Somehow we completely missed the opening of Houston’s first Steel City Pops — a spot in the Heights that only sells popsicles (and coffee etc.). I had so many questions.

• Popsicles? That’s it? Basically.
• Are they big popsicles? No, normal size.
• Are they expensive popsicles? Eh, $3-4.
• Are there a lot of different popsicles? TONS.
• And this is a functioning company? It is.. with multiple locations across the south.
• How is this a thing? IDK, but it’s magical.

I tried the fall menu (lol, yes that exists) and have a definitive ranking (jk, just my favorites) of the pops.

The Fruity Pops

When I think popsicles, I think fruit pops. They are just so good and refreshing! I always skip chocolate for strawberry or raspberry. But… fall fruit pops? Sounds just crazy enough to work.

 

1. Plum with Rosemary. This wasn’t the overall favorite, but it was mine! So good. The rosemary is a game changer. Makes it a little less sweet.

2. Cinnamon Apple. This was the crowd favorite, and I get why. Apple is just an extremely hard flavor to master, and SCP crushed it.

3.Hibiscus. Reminded me of the hibiscus tea from Starbucks, but better! Not bitter at all.

4. Strawberry Fig. Not a huge fan of figs, but it worked well with the strawberries.

5. Cranberry Orange. Hard to have cranberry without vodka, but orange complements it well too. Now, if we could only get vodka involved…

6.Bosc Pear with Honey. Kinda sweet, but in a fresh way! Never had a pear popsicle before. Guess I can’t say that anymore.

7. Rhubarb. Speaking of firsts, this is definitely one. Not sure I’ve had rhubarb before, but it was only eh.

8. Orange Mint Green Tea. Not a fan of green tea, but this was by no means bad!

The Creamy Pops

Thought I wouldn’t be a big fan of the creamy pops, just bc of my love for fruit. I was wrong. SCP thrives with its creamy pops. They are HEAVY. Like a real dessert or ice cream. Proceed with caution.

1. Carrot Cake. Never would I ever have thought a carrot cake popsicle would, a. exist or b. be this delicious. It actually tastes like a perfect bite of carrot cake, with both the cream cheese icing and the cake flavors represented. 10/10 (probably my all-time favorite pop of the night — and everyone else’s).

2. Maple Bacon with Bourbon. This one was surprisingly good! I tasted all the flavors… minus the bourbon. The bacon was stupid good. Reminded me of a donut I had in Boston! MEMS.

3. Toasted Marshmallow. LOVE marshmallow, and this pop ACTUALLY tastes like toasted marshmallow. MAGIC.

4. Butter Pecan. This one was extra amazing, but it’s not that original of a pop. Tastes like butter pecan ice cream.

5. Pumpkin. This is another magic pop. It tastes like pumpkin pie! It does not, however, taste like pumpkin flavoring (like in a PSL).

6. Tomatillo Yogurt. By far the WEIRDEST pop. Not exactly a pop for everyone. It’s fresh tasting, but kind of bitter with the star anise and cloves.

7. Smoked Fig with Cheese. This definitely wins points on creativity, but it just wasn’t my thing.

8. Cashew. As someone who gets frequent heartburn from dairy, I was excited for this non-dairy creamy pop. I was extremely disappointed. Tasted to me like wet cashews. Plenty of other people liked it!

Bonus

You can pimp out your pop too! You dip, drudge, drizzle and dust with different things! Here’s what they look like: