Professional Foray #7, People's Pops and Mercer's Dairy, Highline, NY

On Tuesday night, my friend Valentina and I went for a walk on the High Line, something I never get tired of doing.  L'Arte del Gelato (full review to come) has been replaced by People's Pops as one of the High Line's rotating cast of concessions, and although I'd just polished off an Ultimate Summer Cooler before we set off on our walk, I forced myself to have a pop, after having a bite of Valentina's watermelon-and-cucumber flavor. 

Forced is probably the wrong word.  The pop was sweet and refreshing; like the watermelon Frozfruit pops I used to get if my mom caught me trying to sneak a creamy strawberry or coconut one (which are technically ice cream, not a *healthy* fruity snack), but these were more delicate, and without the black seeds that Frozfruit used to throw in their either for street cred or because they were too lazy to remove them.  There wasn't too much cucumber going on, but the watermelon flavor was sweet and clear.  Valentina thought there was no sugar added; I thought there was.  This, readers, I promise to clarify when I go behind-the-scenes at the People's Pops operation one day soon.  My friend, the food writer and fellow Brown alum Nathalie Jordi, will be back soon from a holiday and hopefully I can get some backstage access.  At the very least, I'll get an answer on the sugar content. $3.50 per pop, High Line concession stand, also available at Chelsea Market and at weekend markets, check www.peoplespops.com for info)

After a quick up-and-back on the High Line, we descended back down to reality on Gansevoort Street, where a big green ice cream truck lurked in the shadows, lying in wait for me like some kind of crafty jungle cat.  It pounced; I succumbed.

The ice cream was from Mercer's Dairy, which, as far as I can tell is a mediocre outfit based in upstate New York.  Some of it was supposed to be organic, although one of the flavors I had, black raspberry, is not listed as an organic option on their website.  All of the flavors were just all right: the vanilla, fine, the chocolate, embarrassingly lacking in flavor, and the black raspberry, tasty.  The texture was a little foamy and not as dense as I'd prefer, but not icy either (which I do prefer).  All in all, not the best $4 I'd ever spent.  One thing I do love about them: these old school cartons.

The black raspberry was good, I guess.