The vibrant interior of Beechview’s Alquisiras Paleteria transported me from a gray, harsh street to an inviting room filled with a rainbow of popsicles and buckets of homemade ice cream.
Since the owners were closing down when my friends and I arrived, we made quick decisions to repay their graciousness. We ordered almost everything off the menu: a potato quesadilla, a chicken gordita, a steak torta, a chicken tostada, and a chorizo sope. The owners went to work while their daughter talked us through the freezer offerings.
Our food came out quickly. Dishes exploded with ingredients and flavor, requiring an entire roll of paper towels. It was delicious, homey food. I favored the torta and the sope. Thin, tender pieces of steak melted into thick torta bread, neither of which overpowered the light condiments. Stringy queso fresco added an almost overwhelming salty taste. Sopes are similar to tostadas with an unusually thick tortilla as the base. The sope was smothered in a smoky chorizo and potato mixture and topped with lettuce, queso, avocado, and a drizzle of sour cream — the smooth, thick base held together well through bites, unlike a crispy tortilla which was prone to crumble.
The popsicle selection ranged from eggnog to mango to walnut, some with milk and some without. We chose three: strawberry with water, guava with passion fruit, and vanilla and got started after our gorditas (by this point, I was feeling like a gordita myself). Alquisiras Paleteria’s popsicles were fresh and homemade. My favorite was the insanely delicious strawberry that was jammed with chopped berries.
Alquisiras Paleteria is still smoothing out its edges, serving an ever-changing and ever-growing menu featuring tamales, pozole, and tacos on weekends. But one thing is certain: the paleteria makes ice cream worth eating, even when it’s snowing.
Favorite Features:
1. Salsa Verde
If I wasn’t already in love with the food, this salsa convinced me. It was smoky and full of flavor with just a touch of heat at the end. It worked beautifully with the lush sope, adding a sharp tang.
2. Chatting with the family
The owner’s hilarious daughter kept us entertained while we waited, chatting about life as a middle schooler. It was an unexpected conversation that kept us laughing all the way to the car.
