Joe H Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Last night, driving on route 60 leaving Williamsburg, my wife and I saw a line at least 75 long snaking around a low slung bunker of a building, hungrily, patiently approaching one of two windows of an apparent 50's era William and Mary tradition: Sno to Go. With over forty flavors of shaved ice snoballs including "beetlejuice," "fuzzy navel," "Ninja turtle," "rumbleberry" and their legendary "Tiger's blood" this is a mom and pop Hawaiian/Baton Rouge style shaved ice landmark open three days a week for seven months out of the year. The ultimate indulgence is a stuffed snoball which involves layering a two inch nest of ice, a mound of vanilla frozen custard and then another slab of flavored ice all topped with whipped cream and more syrup drizzled on top. For most this is a Saturday night ritual similar to the University of Maryland's line for "The Vouz" where it wasn't about getting into the bar; it was all about the Line. At Sno to Go it seemed to be about both. Remarkably one of the most popular orders was a sugar free Snoball. I couldn't believe that anyone would stand in line for 30 minutes or longer to order something that wasn't based in lard, butter or whipped cream but at Sno to Go, the svelte students seemed to shy from true caloric indulgence favoring flavor at the expense of butterfat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 Does anyone know if My-T-Fine Snowballs in Carney, Maryland, still exists? I haven't been in years, but they had something like 64,000 flavors and I'd never seen anything quite like it. I tried contacting the owners of the site but their email is bouncing. Fond of the tangerine and black cherry, Rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meaghan Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 So, it's not a snow cone, but... Man, I have fond memories of Slushpuppies from Highs. I grew up in Glen Echo, Md, so there's that High's turned 7-11, and even though it's crap when it comes down to it...they still remind me of being, like, six and riding carousels and stuff. I saw a High's yesterday in Easton, Md. Why is it called High's anyway? Took to liking the blue kind and the patch dog with tongue, Meaghan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 when I was a kid (ok I'm still a kid...when I was younger) we use to get snowcones at the New York State fair that had maple syrup drizzled on them...YUM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdt Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 when I was a kid (ok I'm still a kid...when I was younger) we use to get snowcones at the New York State fair that had maple syrup drizzled on them...YUM For those growing up in New England this was a normal treat during the snowy winters. Of course any reason to eat real maple syrup is good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackers Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 (edited) So when, or more precisely - where, does shaved ice become a snow cone, become a sno ball? I always think of shaved ice or sno-balls as fresh shaved ice that is smooth and comes with a gazillion different flavors to choose from, while snow cones are more like crushed up ice cubes, like little pellets. I don't like most snow cones because the syrup always ends up at the bottom of the cone and I'm left with nothing but flavorless ice pellets to crunch on. Here is some sno-ball history to suck on. Edited September 26, 2005 by crackers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venerable Bede Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 i didn't realize there was a difference. to me, they were always shaved ice, cause when i think of sno-balls, i think of hostess sno-balls (mmmm, devils food cake surrounded by processed pink colouring and coconut shavings) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laniloa Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 And if you are in Hawaii it is shave ice. Don't bother with any place calling it shaved ice because it won't be nearly as good. Best with ice cream and/or azuki beans on the bottom. I'm partial to lemon li hing mui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shogun Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 So, it's not a snow cone, but...Man, I have fond memories of Slushpuppies from Highs. I grew up in Glen Echo, Md, so there's that High's turned 7-11, and even though it's crap when it comes down to it...they still remind me of being, like, six and riding carousels and stuff. I saw a High's yesterday in Easton, Md. Why is it called High's anyway? Took to liking the blue kind and the patch dog with tongue, Meaghan Slushpuppies!! Oh man, I haven't seen one of those in years! Forget if they had those at the beach or good old Cap'n Henry's, but they were the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenunda Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 shogun said: Slushpuppies!! Oh man, I haven't seen one of those in years! Forget if they had those at the beach or good old Cap'n Henry's, but they were the best! Here's a version of this conversation from an internet neighbor: "What We're Missing: A Snowball Stand" by Kanishka Gangopadhyay on dcist.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 For those growing up in New England this was a normal treat during the snowy winters. Of course any reason to eat real maple syrup is good! We had a sugarhouse growing up and the best treat was sugar-on-snow. You'd heat the sap well past the 'syrup' temperature... but before it got to the hard candy temp, then pour it on the snow outside to cool. The result was a chewy, filling-removing delicacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Where are the sno-balls in DC or metro-accessible? I hit up the stand in Bethesda in front of Barnes & Noble, and what the guy sells there is shave ice. Sno-balls seem to fall in between shaved ice and sno-cones in terms of ice size. But what I am really looking for is the availability of marshmallow fluff and chocolate syrup. They had neither. Though I have to admit what I had was yummy and he hides a Swedish fish inside! So I'm trying to get clued in. Allegedly there is one on 14th near Taylor. Can anyone confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 On 9/25/2005 at 11:36 PM, Meaghan said: So, it's not a snow cone, but... Man, I have fond memories of Slushpuppies from Highs. My *goodness* this brings back memories - I hadn't thought of High's in probably twenty years, maybe even longer. There used to be one on Lockwood Drive across from White Oak Shopping Center, and that's where we'd go if we needed milk, or bread, or in my case, an ice-cream sandwich (which I thought was a *huge* treat even though it was pre-packaged). I remember High's as having good ice-cream, even when I had passed the age where I knew it was 7-11-ish ("Yeah, it's kind of run down, but their Butter Brickle and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is actually really good!") Wow. High's. It seems like another century ago ... and it was. On 9/26/2005 at 1:23 PM, tenunda said: Here's a version of this conversation from an internet neighbor: "What We're Missing: A Snowball Stand" by Kanishka Gangopadhyay on dcist.com Kanishka - who has remained active among us over the years - is the first person ever to write about this website, and I haven't forgotten it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanishka Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 On 6/25/2016 at 7:35 PM, DonRocks said: Kanishka - who has remained active among us over the years - is the first person ever to write about this website, and I haven't forgotten it. And I would love a snowball stand somewhere near chez nous! Given how cheap it could be... though frankly, who needs snowballs when you have Beninois mangos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelumbo Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 There are still Highs around, mostly in Maryland north of I-70. One is down the street from the Howard County fairgrounds, do not recall if they have slush puppies. Rita's Italian Ice has a version that is alternating layers of frozen custard and ice. I will note that the ices have the same or higher calorie content as the frozen custard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pras Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 14 hours ago, nelumbo said: There are still Highs around, mostly in Maryland north of I-70. One is down the street from the Howard County fairgrounds, do not recall if they have slush puppies. Rita's Italian Ice has a version that is alternating layers of frozen custard and ice. I will note that the ices have the same or higher calorie content as the frozen custard. It isn't a High's if they don't serve slush puppies. I don't care what the sign says on the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkyfood Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Clayboys in Bethesda is so much better than any I've ever tried that it ruined others. https://www.yelp.com/biz/clayboys-shaved-ice-bethesda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedE Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Snowballs (not sno-cones, there is a difference!) were an integral part of my Baltimore childhood summers. There are stands scattered all over the city, but mostly we got them from enterprising middle or high school kids who would set up shop on the curb right outside of the local swimming pools. There were, and probably still are, ice houses that would sell you a block of ice and rent hand-held ice shavers for the day or week plus supply styrofoam cups, spoons and bottles of syrup at a discount. If it was your gig all summer, though, you would head down to Koldkiss and outfit yourself properly. Then if you didn't have a car or a license you would have to find somebody to help you lug your giant ice block and supplies to the next stop! Some were lucky enough to have a few lucrative spots within wagon-pulling distance from home. It was good money and beat the hell out of mowing lawns (although hand shaving for several hours a day was a workout of its own). In case you were wondering, egg custard is the best flavor. This is not up for debate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepers Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 chocolate, with marshmallow--- and yellow jackets flying around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genevieve Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 In the summer, Bayou Bakery generally has Sno-Balls (not in cones, but in Chinese takeout cartons). They've been lovely. I like the Wedding Cake flavor (there's also been raspberry and dreamsicle and others). I haven't had it yet this summer, so this reminds me to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notquiteanonymous Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 You people all tricked me into thinking this thread was about the Hostess Sno-Ball...ummm...creation/cake/marshmallow/coconut(?) thingies (technical term ). I realize they have about the same nuclear survivability as a Twinkie, but for whatever reason, I love em. Shaved ice, even flavored shaved ice, pales in comparison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 19 minutes ago, notquiteanonymous said: You people all tricked me into thinking this thread was about the Hostess Sno-Ball...ummm...creation/cake/marshmallow/coconut(?) thingies (technical term ). I realize they have about the same nuclear survivability as a Twinkie, but for whatever reason, I love em. Shaved ice, even flavored shaved ice, pales in comparison! Ha! That would be in the Shopping and Cooking Forum since you can't get it in a restaurant. (On a side note, did anyone ever store a snowball (an actual snowball) in their freezer until summertime, and then sneak up on a sibling and pelt them with it?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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