All right, fine. Ten years in New Orleans, with a four-year hiatus in NYC, and it took driving a visiting group of Reform Jewish women around to finally get me into Hansen's Sno-Bliz.

I had a Chocolate Mint one. In an spiffy 70th Anniversary cup.

The women I brought there raved about the ones they got as we watched the rain coming down under the awning of McKeown's Books across the street and reveled in our moment of cool in this disgusting heat.

Wonder how much the world's largest Sno-Bliz would be now?

I think the next time, the Reform Jewish women AND men who come to town ought to dig in to one of those. The surrounding neighborhood could join in. A Sno-Bliz block party.

Hell, I ought not to let fourteen years go by again without having another frozen treat from there. There may be no shortcuts to quality, but I'll be damned if I refrain from taking any to Hansen's.