Born in New Orleans. Only at SnoLaLa.
At SnoLaLa, we make snoballs the way they’ve been made in New Orleans for generations — no shortcuts, no substitutes. We shave our ice on machines built in New Orleans since 1934, use only flavors made in the city or made by us, and never add preservatives. Our cream blends feature real Carnation® evaporated milk and Eagle Brand® condensed milk — just like the snoball stands I grew up with back home.
Rooted in tradition. Built on quality. Served with pride.
Menu Items
Regular Flavors
Our regular flavors are sourced from multiple vendors in New Orleans (we’ve tried almost 200 so far, and continue to look for perfection). We use a traditional sugar syrup made daily and custom extract ratios by flavor. All of our flavors are made only with C&H Pure Cane Sugar. Never generics.
Cream Flavors
Cream flavors are selected to marry well with a mixture of syrup and evaporated milk giving these flavors a richness boost that starts getting closer to ice cream than a snoball. Classic NOLA cream flavors include Nectar, Wedding Cake, Orchid Vanilla, and Red Velvet.
House Flavors
We are continually experimenting with new flavor profiles, different US extract suppliers, and custom blends. Flavors come and go, but you can always count on our Hansens inspired Satsuma and Hibiscus, as well as our new Orange Juice, Sicilian Ice Lemon, and two chocolates.
Specials & SnoShakes
Signature snowballs inspired by classic desserts—Zulu, Bayou Breeze, Cherry Belle, Tipitina, and Mambo. Crafted with straightforward, premium ingredients for deep, layered flavor that feels indulgent yet remains reasonably priced.
About SnoLaLa
In 1971, I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. My childhood was filled with experiences unique to this magical city—watching Mardi Gras parades which seemed larger than life itself, chasing after floats to catch beads, riding bikes behind vaporous (and likely cancerous) mosquito trucks in the sticky summer heat, and horsing around to brass bands in neighborhood second lines. Mid City and Bayou St. John were my playgrounds, a colorful tapestry woven with culture, community, and celebration.
In my late teens, my family moved away from New Orleans to Huntsville, AL, my wife’s hometown, but like anyone born and raised in New Orleans, we carry the spirit of the city with us wherever we go—cooking dishes from our childhood for family and friends, filling our homes with the sounds of jazz, blues, and rock that shaped us, and living with a uniquely New Orleans perspective: probably caring a bit too much about fried chicken, what we will have for our next meal, the weather, and perhaps not quite enough about bills, plans, or what tomorrow might bring.
The writer Lafcadio Hearn wrote, “Times are not good here. The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under taxes and frauds and maladministrations. But it is better to live here in sackcloth and ashes, than to own the whole state of Ohio.” That sentiment captures the beautiful paradox of New Orleans—it gives you countless reasons to hate it, yet you never do. The city is symbiotic, if you are able to see past its flaws. It becomes a permanent part of anyone who falls under its spell, exactly as it did for my wife the first time she visited.
Like many before her over the past three centuries, she embraced the city wholeheartedly, loving its quirks and dysfunction alongside its questionable football team, named potholes, crime problems, and daily chaos. In exchange, the rewards are New Orleans’ spontaneous charm, extraordinary cuisine, vibrant art, stunning architecture, timeless appeal, and magical culture.
We’d love to share a part of that magic with you, the New Orleans snoball.
What’s a Snoball?
The New Orleans snoball isn’t just a treat—it’s a tradition steeped in ingenuity, resilience, and the soul of the Crescent City. Its story begins in the early 20th century, when summers in Louisiana were a test of endurance, with humidity thick enough to slow time itself. Back then, ice was a luxury, delivered by horse-drawn carts to homes and businesses. Kids would chase the “ice man” down the street, begging for scraps to cool off. Enterprising vendors saw an opportunity using a wooden door plane to shave ice by hand and drizzling it with simple syrups to sell as a rudimentary refreshment. But it wasn’t until the 1930s that the snoball as we know it today took shape, thanks to two local visionaries: Ernest Hansen and George Ortolano.
Hansen, a machinist with a sweet tooth, and Ortolano, a grocer with a knack for tinkering, each invented mechanical ice-shaving machines that transformed blocks of ice into powdery, cloud-like snow. Before their creations, shaved ice was coarse—more like a snow cone’s gritty crunch. The Hansen and Ortolano machines, patented in the 1930s, produced a finer, fluffier texture that soaked up syrups like a sponge, delivering a melt-in-your-mouth experience unlike anything else. Word spread fast, and soon, snoball stands popped up across New Orleans, from corner lots to front porches.
What started as a Depression era treat became a cultural cornerstone. Families flocked to these stands, where syrups—crafted from local cane sugar and bursting with flavors like tart lemonade, floral nectar, or velvety chocolate—turned each snoball into a personal masterpiece. Some added condensed milk for extra richness, a nod to the city’s love of indulgence. By the 1940s and ‘50s, snoball stands were neighborhood hubs, places where kids traded nickels for sticky-fingered bliss and adults lingered to swap stories. Names like Hansen’s Sno-Bliz and Plum Street Snoballs became legends, their recipes and rituals passed down through generations.
Today, the snoball is woven into the fabric of New Orleans life. It’s a symbol of community, a cooling companion to jazz-filled nights and Mardi Gras parades, and a testament to the city’s knack for turning necessity into art. Every bite of that snowy goodness carries the spirit of NOLA—vibrant, resilient, and unapologetically sweet. At SnoLaLa we’re proud to keep this legacy alive, serving up authentic snoballs that taste like history in every spoonful.
Contact Us
Interested in catering an event or sending us a long narrative about how great snoballs are? Do it.