Mango Stand at Union Square

How to tell it’s spring (ish)… Mango Lad (ies) are back! They’re usually near 14^th Street (near Forever 21) or 13^th Street (near the movie theater).
I love mangoes (and various other fruits with inedible peels). But I am lazy. BUT I have $ 3, and I judge my bucks appropriate for this exchange of labor. They core, peel, slice. You add lemon juice + chili powder. Soooo is there a Korean Pear Lady stand (as opposed to, ahem, my mom, when I’m home)? Pineapple Lady? Papaya Lady?
Caveat: Not exactly the season for them yet, but I got the most «ripe» looking bag and it isn’t truly fruity mango-​sweet. Humbug! I’ll hold my Ziploc and dream of summer…

I really really wanted to love and repeatedly support it, but received some under-​ripe mango that was nowhere near properly sliced. To boot, the $ 3 ziploc — most of which was the inedible core — was served up by a rude woman as she tended to an apparently hilarious call on her iPhone (on my visit she was in front of the stores along 14^th, i.e., b/​t Broadway and Univ Pl and not on 13^th). Hate to say this but just duck in to WF for the pre-​sliced product and season it yourself. I suppose it’s buyer beware, so look for the smallest chunks you can to avoid this fate and maybe you’ll toss in another 5-​star review to bump them back near perfection.

I’m always craving sliced mangoes with lemon juice, salt and chili sauce especially in the winter. Thank goodness it’s summer and I can finally have my mango fix from these ladies again!

I love the mango ladies in Union Square! $ 3 for chopped up mango + lemon juice + hot sauce + chili powder. Tastes like those mexican mango pops I grew up on in San Diego!

Face it: It can be a pain to prepare a whole mango.
You gotta peel it, try cutting out the huge pit without slicing a finger, and clean up the juicy mess afterwards.
Solution: Head over to the mango stand on 13^th Street!
The lady sells flower-​shaped mangoes-​on-​sticks for $ 2 a pop.
I recommend getting all the fixin’s– a sprinkling of lime juice, salt, and chili pepper. Definitely worth the extra 50 cents.