Skylite Snowballs: An Icy Taste of Baltimore in the East Bay
I lived in Baltimore as a kid. And while I’ve indulged in local delicacies like steamed blue crab and crab salad, apparently I missed out on the icy treats that Baltimoreans call snowballs. Until today that is. I was driving up Piedmont Avenue in North Oakland when I spotted a pale blue truck with a a row of colorful flavored syrups in the window. I parked and then walked up to the truck, just as an excited couple was approaching. They follow @Skylitesnowball on Twitter and were happy to find the truck. Kate — the cheerful young woman who launched Skylite Snowballs on Labor Day weekend, told me snowballs are always served in a cup, unlike Midwestern snow cones. The ice is grated more finely than a snowcone, but it’s not as fluffy as Hawaiian shave ice. In Baltimore and around the state of Maryland, snowballs are an old-fashioned treat…
October 9, 2010