This time tomorrow, I’ll be somewhere in Mississippi or Alabama, on my way to VAY-CAY-SHUN in Gulf Shores, Alabama. And since I’ll probably be too busy playing in the surf, snorkeling, or chowing down seafood to blog, I figured I’d just go ahead & post this a little early. You don’t mind, do you? Thanks. Youze the bestest.
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While in Louisiana last week, I found myself in sweltering 95-degree heat in dire need of something to cool me down.
And in when you’re in Louisiana, that means one thing: SNO BALL.
What, you were thinking the Other Sno-Ball?
Well…those are good too. But we’ll be talking about the shaved ice kind today.
If you’re like me (aka, NOT born-n-raised in Louisiana), you grew up with similar but inferior frozen treats—AKA the Sno-Cone. Shaved ice served in a drippy little paper cone and available in three flavors: Blue, Green, or Red. Typically available only at the State Fair or your hometown festival, along side funnel cakes & bad nachos.
My husband even asked me, “why don’t they just call it a Sno-Cone?”
And the best answer I could come up with was, “…because they don’t come in cones?”
And the variety of flavors available in these stands (typically open at least 9 months of the year) scattered across Louisiana blows your average everyday State Fair Sno Cone out of the water.
There are easily 100+ plus sno ball stands in the New Orleans metro area, and everybody has their own favorite. Typically, it’s the one that’s closest to your house, or the one you grew up with. For me, it was Sno Wizard, which was just a few blocks away from my house on Magazine Street. They had a fantastic pink lemonade flavor & their smalls were served in a mini Chinese-takeout type box.
(Seriously…how flippin’ cute is that???)
But here I was, dying of dehydration in METAIRIE—not in my old stomping grounds, and I’d never gotten a sno ball in Metairie. So I had to enlist the help of a seasoned NOLA veteran—my friend Nanette. I told her my location & she directed me to SnoBall Hut on Veterans near Lakeside. Her recommendation? “The Wedding Cake, always. With sugar free syrup and sweetened condensed milk. I know it defeats the purpose of sugar free, but I love it.”
Good enough for me!
The laundry list of available flavors was quite tempting…
…but no. No. I had a recommendation, and was determined to try it out! One small Sugar Free Wedding Cake with condensed milk, please!
Crisp, clean & pure, just like a pretty wedding cake—I sorta wanted to find a pretty flower to add as decoration. And thank heaven for that condensed milk. The sugar-free “wedding cake” syrup (very almond-y) had twinge of that “fake-ish” aftertaste, but the richness of the condensed milk totally balances it out, & it really is like a fancy wedding cake with tons of buttercream icing. YUM. But kinda rich; I could barely finish it. Probably should have gotten the kid’s size.
Nanette’s other favorites: “Bubby’s Sno Ball stand at Fleur de Lis & Harrison. Still—wedding cake flavor. Also: Hansen’s Sno Bliz on Tchoupitoulas. Try the Satsuma flavor. And be sure to ask about the Satsuma Path to Enlightenment.”
I felt compelled to ask my other friends what stands they recommend, so here’s a couple other recommendations, too!
K-Rod: “Dreamsicle at the Casey’s on West Esplanade & Clearview, or Honeydew at Sno Shak on Jefferson Highway.”
Primo: “Plum Street Uptown. Usually Cherry.”
I think the next time I’m down that way, I need to venture over to Scuba Steve’s on the Westbank. As if the name isn’t cool enough, with flavors like “Dinosaur Egg” (mango & blueberry) and “Toxic Waste” (bubblegum & sour apple), it sounds my kind of place.
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