Mardi Gras king cake and condensed milk snoball

Shaved ice has gotten really popular in NYC in the last couple of years.  Someone said it is the new cupcake.  My friend Jennie told me about this place called Imperial Woodpecker Sno-balls in the West Village and suggested I go try the shaved ice there.  So after the High Line, Kenny and I stopped by to check it out.  As if we haven’t had enough icy treats that day! 

Storefront

It was quite a walk to Imperial Woodpecker but it was a nice night out so we didn’t mind.  The store is located in the West Village and honestly, the West Village is confusing to me because it does not follow the standard grid system layout of the streets and avenues in NYC.  But now that we have smartphones and Google Maps to help guide us, it makes it that much easier I suppose.

Inside

The inside is small but very well lit.  Imperial Woodpecker specializes in shaved ice from New Orleans and some of their flavors reflect that.

Colorful menu

We shared a medium size with Mardi Gras King Cake syrup and condensed milk.  The sno-ball is served in a Chinese take-out box with a spoon and straw.

Shelf full of syrups

Their menu is pretty vast and all the syrup bottles are displayed on the shelf.  We enjoyed the sno-ball but we thought it was really sweet.  It was interesting that the Mardi Gras King Cake was a dark purple.  I wish we weren’t too full to try another flavor because I want to see if the other flavors were really sweet as well.  If you have a sweettooth and love shaved ice, this is definitely a place to try!

Imperial Woodpecker Sno-balls
145 7th Ave South
(between 10th St & Charles St)
New York, NY 10014