Sno-Balls

There are few things in this world that make it possible to endure the heat of a Louisiana summer. Central AC would top the list, of course, and sno-balls would come in a close second. And when I say sno-balls, I mean sno-balls--not snow cones. When we first moved here (drove into town two years ago today, to be exact!), everyone kept saying "oh, you've got to get yourself a sno-ball." And I'd of course smile and say something like "yeah, I'll be sure to do that." BUT truthfully, I didn't think there was any way they could be any different than any other snow cone I'd had. And I feel ashamed to admit that it took me an entire year to stop off at a stand and get one. And oh, was I ever wrong about them. How sad that I missed out on a whole season of these the summer before! They are nothing like any snow cone I'd ever had! Let me explain a little bit about what they are. Well, ok, since I'd be no good at explaining it, let me paste a little explanation here:

New Orleans sno-balls are not to be confused with snow cones. Snow cones are made with crushed ice. In New Orleans, the Hansen family invented a special machine which shaves the ice, making the Sno-ball as different from a Snow cone as cotton candy is from taffy. They are light and melt in your mouth and you can get just about anything you want on top, including syrup, ice cream, whipped cream, sweetened condensed milk and chocolate sauce. (info found on about.com)

Our favorite place to get sno-balls is Sal's in Old Metairie. There are other great places downtown, but they are a little too far for us to go to get an evening sno-ball, and Sal's isn't exactly "close" to our house. But it's totally worth the drive! They really are unlike anything else. Mmm, they are so good! And let's just say that last summer, being pregnant and due in September, I definitely inhaled my fair share of sno-balls. The flavors are scrumptious and we all have our favorites.


I know you'll be shocked to see that Tyler has to have a GREEN one. In fact for all this past year, he has referred to them as "green drinks". And every time we'd drive by Sal's, he'd make a comment about going there and getting a green drink. And when we were going to Idaho in February, I was telling him that there would be snow in Idaho and we don't get snow in Louisiana and he got all confused and said "but it snows in green drinks." So, clearly we have him all confused! But he is starting to refer to them as sno-balls now. His green drink is actually flavored with "Sock it to Me" and I think it is a mixture of bubble gum and something else...I forget. But it's a Tyler pleaser every time! (I doubt the flavor has anything to do with it being a pleaser, it's just the fact that it's green!)
And remember how it was said that you can get everything on it?? Well, my favorite it to get mine "stuffed". Oh, yeah!! You get soft serve vanilla ice cream in the middle and oh, it's so good! And depending on the flavor of syrup, I also like to get sweetened condensed milk or cream on top too. Yeah, it really isn't like any snow cone is it??? Here, I got a stuffed "nectar". Yum! And Garrett tried Sal's new flavor "king cake", stuffed, of course!

And this was Sam's first sno-ball. We are raising a NOLA baby! Um, yeah, he liked it to say the least. Tyler found out how fun it was to share, and pretty much fed the rest of his to Sam. And Sam enjoyed bites of all of ours. He was a happy camper.

The signs of a successful outing to Sal's: the colored faces and tongues.

And poor Sam...the sno balls ran out, so he had to settle for eating his sweaty feet. Yum!

There is definitely nothing like a sno-ball on a blazing summer day in New Orleans. My mom is flying in tomorrow to stay with us for a week and you can bet that there are many sno-ball trips on our agenda for the week. We are excited to have the excuse to go get some!