Williams Plum Street Snowballs and Camellia Grill

Many years ago, someone told me that the Irish liked to eat their desserts before their main meal. When I asked why, the person responded jokingly that the Irish did so in case they died in the middle of the meal (at least they could have their dessert!) When I travelled to Ireland, I did not find this story to be the case, but I find it endearing nonetheless (better yet, it gives me an excuse to eat sweets before a meal...which was the case this past Thursday).

Thursday was one of those really hot days in New Orleans--where you step outside and the humidity immediately grabs you in a steamy hug. On my way to Camellia grill, I decided to walk to Plum Street Snoballs (also known as Williams Plum Street Snowballs). At this point, you are probably wondering what in the world a snoball/sno-ball/snowball is. Well, it is kind of like a snow cone, and it is kind of like Hawaiian shaved ice, but it also distinctly different than these two icy desserts. The shaved ice that makes a snoball a snoball is created by a unique machine called "Hansen's Sno-Bliz" which produces incredibly fine snow-like shaved ice that is then drenched in homemade syrups.

I was so lucky! I walked up to Plum Street Snoballs and did not have to wait in line! I arrived just after a group of 3rd graders had made their way through the small shop, and just before a troop of screaming 4th graders walked up in line behind me. I walked up to the screen door marked "in" and stepped inside the incredibly small space (about 10 feet by 8 feet). A young woman was operating the Sno-Bliz machine. She carefully packed my shaved ice into a chinese-takeout container, and another young woman asked me what flavor I wanted. Upon the suggestion of New Orleans food writer, Sara Roahen, I tried the cream of nectar syrup. This syrup is a creamy pink-orange color and is devilishly sweet. It is common for New Orleanians to ask for condensed milk as a topping for their snoballs, but I just stuck with the syrup this time. I ooched 3 feet to the left and paid for my summer treat. $2.20. Totally worth it! I sat on the sidewalk across the street and indulged in my forbidden dessert-before-the-meal. I could hear countless imaginary mothers saying, "You'll spoil your lunch!" But I didn't care. The snoball was so good (and I got the smallest size!)

After my renegade trip to Plum Street Snoballs, I headed up to Carrollton Avenue to Camellia Grill. I had meant to go to Camellia Grill when I was in New Orleans in 2009, but I never made it that far uptown (and I was not inclined to battle the long lines and chaotic atmosphere of this infamous New Orleans diner). So, I arrived to a somewhat empty and not-so-chaotic Camellia Grill around 2:00 in the afternoon. I sat down at the counter next to three middle aged men who were in New Orleans filming a movie. Our waiter swaggered over to our counter and deftly whipped out a few menus for us to look at, while also skillfully slapping an order sheet in front of each of us in a series of swift movements. A few minutes later he came back to scribble our orders down and call out the order to the cook--he did so with authority. I was amazed that the line cook actually remembered the 4 orders so easily (I could barely follow the coded communication). But these men were experts at diner cuisine. While I waited for my hamburger, I enjoyed people watching and chatting to the men next to me. They told me about their culinary adventures in the city: Dookey Chase's, Commander's Palace, Maggie Mae's. I suggested that they try the po'boys at Parkway Bakery and hit up Cochon Butcher for a pulled pork sandwich. Meanwhile, our orders arrived. The hamburger was simple perfection: bun, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, a slice of American cheese, mayo and real beef. I think the key is in the real beef (so rare these days in the empire of fast food dining). This hamburger was a true guilty pleasure...good thing I am keeping up an exercise regime to stay in some kind of shape! For dessert I ordered a slice of homemade pecan pie (Yes, that is right...I had two desserts that afternoon) The waiters bantered with one another as they whipped up my dessert, slapping the pecan pie upside down on the griddle to heat it up and give it that extra "seasoning" from the griddle to make it o-so-good! The pie was delicious and the coffee was strong. A good combination. While I was working on my dessert, I noticed that my waiter had switched roles in the kitchen and was now acting as the griddle cook, then before I knew it, he was back to waiting on another couple (you have to be versatile when you work in a place like Camellia Grill where there could be up to 35 people sitting at the counter at a time). I would definitely come back to Camellia Grill (and I would make sure that I hit the restaurant at a non-peak time, so that I wouldn't have to wrestle my way through the crowd).