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A new restaurant and bar serving bright, boozy sno-balls opens in the Ninth Ward this weekend, just in time for summer to bear down on New Orleans. Stricen Carter, the owner and operator of Carrollton Avenue designer sno-ball spot Sweet Thangs, opens Nola Sips SnoBar and Bistro this Sunday, June 13 at 2633 St. Claude Avenue.
Carter is the brainchild behind both — the stand at 4202 S. Carrollton Avenue that serves snacks and elaborate, “designer” sno-balls, but without alcohol, and the new bistro and bar, which in addition to specializing in boozy sno-balls and Carter’s pouch cocktails, will serve crawfish fries and nachos, elote, wings, and burgers. Nola Sips SnoBar and Bistro is opening in the space that formerly held Freezy Street, New Orleans’s first rolled ice cream shop. It closed in early 2021 after a little more than three years, after which Carter took over the St. Claude Avenue address and began renovating.
Carter has built a joyful space in Nola Sips, with a glittery, sparkly epoxy bar countertop, made by Stricen, colorful lantern lights with dangling beads, and wall-filling, “NOLA” murals by Louisiana artist and teacher Deante Armstrong. Nearly everything comes in a rainbow of colors here — from the tables and chairs to the special Nola Sips popcorn made by Machine Lady Concessions down to the straws and color-changing spoons used to scoop the New Orleans-style, finely shaved sno-ball ice.
As for boozy sno-balls and cocktail pouches, they were Carter’s idea for a twist on the ubiquitous daiquiri, which in New Orleans amounts to any frozen alcoholic drink regardless of whether or not it contains rum. She started selling the pouches a few years ago at second lines, festivals, markets, and events, with the Capri Sun-style pouch making for a perfect on-the-go container, in flavors like a Hennessy-based mango passionfruit and vodka-spiked strawberry lemonade. The boozy sno-balls utilize the typically fluffy shaved ice found in New Orleans sno-balls, and are customizable with fresh fruit and the liquor addition of one’s choosing (the amount is also customizable).
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Beginning Sunday, June 13, 2021, Nola Sips Snobar and Bistro will be open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight at 2633 St. Claude Avenue; closed on Monday.
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