Hansen's Sno-Bliz (4801 Tchoupitoulas Street) has been serving up treats for nearly 70 years. The store is run by the granddaughter of the original owners and inventors. She made each Sno-Bliz shown in the picture. The one in the foreground is Cream of Ice Cream with with a sweetened condensed milk topping. The one in the background is Cream of Strawberry topped with crushed strawberries. The granddaughter told me her grandfather invented the machine to shave the ice (it is finer than a typical snow cone) and her grandmother created the flavored syrups that are poured over the ice.
The store is located a few blocks from Magazine Street (a major street running parallel to the Mississippi, going upriver from the French Quarter) in a residential and industrial area. There is no seating inside the store. I noticed a steady flow of people through the place from my seat across the street on the porch of a bookstore. In fact, at one point, a limo pulled up and a half dozen people piled out and all got a Sno-Bliz before getting back into the limo and pulling away.
This place is certainly off the beaten path but worth the trip for the tasty treats and a piece of nostalgia. The owner is extremely friendly and seemed excited to hear that people from a distance were visiting her shop.
2 comments:
Mmmmm... the one with sweetened condensed milk sounds especially good!
I heard about this place on NPR one day, I think it was. In fact, I think they had an interview with the Grandpa and Grandma that started it, before they passed away. It's been a while.
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