Mateo's Arrayan Paletas: Mateo's is a chain in Los Angeles that has a rainbow assortment of ice creams and fruit bars, or paletas, featuring tropical flavors from Central America ranging from yellow cherry, mamey, and sapote (a type of ash-colored persimmon fruit). The popular shop had a short line out the door, with two groups allowed in the store at a given time (and no samples during the pandemic). Their arrayan pop features fresh fruit from the arrayan guava, which reminded me a lot of Taiwanese guava I had when visiting the island as a kid. The fruit has a slightly grainy texture, somewhat like an Asian pear, and has a sweet but slightly sour tangy flavor. The popsicle was very clearly made fresh, but it did give it a slightly irregular consistency combining equal parts fruit pulp and juice. I like the uniqueness of the fruit pop more than its overall taste. 3.0/5.0

losangeles tropical fruit mateos arrayan paletas 3.0