I finally had my first snowball of the summer the other day. I can't believe it took me so long to indulge in the icy treat; usually I'll make a trip to get one as soon as things start warming up.

Snowball stands are one of those New Orleans traditions like many others -- everyone has their favorite place and many snowball devotees are utterly loyal to their preferred purveyor. My personal favorite is Plum Street snowballs. Now, I know that many people prefer Hansen's. To be fair, let me just say that I've never actually eaten a snowball from Hansen's, so I can't objectively say which is better. I just can't bring myself to go anywhere else but Plum Street. I have a lot of really great memories associated with summer afternoons there, especially from those summers I spent interning at the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane.

Now, even though I live in Midcity and rarely make it to the Riverbend, I'll still make a detour whenever possible to grab a snowball from Plum Street. My order is always a medium cup (I love the idea of the Chinese takeout style pails, but I fear they'll be too messy). My snowball of choice always consists of a combo of two cream flavors, one of which is usually orchid creme vanilla. The new-ish red velvet flavor is pretty to-die-for as well.

I know if I ever move away, a snowball from Plum Street will be one of the quintessentially New Orleans things I'll miss most. Jeez.....just writing this post has me craving a snowball. I sense another excuse to make a trip uptown soon....

photo courtesy Kicks in New Orleans via Flickr