King of Pops

King of Pops has grown into a mini empire since its humble days starting out in 2010 with a single cart at the corner of North Ave. and N Highland in Poncey-​Highland. These days, on a single day, you can expect to find up to 10 or more carts stationed at various festivals, parks, farmers markets, food truck meetups, and other events in metro Atlanta. I’ve been to a wedding with a staffed and fully stocked King of Pops cart. These guys have grown to be ubiquitous.
This review is for the King of Pops cart set up at Decatur Square. It can be found on the elevated tile courtyard between The Iberian Pig and Brick Store Pub.
Like the other carts around town, this King of Pops cart typically offers about a half-​dozen different pop flavors at a time, priced at $ 3.00 per pop. Cash and card accepted. Card payments are handled using a smartphone equipped with Square. If you’ve made payments via Square before, then receipts will be texted or emailed to you automatically. Convenient.
King of Pops popsicles are gourmet, fresh, and all-​natural. Over the years, they’ve concocted roughly 100 different flavors, many unique and original. The pops are sweetened with agave syrup, honey, or organic cane sugar. Most of the pops are gluten-​free.
Flavors are seasonal and constantly change. I suggest ordering whatever flavor or flavor combination sounds most comfortable or appealing to you. However, don’t be afraid to branch out and try some of the more «adventurous» flavors such as the Plum Cardamom, Blueberry Lemongrass, Grapefruit Star Anise, and Sweet Potato Pie. More often than not, you’ll be surprised at how well some of these ingredients work together to create a great-​tasting, icy, and refreshing popsicle.
Many ingredients are sourced from local or regional farms and suppliers. The Iced Coffee pop is made from Batdorf & Bronson coffee. Not all the flavors are off-​the-​wall. Standbys include Cookies & Cream and Chocolate Sea Salt. A couple flavors I want to try that have eluded me: Cereal Milk and Mango Lassi.
Service is great. If you plan on eating your pop immediately (most people do), staff will cut the sealed plastic pop bag open for you. All carts are stocked with paper towels in case you need them. Hopefully, the pop you want isn’t crossed off the chalkboard (sold out for the day).
Check out King of Pops’ web site, Facebook page, or Twitter feed to find out where they’ll be next.
Finally, King of Pops wooden tokens are a terrific gift idea. One token = one pop. Do it!

Best.
Popsicle.
Ever.
Words cannot begin to describe the symphony of delight upon my palate as I indulge in one of these sinfully sloppy confections.
My favorite flavor is the grapefruit hibiscus, when I cannot find it, whatever I try ends up being a fantastic tasty surprise.

I have always heard of King of Pops being somewhere in Decatur, but I didn’t realize it was HERE. I was SO full after dinner, but I couldn’t resist the siren call of the pops. To top it all off, Jeni’s was closed until Memorial Day. AND Butter and Cream had a line out the door. I love ice cream and all, but this chick wanted her frozen treat ASAP.
I got the strawberry lemonade over the raspberry lemonade, per the recommendation of the guy manning the cart. $ 3 a pop! The strawberry lemonade was super tart, that it was almost a little hard to eat quickly, especially as my group was trying to head into one of the nearby pubs. The fresh strawberries with the tart lemonade was a refreshing way to top of my dinner.
Hope to find the cart here again in the Decatur plaza next time I’m close by!

THE Atlanta Popsicle. Move over freezer pops, cuz King of Pops has taken the rightful crown! Chocolate Sea Salt and Blackberry Ginger Lemonade are house favorites. If there is one guaranteed item that I buy at a festival, it’s a King of Pops. Every baby shower gift I buy has a onesie purchased from the Inman Park shop. Atlanta is lucky to have a gem like this. Well run business, excellent food, and great conversations with every pop dealer.

HEAVEN SERVED ON A STICK.
nearly every flavor will have you praising God. However there’s a lemongrass flavor that tastes exactly like tom kha gai which you should generally avoid.
Their credit card machine always seems to be down, so make sure you bring cash to any of these guys regardless of their location.

Everything I’ve ever said about KoP can be echoed for where this pop stand is in Decatur square.
If loving pops is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Sometimes I like to celebrate the end of the day with a mini treat at King of Pops. I love this location because it’s smack dab in the middle of the Decatur Square area, and you can’t miss its large rainbow umbrella.
At $ 2.50 a pop (hey, that was punny!), it’s a little on the expensive side, but I think each delicious flavor is worth it. They always use fresh ingredients that are pretty simple. For example, my favorite peach one is made with real peaches, sugar, and lemon. The offerings change but they have something for everyone including their awesome chocolate sea salt.
Usually, I have these in the summer, but for some reason today felt like the perfect icy treat day. I tried a pear cider pop because the girl who was selling it told me it was her go-​to fall popsicle. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it sounded wonderful. After the first bite, I think it became my go-​to fall pop, too. Hmmm, I’m curious to see what winter tastes like. Hopefully not like urine snow…
Just a quick tip– sometimes, the pops are «extra» frozen and the first bite is a little too hard, so wait a couple of minutes before you bite in.