Imperial Woodpecker Sno-balls

I had such high expectations, and was simply heart broken. The lady was very nice and patient, and they give plenty of juice. The ice was chunky and not smooth at all. Still wondering why this stand has so many raving reviews. If you’re hot and want something sweet to cool off, it will do the trick, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to have another one.

We met Neesa a few weeks ago at a friend’s wedding, and immediately asked her to make sno-​balls for our wedding BBQ. Neesa was absolutely amazing to work with. She was flexible as we kept changing the BBQ location, including a few minutes before it was supposed to start. She was helpful and positive the entire time — many guests commented on her kindness and much they enjoyed their minutes talking to her. Towards the end when we realized my car was dead, Neesa volunteered to bring her car over, and stayed for almost an hour helping to jump my car. She was consistently asking how she could help me when she had plenty to do making delicious sno-​balls. Her sno-​balls were a huge hit with our family and friends. We can’t wait to have another event so that we can include Neesa and Imperail Sno-​balls.

One sweet memory of new orleans
I was staying in a nearby Hilton and was craving something creamy and sugary. Went to check out Unilocalers’ recommendation of what’s good around the area.
At first I thought this place was selling typical hawaiian shaved ice, that is shaved ice cubes with syrup on top. And since I was craving for something creamy as well I was thinking of going to Haagen Dazs instead. But the walk there was a bit too long so I decided to try this.
There were no lines at all. It was very empty and made me doubt if it was good at all. But Unilocalers’ reviews hardly disappoint so I gave it a try.
The nice girl at the counter suggested Nectar Cream and made some other suggestions. So I just went with her first suggestion: Nectar Cream. ***not sure if the name was correct but for sure it started with Nectar
Anyways it was good!!! It was creamy, which I liked, not overwhelmingly sweet. It had some almond taste to it, but not the gross fake almond flavors that you’d taste on cheap essence. The almond taste was light and not overpowering. Just nice! Very happy with the ice

Oh yes. This was my first sno-​ball with condensed milk as a topping and it was a memorable one. I’m a fan of the cream flavors as a base and condensed milk and possibly also ice cream as an add-​in.

This snowball did not disappoint! It was good from the beginning to the end! The long wait for pick up was even worth it! It took me a second to catch on to their system… Order on the rt side and pick up on the left!

Delicious!
I ordered a large blackberry/​raspberry snowball with sweetened condensed milk on top.
The flavor was great, and there was just enough syrup. The ice had a really nice texture too.
The only disappointment was that the wait was insanely long. The day we went was extremely hot (well over 90 degrees), and there was no shade nearby, but we waited for nearly 20 minutes. There were 3 girls working in the cart, but only one snowball came out every few minutes. (if not for the wait I would give 4 stars)
Location wise — other than needing shade, it is great. There is a beautiful fountain, and an outdoor patio that had some music playing nearby. Also, you’re right next to some outlet stores.

While a certain powdered sugar topped piece of fried dough might get more attention in the dessert game in this city, I’d take a sno-​ball instead any day. And, when the days in New Orleans top out at over 90 degrees, a sno-​ball is significantly more satisfying. While a sno-​ball *looks* like your run of the mill snow cone, the taste is totally different. The ice is not the scratchy and coarse stuff from your typical carnival truck, but incredibly light and tiny and fluffy. The syrups come in more flavors than you can imagine, and all are made with real sugar as opposed to that nasty corn syrup stuff. The ratio of homemade syrup to fluffy snow is also perfect — not too sweet, but also totally saturated.
Imperial Woodpecker Sno-​ball are notable because they’re the closest spot to get one of these frozen treats to both the French Quarter and the Central Business District. So, if you’re a tourist in New Orleans and you want to try a sno-​ball, this is the spot you’ll want to come. Just look for the pale yellow food truck/​stand permanently parked by the riverfront with the line out front.

These are good, but a little pricey. Also, not the greatest decision when you’re already drunk to eat a sno-​ball. I had to vomit. I didn’t but still. Also weird location.

It’s out on the river walk, by Poydras, on the plaza with the fountain. THey have a wide range of choices, a few cream choices, and several specials. They can also throw condensed milk onto anything for $ 1 extra. I tried the Orchid cream special, it was a vivid purple. I had no regrets, it was just what I wanted on a hot day walking around New Orleans. The ice was very finely shaved, better than a Snow-​Cone. BTW, don’t call it a Snow-​Cone, the New Orleans name is Snow-​Ball. The syrup was generously poured — the ice was filled up partway and syrupped, then more ice went on top, then more syrup. There was enough that, even though it did start sinking to the bottom, there was still a decent amount of syrup as I ate. I got a few complimebts and questions about it as I walked on canal — it did look very refreshing, and the purple was eye-​catching.

The ice is similar to Hansen’s. Really good. Lots of good flavors and some experimental ones. It’s the kind of snoball you eat, no so much drink. If you’re looking for more juice/​syrup, let it sit for 15 minutes before you dive in. It’s a little on the pricey side for a snoball… I paid $ 5 for a medium but I did have cream flavors so…
They were also out of my favorite flavor.

Nice on a hot day but shaved ice is shaved ice. I tried the sweet nectar cream as well as the raspberry, strawberry, mango flavors and I’d recommend the flavors over the cream. I also requested condensed milk over everything as most people recommended but I personally thought that added too much sweetness and tainted the quenching quality of the shaved ice. Nice to try if you are passing by in the area and need a refreshment otherwise it is not a must that you should go out of your way to try.

I went to NOLA and this was a must to visit, so glad I made the time to stop by… Must say the best Ive had… The flavor, is to devour for and also very delicious! If your in the area don’t regret it later for not stopping by. This is a must every time I am in NOLA from now on…

August in New Orleans is the slowest of the slows. It’s hot, it’s humid, there’s a chance of a hurricane, and — frankly — it’s not that great smelling. So we New Orleanians are looking for an escape and in a city that lives to eat, ‘dem delicious fried treats are an unwelcome punch in the belly during the «armpit of the summer.»
Tourist or new city transplants may be scratching their heads wondering why there’s a sno-​ball stand on, like, every 5^th corner. Well folks, it’s because IT’S HOT and cooling down your core from within is absolutely necessary!
Imperial Woodpecker is a slice of sno-​ball sunshine to the newly bustling Spanish Plaza/​Riverwalk Outlet Collection area. A cheerful stand/​cart sits near the fountains offering many refreshing flavors in various sizes. They also offer Zapp’s potato chips! Yaya! I love the combo of Zapp’s & sno-​balls. It’s my uniquely New Orleans answer to the Wendy’s chocolate frosty & french fry combo :-)
On an extra spicey August afternoon, an afternoon where I actually passed someone on the street stating, «maybe a bloody mary was the wrong choice» (I agreed) I made the trot down Canal to the plaza area to give Imperial Woodpecker a try.
Everything about my experience at Imperial Woodpecker was pleasant! The décor was colorful, the fellow taking my order was cheery, and the mini sno-​ball I order was a generous portion! I decided to try the Sweet Lou’s cream flavor (their signature). I was very tempted to add a scoop of ice cream on top for $ 1 extra, but I’ll save that indulgence for another time.
My sno-​ball was everything a great New Orleans sno-​ball should be: generous portion, flavorful syrup, cold & refreshing, and left my tongue not only colorful, but wanting more!
I can’t wait to bring others (both local and visiting alike) to this stand for a yummy treat!

Ouch this place has higher prices and smaller portions than Hansen’s! This is a small little trailer snowball stand located at Spanish Plaza that caters mainly to a tourist crowd and they charge tourist prices. The ice and syrups here are pretty good but not as good as Hansen’s. The upside is that I’ve never seen a line here so if you’re willing to pay the price you can avoid standing in line at other snowball joints. I’m willing to pay Hansen’s prices for their unique product (as they have the best ice and handmade flavors which come in larger sizes than you can get at Imperial Woodpecker) while the snowballs here just seem very undersized and overpriced to me. They have a good product here but I find it a very poor value due to price and dainty portion size so I will leave it to the tourists.

Neesa makes amazing flavors with just the right amount of sweet! The Lemon Basil was so refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day — it starts out lemony with just a hint of basil at the end. Lovely!
This place is worth the trip uptown!
«That was the cleanest snowball stand I have ever seen!!!» — mom (literally copied and pasted from a text)

Expensive, but good snowball.
It’s not as good as the ice at Hansens. It doesn’t have the flavor options of Plum Street. And it’s not as cheap as Snowizard.
But all in all, a good snowball. The flavors are a little lighter than most places, but delicious all the same. I had a bubble gum/​ice cream mix. There was no line so that is an advantage.
One downside is that you have to make your way to the location through loads of tourists to find the little cart outside of the outlet mall. And the prices are higher than almost every other snowball place in Nola. A 4 oz. snowball is $ 3 and an 8 oz. snowball is $ 4 with larger sizes costing even more.

This place is delicious. Unfortunately the guy told me there were going out of business. I had the margarita and mojito snowcone. The syrup was delicious. It wasn’t too syrupy and it had the best flavors. I also loved that it came in a chinese takeout container, which was super cute.
I will be sad to not have this treat during summer 2014 in NYC, but alas woodpecker snowballs, you were amazing. I will miss you.

The first time I had a snoball was at the Hester Street Fair. I couldn’t narrow down my selection so I asked if they could make some concoction that was colorful. I’m pretty sure it was some sort of lavender color with condensed milk. It tasted great and when the weather was warmer I suggested a group of us go make the trip to their ever changing (it seems as though this is the case) location on Gansevoort. My brother had pineapple, my boyfriend had red velvet with condensed milk and I had a concoction of flavors (it was gay pride day and I was trying to create a rainbow, but instead it looked like a geode… it tasted fabulous nonetheless). It was a great way to cool off. Excellent service!
They’re closed for now (cold weather months) but I believe they will be back in the spring. All their info is on their Facebook page.

Sooo Legit!!!
There are sooooooo many good things to say about IWSno-​balls. I’ve been an avid shaved ice, sno-​ball, italian ice, icee, anything ice fan since my corner pizza joints starting scooping up the rainbow stuff. I remember as a kid, I would gather every dime and nickel around the house just to get taste on a hot summer day. Sounds like my addiction starting at a young age. But then there was IWSno-​balls and it brought back all the good vibes with an addition dose of condensed milk. I’ve read and heard about Nessa’s shop, but I finally got to meet her. Not only did she introduced me to Sweet Nectar Cream, the stuff that got me feining, she was straight up awesome, and the reason I come back.
Bring your kids, bring the wife, bring the whole class, a friend, just do them the favor.

How do you evaluate a summer romance? Do you cherish the happy memories or bemoan the star crossed inevitability to the relationship? Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve never had one.
There were many opportunities when I could’ve let myself get carried away in the moment, but the responsibility and discipline that Jesuit priests had drilled into me made me reconsider. They told me,” it’s not healthy. It can only get in your way. Resist the temptation.” And, I did. Even though the siren song would call out loudly, I held fast and never had one. Till this summer. Even though it’s not the same.
Gola (aka Gola Ganda /​Malai Gola). That’s what shaved ice is called in the Indian subcontinent. In hot summer months, when push cart vendors were hawking loudly, and all my friends were rushing out the gates of the school to get one, I would be the lone kid to turn his back and walk towards the cafeteria instead. School year was competitive, and one couldn’t afford to miss a few tests without it impacting your performance. Unfortunately, shaved ice vendors were notorious for their lack of hygiene, and the likely outcome of a dalliance with them was sick days.
Technically, Sno-​balls are not the same as Sno-​cones. A sno-​ball is made from finely shaved block ice and has a consistency between Italian ice and a sno-​cone (made from coarsely crushed ice and having a rougher, larger particle). A sno-​ball feels like feathery light, synthetic snow, but there is a method to the finer ice texture — it has to hold the syrup that is poured on top, otherwise it would all collect at the bottom of the carryout container that holds it together.
I understand that the owner of Imperial Woodpecker got the idea of opening a sno-​balls place (for this summer only) inspired from two New Orleans institutions: Hansen’s Sno-​bliz and Plum Street Snoballs. To her credit, she’s always smiling, stays calm under pressure, and connects well with people — despite the steady stream of customers, most of whom are clueless about the product and what to order. Lately, I’ve begun to wonder if my frequent visits are more a result of her charm than anything else, given the fact that there are 4 gelato shops in the vicinity!
I will defer to conventional wisdom on the syrups used for sno-​cones that the flavors are obviously artificial and their colors garish. I think that one would have similar complaints across the much wider selection (30+) of flavors here at Imperial Woodpecker (I love the name!), except that some of them work well with the optional topping of condensed milk (Malai in India). Two of the flavors I’ve really enjoyed are Almond Cream and Key Lime Pie — but both captured my heart only as long as the condensed milk kept them company. However, after the initial few spoons the novelty wears off — and once the condensed milk is gone, all the sno-​ball does is to help you cool off.
So, let me also continue the tradition of the Jesuit priests, and pass on some advice for your summer romance: go slow with those sno-​balls. 96 calories never really hurt anyone, and they do satisfy a physiological need, but all you get when you go too fast is a brain freeze.