One of my cherished moments as a child was the neighborhood ice cream truck. And not just the truck itself – the thrill of hearing a constant repeat of “Pop Goes the Weasel”, “Turkey in the Straw” or the classic Scott Joplin piece “The Entertainer” becoming louder and louder as the truck traveled closer to my neighborhood. Mind you, the music didn’t mean we would be going to be visited by the truck, since our neighborhood was a looped dead-end that saw the truck less often than we did a new year.
When we (my brother and I) could confirm the truck was actually headed towards us, we made the mad dash of emptying pig banks, scraping through the couch and grabbing those quarters out of conveniently placed spare change dishes.
Looking back, the selection was always generally underwhelming: maybe some Ninja Turtles with bubble gum eyes or a Mickey Mouse novelty molded to include ears. In fact, most of the treats were just popsicles instead of actual ice cream. But jack up the price of those suckers by 1000% and you’ve got scores of kids chasing after your vehicle. A $1 treat from the truck always tasted better that a Fudgesicle from Fred Meyer that your mom bought in a 48 pack.
Sadly, now I’m too old to go chasing after ice cream trucks and buying things made of pure sugar that aren’t Starbucks Frappacinos. However, I am not immune to bright colors and movie tie-ins (the children’s cereal aisle is a no-fly zone for me) so I couldn’t resisted buying IRON MAN’S FACE – in popsicle form.
Contrary to my usual modus operandi, I actually have seen Iron Man 2, instead of catching it when it appears on Saturday night basic cable. I can appreciate Robert Downey Jr.’s sarcastic character and Scarlett Johansson’s skintight leather, though I’m not sure the target audience of this product would.
I AM IRON MAN.
Iron Man’s big identity reveal in the film was a little more well-received that this unveiling. Poor frozen novelty Iron Man didn’t hold up too well after melting a bit in my grocery bag and refreezing in the meantime.
Iron Man’s face was a sickly syrupy sweet frozen mass of cherry and lemon. If you’ve ever had a “Firecracker” Popsicle, this pop was reminiscent of the first two cherry and lemon sections. All in all, a syrupy sweet artificial tasting frozen novelty that’ll make your heart race and possibly overload your Arc Reactor.
UPDATE – Last time I visited Grocery Outlet, the price of the remaining stock of these had been updated to 8/$1 or 12/$1, can’t remember which.
Tags: Cherry, Grocery Outlet, Iron Man, Lemon, Popsicle, Sugar
