Ice, Ice, Baby!
My dearest raspa, Before we confess our devotion, joy and love to you, we must give credit to all the barrio (neighborhood) heroes who have made you possible.
Gracias to all the puestecitos operated by our gente. Thanks to these colorful little snow cone stands, we can all enjoy our special flavors of the day. And we all know our favorite, perfectly placed stands — those with the smallest service windows; those just barely held together by plywood, white paint and mismatched hinges; the stands in front of people’s homes; the ones with blurry pictures for a menu; those with the bees buzzing nearby, reminding us we are not the only ones with a sweet tooth; and those we find just around the corner, near our schools, and in the many original curbside drive-thru spots. Puestecito operators, you make all our raspa dreams come true.
Any Time’s A Good Time
You, mi querida raspa (my beloved snow cone), are most desired when it’s a 100-degree beach day at the Island. Or maybe it’s during a backyard hangout with friends or familia on a hot Valley night. Football games are a good place for a raspa, too, or while walking the pulga on a Sunday morning. Sometimes, the mood hits in the middle of a Netflix binge or just because we want something thirst-quenching and delicious.
Ice, Ice, Baby!
We simply can’t resist you — especially your magical, glistening ice that beckons us visually, crisp and finely shaved, fluffy, soft yet crunchy, and somehow melting at an appropriate pace so we can best savor you. We don’t care if your ice is made by hand or by a machine. Those ice shavings are your mystical essence.
Gracias to all the puestecitos operated by our gente. Thanks to these colorful little snow cone tands, we can all enjoy our special flavors of the day.
So Many Choices!
Deciding what raspa to order is an art form, of course. It’s a mood with a multitude of choices to make: size, will you choose a natural sabor or leche, will you keep it sweet or maybe shake it up and make it spicy or both, toppings, or no toppings the list of choices goes on. Perhaps the ultimate dilemma is choosing between sweet or pica (spicy hot). Both schools have some heavy hitters. On the pica side, we have Chamoy, Tiger’s Blood, Diablito, Chango and the Salty Dog. But sweet offers Pink Leche, Grape, Bubble Gum, Mango, Cherry and the classic, Limón.
Of course, you recognized our selection struggle and transformed into the most iconic 956 raspa of all: the Piccadilly. A flavor bomb of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, tangy and what we in the culinary world call umami, you, my darling Piccadilly, have it all! Small pickle pieces at the bottom, then shaved ice with watermelon, chamoy or cherry flavor, topped with more pickle bits, finished off with a sprinkle of red or purple Kool-Aid to drive home the sour. Many will make the case that pickles do not belong with sweet foods, let alone a snow cone. But I can confidently say they just don’t get it. The real dilemma here is, grated pickles or chunky?
You have become a staple in our multi-flavored identity and in our cravings. Your evolution continues, as toppings like chile-dressed gummy candies have become all the rage.
One raspa that needs no evolution — because let’s face it, it is perfect just the way it is — is the Pink Leche. Sweet cream with cinnamon and spices that one can never really pinpoint, with red food coloring or sometimes strawberries, topped off with a little lecherita (sweet condensed milk). Every time I have this raspa, I feel like a loving abuelita (grandmother) just gave me a hug. Most every stand claims to have its own secret house-made syrup for the Pink Leche. I believe it, since I’ve tried more than 13 different Pink Leches. Don’t even ask me to pick a favorite. Impossible.
Savor The Memories
Raspa, we know you’re a year-round snack possibility, but we raspa run most often in the summer, cuando se pone bien caliente (when it gets really hot). That cold, crisp, crumbly ice we talked about — the ice we squish with our straw to make that special cshhksh, cshhksh, cshhksh sound — is Valley music. There’s also that heartbreaking sound when there’s no more juguito (juice) left, and we have to eat what’s left of the ice.
Mi querida raspa, thank you for all the memories you have given us. We look forward to all the flavors yet to be explored.
If you find yourself in the 956 this summer, or if you’ve just moved here from up north or from outer space, I invite you to visit a raspa stand. Partake of this delicious Valley tradition. It offers not only a refreshing treat, but also a meaningful connection to our South Texas roots, to what makes our community glisten. Make this summer your best raspa season yet. Welcome the brain freeze, the stained lips, the sticky fingers and all the many flavorful memories.
