Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Barrio Logan: Eat your fruit!

New fruit and ice cream eatery delivers health the Mexican way

Okay. Here's the menu for dinner: Apples, bananas, sandia (watermelon), mango, piña (pineapple), papaya, melon, strawberries, cottage cheese, granola, coconut, raisins. 

We're in Barrio Logan, so Spanglish rules. 

'Course I could have had pepino (cucumber), jicama, sandia, mango, piña, papaya, naranja (orange), plus chile, salt and lime to make up a pico de gallo.

Dang. I would have had that. But I didn't see it in time. 

Whatever, it's all healthy and refreshing. I'm at Tocumbo Ice Cream (1900 National Avenue, #188-A, Barrio Logan, 619-230-0391). 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/08/50961/

I walked in here on my way down to the Barrio Logan trolley stop. Brand new. Part of the Mercado del Barrio.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/08/50962/

Near the mighty Mercado Northgate Gonzalez, a supermarket that has, like, everything Mexican, from food to clothes. 

So I walked in...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/08/50963/

...looked at all the ice cream goin' on, and the flavors. I mean, what flavors! Nopal (cactus), guanabana (the soursop, a pawpaw-type fruit that they say tastes like strawberry and pineapple combined with a slightly sour, creamy, bananaish feel to it), mamey (sometimes called the South American apricot), and nanche, a yellow berry from tropical America. 

Who knew? Gotta try all of these, except I need a meal to get me through till the main eats tonight. So I get this totally healthy, totally filling fruit salad ($6.49). 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50981/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50969/

No regrets, except I get to talking to Gaby and her husband Mauricio. They're here outside eating ice creams and something called "chongo" with their kids.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50967/

"It's a sort of sweet cottage cheese," Gaby says. "Curds, milk, cinnamon, sugar. It reminds me so much of home. Guanajuato."

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50970/

Meanwhile I'm working through this fruit salad. What a combo. It's a meal, held together by the cottage cheese and the honey and Granola and coconut. I swear, this plaza brings real Mexico up here for the first time. Like Mercado Hidalgo in TJ. 

"But why is this place called Tocumbo?" I ask. 

"Because Tocumbo is the ice cream capital of Mexico," says Gaby. "Anybody making ice cream in Mexico is probably from Tocumbo."

Turns out Tocumbo's a small town in Michoacán where - no kidding - 90 percent of the population is involved in making ice cream. Gerardo Ramírez and his family started making it up here in San Diego in 2004. Now he's got four places around town.

He opened this last May. Why ice cream? He comes from Cotija, the town right next door to Tocumbo. Cotija's famous for its tacos. But Gerardo thought San Diego needed interesting ice cream more than more tacos. 

Wow. You think you know a lot about the 'hood, and the culture next door, and then, like tonight, you realize you still need training wheels.

It's getting dusk, and a crazy squirted fountain is starting to send colored waters around the plaza. Kids tear around on scooters. This could almost be the main plaza in Guanajuato.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50968/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Okay. Here's the menu for dinner: Apples, bananas, sandia (watermelon), mango, piña (pineapple), papaya, melon, strawberries, cottage cheese, granola, coconut, raisins. 

We're in Barrio Logan, so Spanglish rules. 

'Course I could have had pepino (cucumber), jicama, sandia, mango, piña, papaya, naranja (orange), plus chile, salt and lime to make up a pico de gallo.

Dang. I would have had that. But I didn't see it in time. 

Whatever, it's all healthy and refreshing. I'm at Tocumbo Ice Cream (1900 National Avenue, #188-A, Barrio Logan, 619-230-0391). 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/08/50961/

I walked in here on my way down to the Barrio Logan trolley stop. Brand new. Part of the Mercado del Barrio.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/08/50962/

Near the mighty Mercado Northgate Gonzalez, a supermarket that has, like, everything Mexican, from food to clothes. 

So I walked in...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/08/50963/

...looked at all the ice cream goin' on, and the flavors. I mean, what flavors! Nopal (cactus), guanabana (the soursop, a pawpaw-type fruit that they say tastes like strawberry and pineapple combined with a slightly sour, creamy, bananaish feel to it), mamey (sometimes called the South American apricot), and nanche, a yellow berry from tropical America. 

Who knew? Gotta try all of these, except I need a meal to get me through till the main eats tonight. So I get this totally healthy, totally filling fruit salad ($6.49). 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50981/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50969/

No regrets, except I get to talking to Gaby and her husband Mauricio. They're here outside eating ice creams and something called "chongo" with their kids.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50967/

"It's a sort of sweet cottage cheese," Gaby says. "Curds, milk, cinnamon, sugar. It reminds me so much of home. Guanajuato."

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50970/

Meanwhile I'm working through this fruit salad. What a combo. It's a meal, held together by the cottage cheese and the honey and Granola and coconut. I swear, this plaza brings real Mexico up here for the first time. Like Mercado Hidalgo in TJ. 

"But why is this place called Tocumbo?" I ask. 

"Because Tocumbo is the ice cream capital of Mexico," says Gaby. "Anybody making ice cream in Mexico is probably from Tocumbo."

Turns out Tocumbo's a small town in Michoacán where - no kidding - 90 percent of the population is involved in making ice cream. Gerardo Ramírez and his family started making it up here in San Diego in 2004. Now he's got four places around town.

He opened this last May. Why ice cream? He comes from Cotija, the town right next door to Tocumbo. Cotija's famous for its tacos. But Gerardo thought San Diego needed interesting ice cream more than more tacos. 

Wow. You think you know a lot about the 'hood, and the culture next door, and then, like tonight, you realize you still need training wheels.

It's getting dusk, and a crazy squirted fountain is starting to send colored waters around the plaza. Kids tear around on scooters. This could almost be the main plaza in Guanajuato.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/aug/09/50968/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.