Magnolia's Ice Cream & More

Imagine being a kid in elementary school and every day you have a choice to walk across the street and into, what we imagine, is a child’s idea of unbridled paradise (and possibly a parent’s nightmare): an ice cream and candy shop. Such a place exists: the Mexican chuchería Magnolia’s Ice Cream & More Greater East End location, sitting right next to an elementary school. That’s some serious built-in clienteleI. Like other chucherías, Magnolia’s has shelves and shelves of chamoy-soaked gushers, hot chips, and gummy candy galore.

You can also get ice cream by the scoop, or try something called “The Xtreme,” three scoops of tropical fruit ice cream with spicy chamoy, sour gummy candy, and strawberries. Sno-cones get the same treatment, like the Pickle-Dilly served with, what else, pickles, and a packet of Kool-Aid to sprinkle over top. The innovation continues: get hot chips with cheese poured straight into the bag or whole apples slathered in tajin. Two things are guaranteed when you visit Magnolia’s: a stomach ache that kind of comes with the hot chip and sugar territory, and you will max out whatever daily chamoy intake you have (we all have that, right?). Hit up Magnolia’s after class, or, if you aren’t a child, swing by on weekends until 9pm and take down something neon colored and drowning in candy on the patio.

photo credit: Chelsea Thomas