Ice Cream tastes right all year long, through every season – A motto I seriously live by. Even when the temperature hits well below zero, and the wind is as fierce as it gets, once I make my way into an Ice Cream shop and warm up a bit, I’m ready to indulge in the frozen treat. With that said, I’m always looking for a new and unique frozen treat, so when I was invited to try PopBar I couldn’t resist.

PopBar has been around since 2010, surrounded by other popular frozen treat shops such as Phileo, Grom, L’Arte del Gelato, and Cones. So what sets it apart from their neighbors? Well, their all-natural, sorbetto, and fro-yo is served on a stick! The twenty-five rotating varieties are made daily on premises with the aid of a machine. The pops come in plain form, or dipped in dark, milk, or white chocolate, as well as the option to cover it in “poppings” such as shredded coconut, chopped nuts, waffle cones bits, sprinkles, and more.  And did we mention the Hot Chocolate on a Stick?

All Natural Ingredients

I had the chance to speak with one of the owners, Reuben BenJehuda, an Italian who can be trusted on all things Geltao. He told me that the original premise for Pop Bar was to keep the flavors traditional and the ingredients simple. “Everything is real here at Pop Bar” exclaims Reuben. All of these flavors are made using just a handful of natural ingredients to ensure authenticity and great taste. All ingredients are selected from a variety of high quality sources. Real fruit is used in all of the fruit flavored popbars (lemon blood orange, mango, berries, peace, etc.) And all the popbars are Kosher certified, gluten and preservative free with no artificial coloring. Even the popSorbetto varieties are lactose-free and vegan friendly. The dark chocolate for dipping is vegan, making Pop Bar dietary friendly for basically everyone! I tried one of the most popular flavors, pistachio, dipped in dark chocolate and covered in coconut flakes. I loved the authentic and creamy pistachio taste with the richness and crunch of the chocolate and coconut. Meredith, my partner in crime, went for the Blood Orange Sorbetto, and could really taste the real fruit flavors.

 Hot Chocolate on a Stick

And if you’re not quite ready for a chilled treat, I can easily give you another reason to go to Pop Bar – Hot Chocolate on a stick. This concept is so unique and fun, you’ll never look at hot chocolate the same way. You can choose from milk, dark, and white chocolate. Once you’ve chosen your stick you can either stay in the store or take your Hot Chocolate on a Stick home with you. Either way you get your stick, a cup of steamed liquid of choice – water, milk, etc.. and simply begin stirring chocolate stick into your cup. It’ll start melting immediately and will take all the patience in the world not to pick up the hot stick and begin to nibble (And I’m by no means telling you not to do just that!) Soon you will have your rich, chocolaty hot drink ready to sip on.

PopBar also offers mini bars, which would be ideal for parties and big events. They are about half the size of regular Popbars and are stylish, innovative and entertaining. PopBar locations also sell a variety of gifts ideas and items for purchase, such as marshmallows that will go perfectly with that hot chocolate on a stick!

So whether you’re a fan of cold treats in the winter, or instead like sticking to only foods meant to warm you up, Popbar has a treat for you. Located at 5 Carmine St. @ 6th Ave.

If you want to know where you can get Hot Chocolate on a Stick, or some of their other yummy flavors, check out the PopBar Website