Time to write about King Cakes

Yes, I have been putting it off. I waited until I officially had my first bite of king cake. Today was the day and let me tell you I started with the wrong one. I won't even say which it was.

Next stop is Nonna Randazzo's and to get it right this time!

Anyway, Nola.com ran this article about King Cakes that is a great article for any out of towner to read! Get more on the local addiction to what i consider just a silly coffee cake - read my girl NolaNote's post on king cakes.

New Orleans has some wacky traditions and this fanfare over coffee cake never seizes to amaze me! (But I do enjoy them! He he!)

Snoballs - A New Orleans Tradition

Ok. I am from Ohio and we called them Sno Cones. And they basically came in a handful of flavors - Grape, Cherry, Watermelon, Lime. They were usually found at carnivals or the concession stand at the ball diamond.

I move here and there are Snoball stands? huh? On just about every main road. Yup. There's one. Oh. There's another over there. Look mom! There's a snoball stand there too.

So I want ice cream one day and wonder "Where in the hell are the ice cream stands?" Nope. don't have 'em. Oh you have ice cream shops in selected strip malls or maybe a pizza joint happens to serve soft serve on the side.

So what's the deal? After 3 years here I finally figured it out and have become addicted myself. Recently having my husband join my daughter and I in our addiction.
(I even got my mom into snoballs when she was visiting.)

See, we have had a snoball here and there with some friends. But recently we decided to stop by our nearby joint which is ALWAYS PACKED to see what is up. It was scorching of course and dang it if the damn thing didn't drop our body temperatures 10 degrees and actually make 99 degrees and 100% humidity seem, well, comfortable!!!

Then there is the whole flavor thing. My girl and I are on a mission to try a different flavor each time we visit. Now, there are like 100 different flavors to try so we got too late a start this summer. But, it might just be our goal next year! (Do we get a shirt of something for our accomplishment?) Also, the whole condensed milk thing is a little strange to me. I don't get it and haven't had the desire to try it. I DO LOVE MINE STUFFED THOUGH! (For the non-locals - that means with soft serve ice cream in the middle!)

We have tried cream soda, chocolate, nectar, lemon-lime, watermelon, strawberry cheesecake, wedding cake, ice cream, blackberry, mango, bubble gum, candy corn, silver fox and lemon.

New Orleans takes their snoballs seriously. So we are taking suggestions on which flavors to try! What's your favorite?