Goodbye, Beard Papa's, Hello, Popbar!

In the West Village space that once proudly housed the robust pipe-toking, yellow beanie-wearing old bearded man and his crack puffs, aka Beard Papa's choux pastry cream puffs, now offers a more svelte sweet that's just in time for summer in the city. Today it was drippy hot, with a slight breeze to push the hot air around in circles and like an oasis in the dessert, there appeared gelato, sorbetto and yogurt on a stick. It felt like I was walking into a nice large ice box to peruse the rows of frozen treats. An oasis indeed.


Back in my day it was all about the Popsicle brand treats like Fudgecicles and immense Big Sticks and those patriotic red, white and blue rocket ships... oh and Push-ups and sickly sweet non-Popsicle Otter Pops and running after the sketchy ice-cream trucks playing Music Box Dancer through an otherwise quiet suburban neighborhood. Today there are gourmet Italian hormone-free, gluten-free, Kosher gianduja gelatos custom-dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in fine coconut shavings in fancy city storefronts dedicated to popsicles. Oh goodness. Though I do concede that the concept is borderline ridiculous, and the cost is considerably more than the coins I scavenged from my parents pockets to pay for popsicles as bright as the neon 80's, I was so glad that as I rounded the corner in my sopping wet shirt that I wasn't staring at some old bearded man smoking a pipe, but a large refrigerated glass box of popsicles.



(Here's a ditty from the 60's by The Murmaids called Popsicles and Icicles.)


Popbar
5 Carmine Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 255-4874