At one time this storefront was called El Comal, after the Latin American griddle; it prepared tacos, quesadillas, and the like. That menu is still available at a companion cart across the avenue, but the name of the shop now reflects what it does best.
"Nieve" is Spanish for "snow." The texture suggests soft sherbet; the flavors tend toward the tropical, such as in a combo cup of mango and jicama (above, small, $2). The counterwoman tells me that all the flavors derive from fresh produce, though that peachy-looking jicama nieve has taken on some additional coloring (compare the naturally ghostly pale jicama nieve at bottom). Chile powder, I'd guess; it has a bite.
Previously: After spotting tiny black seeds in a tub of vivid pink, I was sure I recognized the flavor. The proprietor called it pitaya, a name that seemed familiar, but then added a twist — she said it was a Mexican fruit, from a cactus. I hadn't realized that the dragon fruit of Southeast Asia is known as pitaya, or pitahaya, in its native Central America. Dozens of varieties are now commercially grown in tropical regions around the world. I don't know which finds its way into this nieve, but I can say that cultivars with white flesh are often bland; magenta-fleshed cultivars are considerably more flavorful.
At any one time, this shop offers about ten flavors of nieve, all with the option of something extra: a chile-powdered cup and a liquid core of chamoy, a Mexican salty-sour-spicy-sweet sauce. I don't know how well the lemon, melon, or pineapple nieves would take to this treatment; mine ($3) was jicama, which provided a nearly blank slate for a surprisingly refreshing treat.
The full formal name would seem to be jicama nieve chamoyada, though you'll get fewer funny looks if you ask for a chamoy or a diablito. Do note that those shorter names also apply to concoctions made with ice. Almost without exception, storefronts and streetside operations will feature an ice-crushing or ice-shaving device, or tubs of nieve, but not both.
Nieves Tia Mimi
4711 Fifth Ave. (47th-48th Sts.), Sunset Park, Brooklyn
718-438-3060
www.Facebook.com/NievesTiaMimi
