New Orleans: undoubtedly known for the best food in the country, whether it’s crawfish, red beans and rice, or banana fosters. One of the core desserts native to this wonderful city is the snowball, which we often take for granted. Whether it’s after school, a weekend refreshment, or after a delicious po-boy at Domilise’s, Hansen’s is always (or should be) the first place you think of when you think of delicious snowballs in New Orleans. Now, let’s break down every single ingredient that goes into the making one of the most delicious sweets you’ll ever have in your lifetime.

While there are lots of other snoball stands, lots of which are even incomparable to the OG Hansen’s, they lack lots of things that Hansen’s has, including uniqueness, a family legacy, and the delicious snow and flavors that the owner/ workers pour their hearts in to (trust an employee like myself when I say that). One of the main things that Hansen’s prides itself in is its ice machine, which was hand-crafted by Ernest Hansen himself in 1939, and brought the closest things to snow lots of New Orleanians had ever experienced in their lifetime.  The machine transforms a block of ordinary ice into the soft, fluffy, snow that immediately melts when in contact with your mouth. I can stop there because that enough makes Hansen’s a winner, but I’ll go on and list all the other amazing things about the snowball stand.

Moving on the next breakdown of the snowballs: the flavors. Not only is Hansen’s famous for its unique flavors such as Nectar cream, but it also mixes a wide variety of New Orleans inspired aromas, including bananas fosters, café sno-lait, or even adding a little kick to the snowballs with something such as ginger cayenne. In addition to these everyday selections, they also offer weekly specials that are for the more outgoing customers, and offer flavors from rosemary and spearmint, to grapefruit, to pecan pie, just to keep the customers on their toes. The flavors and the ice are definitely one of the biggest (and tastiest) power couples in New Orleans.

Lastly, I want to talk about the environment, which I think is a huge part of the business, especially since I work there and serve such a diverse amount of people. People come from all across New Orleans, and wait in line for a very long time just to experience a true New Orleans snowball (if that doesn’t say enough I don’t know what does). Hansen’s is a family-run business, and the daughter of the original owners runs the business currently. It’s such a friendly environment and you really see such a varied crowd come far and wide for one of these famous snowballs. I’ll see a ton of people I never would have suspected crossing paths with ever in a lifetime; I’ll see people that come with scoured change from their car just to buy one of the desserts; I’ll see a worn out family who came all the way just to give their child the experience of a Hansen’s snobliz. It is the little moments like this that make you so glad to be a part of New Orleans, and so glad that you all have something you love to help unite everyone in a way that makes them so happy that they don’t care if they just waited an hour in the hot summer heat to get a $5 snowball. This is what makes Hansen’s not only the best snowball stand in New Orleans, but in quite possibly the whole world.

On a final note, I just wanted to recommend some good flavors for those of y’all that might wanna go out and get some Hansens since you’re probably craving it right now:

And lotssssss more!!!!!!