare offerings available is “Dubai chocolate” which features crispy kataifi shredded filo dough, tahini paste and pistachio cream encased in chocolate. It’s a twelve-dollar-plus indulgence everyone should try at least once.
My very favorite of all Pop-Pop’s offerings is the aforementioned gelati. The combination of Italian Ice and soft serve ice cream (vanilla, pineapple or a “swirl” combining the two) is unbeatable on a sweltering Albuquerque day. Unlike Slurpees and other frozen drinks, Italian ice doesn’t remain a flavorless mess at the bottom of the cup. You’ll enjoy every bit of the icy deliciousness, especially when the soft serve ice cream (pineapple swirl is my favorite) melts along with the Italian ice. Though we have yet to sample every flavor, we can attest to the deliciousness and fruity deliciousness of every one. Mango Italian ice tastes like mango with its perfumy essence. Lemon Italian ice has a lip-pursing quality. It’s all wonderful!
Summer is undoubtedly Pop-Pop’s season, but with a varied menu of delicious options, every season is Pop-Pop’s season!
Pop Pop’s Italian Ice
6300 San Mateo Blvd, Suite I-1
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 750-4726
LATEST VISIT:
# OF VISITS: 10
RATING: 23
COST: $$
BEST BET: Mango Gelati, Cherry Gelati, Watermelon Gelati, Dubai Chocolate, Grape Gelati, Pineapple Soft-Serve Ice Cream, Vanilla Soft-Serve Ice Cream
REVIEW #1483