Zonkey

While North Park's fine-dining crowd debates wood-fired technique and seasonal menus, Zonkey is across the street solving the real problem: how to make a frozen fruit bar feel like a custom commission. You're not just buying a paleta here — you're designing one. Pick your base flavor (ube, cookies and cream, blueberry cheesecake, and a rotating cast that suggests someone's actually thinking about this), then choose your chocolate dip, your drizzle (sweetened condensed milk is the correct answer), and your crumble situation. It's the kind of participatory dessert experience that turns a Tuesday into a event, especially if you're already next door at Lucha Libre and need something to reset your palate after three tacos.

The mini paletas are the move for groups or the commitment-phobic — small enough to justify ordering two, cute enough that people will ask where you got them. Pricing hovers around $12 for a fully loaded bar, which feels steep until you realize you've basically built a dessert from scratch and it's the size of your forearm. The space itself leans into the fun: bright, casual, the kind of vibe that says "we know this is extra and we're fine with it."

Practical notes: They cater, apparently quite well, which makes sense given the novelty factor and the fact that mini paletas photograph like they were designed for Instagram grids. Outdoor seating exists, though on University Avenue that's more of a people-watching opportunity than a quiet retreat. Go after 7pm if you want to avoid the post-dinner families. Go before 8pm if you actually want your first-choice flavor in stock.

This isn't your abuela's paletería. It's what happens when someone takes the nostalgic format seriously and adds a craft-dessert sensibility without losing the plot. North Park already has the beer expertise and the wood-fired everything. Zonkey gives you something actually novel: a dessert bar where the choices matter and the outcome tastes like you knew what you were doing.