Summer time is approaching and that means it is time for reviews on ice cold treats. As usual, I employ the help of my nieces for these reviews. They agree to not turn me in for child labor in exchange for free desserts.
For the first review of the year, we ventured out to Derby for something you can’t find anywhere else: New Orleans Style Sno Balls. Welcome to Rockin’ Rico’s Gourmet Sno Balls.
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727 Baltimore Ave
Derby, KS 67037
316-305-2185
Monday – Friday: 3pm – 8pm
Saturday – Sunday: 1pm – 8pm
Cash/Card accepted (Card transactions have an extra 25 cents added on)
Facebook
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Don’t let yourself be confused at Rockin’ Rico’s. They don’t serve your average everyday snow cones, they serve New Orleans Style Sno Balls. There’s a difference.
A sno ball is a New Orleans confection made with finely shaved ice and flavored cane sugar syrup. Commonly confused with the snow cone, the ice of a sno-ball is fine and fluffy; while a snow cone’s ice is coarse, crunchy, and granular. Moreover, in a snow cone the flavored syrup sinks to the bottom of the cup; while in a sno-ball the ice absorbs the syrup.
The ice is the big difference between the two. Many of the popular stands you find around town serve snow cones. If you want sno balls, this is your place.
At Rockin’ Rico’s, they also have gourmet options that include soft serve ice cream along with other ingredients and toppings to take your sno-ball experience to a whole new level.
Here’s their menu:
Here are the prices for the sno balls:
Mini Rock (8oz.) – $1.75
Rockstar (12 oz.) – $2.00
Superstar (16 oz.) – $2.50
Megastar (20 oz.) – $3.00
Gourmet Flavors only come in 12 oz at $3.50
Any sugar free flavors cost an extra 50 cents
Toppings, extra flavors, extra syrup cost 25 cents each
There’s really a lot to choose from and it can be overwhelming. Fortunately after a year of first grade, my nieces can read now and I don’t have to go through every single flavor name for them; that saved a lot of time.
What didn’t save a lot of time was them literally reading each one…. one by one… and then narrowing down which one they wanted. We eventually narrowed it down to some select flavors: Tiger’s Blood with ice cream, Rainbow, Maraschino Cherry, Cotton Candy, and a couple others I can’t remember. Of course we had to try one gourmet flavor and settled on the Snickers Sno which consisted of praline, snickers, chocolate creme, vanilla creme and caramel drizzle.
This was a family affair review, not just myself and the kids. So if you are one of the kid’s parents reading this who did not go with us, please do not think I overdosed your children with pure sugar.
After quickly trying each one, it was no debate which flavor was the best: Tiger’s Blood with ice cream. As someone noted, “It’s the best Tiger’s Blood you’ll find; better than Summer Snow.”
The different texture of the ice was very noticeable as well. It wasn’t your harder shaved ice where some pieces were pure rocks of ice. This was softer and smoother. The sno ball ice did absorb the syrup better. But when you’re giving these treats to kids and how slow they eat everything, it’s all bound to melt anyways.
Overall it was a fantastic trip out to Rockin’ Rico’s for their New Orleans Style Sno Balls. For those of you making the trip out to try it, they have a drive-thru side and a walk up side. A park bench is located just north of the trailer for those wanting to just hang around.
There’s certainly a quality difference in the ice you’ll notice right away. The prices are very comparable with the competitors in town as well as a friendly and courteous staff; just solid all around.
You’ll be pleased with these sno balls.
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Happy Dining,
Eddy
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