There’s something about a snow cone — the neon colors, the sticky residue on your hands and clothes and the cold relief hitting your tongue after being in the sun — that just screams summer.
After a winter that has felt aggressively endless, I was desperate for even the smallest reminder of warm weather.
So when I heard that people were bundling up for the opening of Bahama Buck’s on Jan. 27, I was immediately hopeful that it might make me feel like it was July in the middle of an incredibly bleak February.
Each baby Sno — their smallest size — was $4.99, which, while it was a decent portion size, still felt overpriced for flavored ice.
I started with the Dreamsicle, which turned out to be the highlight of my visit.
I added cream, which was an unnecessary $1.49, but made the cone taste like the nostalgic Creamsicle popsicle. The orange flavor had a subtle tang, the cream rounded the slightly sour and sweet orange, and even though there were a few flavorless icy patches, the taste got better as I dug deeper.
The ice itself had an extremely pleasant, fluffy texture that melted in my mouth, making the tangy‑cream combo even smoother with every bite. This one though, ended up being the only cone I finished.
With a name like “Warhead Extreme,” I braced myself for the kind of flavor that makes your face pucker.
Instead, the blue raspberry flavor took over with hardly a sourness. The ice was drenched in syrup to the point of staining my teeth and gave the Sno a deep teal hue that made it look more radioactive than it tasted. Although the syrup was flavorful, it made my supposed-to-be icy treat into a liquid.
I also chose to add Princess Sprinkles, which, I found out, were tiny pink bits of sugar. While they’re an overpriced topping, they broke up the flavored ice with a crunch in most bites.
This cone had promise, but it never reached the level of “extreme” it proudly advertised.
The Royal Princess Sno was described as “princess flavored,” which intrigued me enough to select it as my third and final treat. And when it came out, the bright pink color lived up to its name.
After tasting it, I’m still perplexed as to what the mystery flavor was supposed to be, but it landed somewhere between bubblegum toothpaste and artificial cotton candy. It had a nauseating aftertaste, and my teeth hurt from the extreme sweetness.
It also contained my beloved Princess Sprinkles, which were once again the highlight. This Sno, by far, had the least syrup, but that didn’t stop the sickly sweet taste from lingering in my mouth.
My preferences ended up following the exact order I tried them: Dreamsicle at the top, Warhead Extreme comfortably in the middle and Royal Princess trailing behind.
Bahama Buck’s offers undeniably soft, high‑quality ice, along with playful flavor options, making it a fun stop for a summer treat. But these three cones sealed the decision that it won’t be a regular go‑to for me, and instead, more of a pick-me-up in a pinch this summer.
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