The Scoop: La Michoacana Mexican ice-cream shop

The place: La Michoacana, 231 E. State St., Kennett Square, 610-444-2996.

The deal: Homemade ice cream in flavors inspired by the Mexican palate, including avocado, corn, cantaloupe, coconut and banana. A small cup (two scoops) costs $2.50. Homemade frozen pops and bolis (push-ups) start at $1.50 and come in even more interesting flavors. Think spicy mango, rompope (eggnog), pico de gallo, cajeta (a thick, sweet, caramelized milk) and tropical fruits like tamarind, guava, passion fruit and nance. Shakers of cinnamon and chili sit atop the counter, and many customers shake one or both on their treats.

Some history: Chester County, especially around Kennett Square, is America's mushroom capital, with its farms producing half the nation's mushrooms. So, it's fitting that this ice-cream shop started as a dream shared by three Kaolin Mushroom workers - Noelia Scharon, Juvenal Gonzalez and Manuel Rodriguez (and Rodriguez's wife, Martha). The decade-old shop takes its name and recipes from the Mexican state of Michoacan, known for frozen treats with unusual flavors and textures.

When to go: Open daily (holidays, too), March through November, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the summer and noon to 9 p.m. when school's in session. The shop makes ice cream and pops year-round for about 300 stores in the region, and for La Michoacana Grill, which the shop's owners opened two years ago two blocks away, at 201 S. Union St.

What we ate: A scoop each of corn and mamey (a tropical fruit) ice cream. Corn is the shop's tasty top seller. I also sampled a rice pudding pop, now my new favorite dessert. Of course, the shop makes mushroom ice cream every September to sell at Kennett Square's Mushroom Festival, and at other times for special orders.

What we wanted to eat: A cazuela, a sundae with three flavors of ice cream and four toppings served in a waffle bowl, for $5.75. Que rico!