Eric D.
Yelp
I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW INCREDIBLE THIS PLACE IS. THIS IS MY FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH!!! What I was expecting (and this still would have been great) was a place that did conventional American style ice cream but also mixed it up with some more Mexican flavors and also had paletas. Instead I amazed to find a paradise of authentic Mexican street food, both savory and sweet and some items that merge both.
The most interesting items were the Botanas Locas, something I'd heard about but I'd never lived in a place with enough of a Mexican population to get a chance to try. B"asically, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of the Texas regional food "Frito Pie," they open up a package of some kind of snack chips the long way (we used Doritos) and then add an amazing amount of fixins including stuff like mango, avocado, peanuts, chicharonnes, and plenty of hot sauce, citrus and peppers. The result is a crunchy, spicy, tangy snack that is indeed ...crazy. I saw that in addition to this they also have something they call a "walking taco" which is a similar idea but with taco meat added, and plenty of other variations including some done with a bag of Cheetos! They also have more straightforward items like Tortas and a chicharonnes plate with all kinds of stuff added. And you can get an Elote (Mexican style street corn) either on the cob or in a cup.
But the soul of the place is the ice creams, sorbets, paletas and other frozen concoctions. They do indeed have straightforward American stuff like banana splits and sundaes but the really amazing stuff is the Mexican concoctions such as the Vampiro, which is a Mango shaved ice concoction with all sorts of hot sauces and peppers added to it as well as a straw with a hardened tamarind candy around it which adds a ton of flavors. This is just one of countless variations that combine mango, other fruits, spices etc. which make this place heaven if you like savory/sweet and spicy/sweet combinations like I do.
Also, Rosita just has a nice feeling to it. The service is always good and friendly, if not always fast. And the clientele is really varied with all sorts of different South Bend folks there. It's wonderful to see a place like this opening up and to see immigrants making a mark on the city with authentic food and to see it so well received by the locals. That definitely wasn't going on when I lived in South Bend, in the 80s or 90s.