On a previous food and photo safari up Oakland's International Blvd., I arrived too early to sample the nieves de garrafa.
Handmade ice creams and sorbets, that is, in flavors including hawthorn and arrayan. As it happened, when I returned during regular business hours, both those had left the rotation (the more-recent but still incomplete menu is easier to read if you click on the photo above). Courtesy of Jalisco-born Luis Abundis, I did sample hierba buena, or spearmint; jackfruit; queso, prepared with cotija cheese; and a bespoke blend of mole prepared for a local restaurant. Also shown below, in photos that don't do them justice: chongos zamoranos, loosely, curdled milk ice cream, and elote, or corn sorbet (small, each $1.50).
Nieves Cinco de Mayo
3448 International Blvd. (34th-35th Aves.), Oakland
Also at 3340 East 12th St. (inside the Fruitvale Public Market)
510-533-6296
(From visits in 2009 and August 2011)
