4801 Tchoupitoulas St. (Uptown) 504.891.9788. Cash only. Update: Hansen's is open for the 2011 season! Open in the summer (roughly: Jazz Fest to Labor Day). Tuesday through Sunday: 1pm to 7pm. Okay -- the final proof that we are brain-addled is that we can and do have strong opinions about shaved ice plus sugar water. Our feeling is this: Hansen's is the best. All the other neighborhood homers eventually bow down, and get in line. Every three feet Hansen's has a sign that reminds you that "There is No Shortcut to Quality." Maybe it's meant to mollify while you endure long lines plus uptown frat boys. And the truth is: the lines are long, mild irritation often sets in. So it is that much more of a testament ... the. best. ever. They work the tried and true syrups into new and successful combinations. And they put it over ice that has been shaved into snow. We debate whether it is the blade, or the technique or the temperature of the ice (it is the temperature of the ice), but the truth is that you can sit next to a frat boy riffing on a Dave Matthews song and almost love him if you have a Hansen's in your hand.
