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New Orleans-Style Snowball Stand Opening in Meatpacking District

By Andrea Swalec | June 11, 2013 12:57pm
 Shaved ice flavors coming to Gansevoort Street for summer 2013 include grapefruit, watermelon jalapeno and wedding cake.
Imperial Woodpecker Sno-Balls
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MANHATTAN — A summertime taste of the South is headed to the Meatpacking District.

The traveling food vendor Imperial Woodpecker Sno-Balls will sell New Orleans-style shaved ice treats from a stand on Gansevoort Street starting later this month, company founder Neesa Peterson said Tuesday.

The "snowballs," as they're called down South, will be sold at 54 Gansevoort St. near Ninth Avenue and will be available in 44 flavors, including traditional offerings like Mardi Gras King Cake and bananas Foster, along with more unusual options like watermelon jalapeño, chicory coffee, grapefruit and wedding cake.

New Orleans-style snowballs are a far cry from the crunchy snow cones with generic syrup that are familiar to New Yorkers, explained Peterson, a 28-year-old New Orleans native who lives in SoHo.

"This is like real snow with delicious flavorings. My ice machine shaves it super-fine," she said.

The treats cost $4 for a small, $5 for a medium and $6 for a large, plus an extra dollar for sweetened condensed milk, marshmallow cream or vanilla ice cream.

The Meatpacking District stand is set to be open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m., through September. The snowballs are also sold at the Hester Street Fair on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Oct. 26.

Peterson, who launched the company in summer 2011, said she's considering creating orange blossom and rosewater syrups.

"I'm coming up with new flavors every day," she said.