Tampa Pop-Up With A Great Name Makes The Best Shave Ice

There are so many positive things to say about Tampa Snow Shave Ice that it's hard to find a place to begin. Let's start with the centerpiece, if you're looking for the best shave ice in Tampa this place is for you.

This is a pop-up and the even better news is, you can even book Tampa Snow yourself. Before you do, you may have the question, what makes this shave ice different or special? To answer that we need to take the subject back one step further.

What exactly is shave ice and how is it different than a snow cone? I first had shave ice on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. It was also the first time I was introduced to such a thing or had even heard of it. There's a reason why it is so common and popular in Hawaii. It's also important to note, the proper term is "shave" ice not "shaved" ice.

In fact, Hawaiian Airlines has a detailed overview on the origins of this cool treat and how it dates back to the 1800's. "To cool off, Japanese immigrants in Hawaii used their tools to shave flakes off large blocks of ice, and then coated it with sugar or fruit juice," they explain.

Kitchen Aid makes produces products that allow you to make as close to shave ice as you can in your own home. They also have more common snow cone makers. They are two different products because although the shave ice and snow cones are similar and use the same ingredients, they have significantly different attributes.

"The primary difference between Hawaiian shave ice and snow cones is the texture of the ice," Kitchen Aid said. It's more common to use a spoon with shave ice. That is because, "Hawaiian shaved ice is made by ice that has been shaved into a fine, powdery consistency." A snow cone is packed in tight with more of a crunch in a way that a popsicle has, where it can be sucked.

Tampa Snow is such an engaging and clever name that properly represents that cheer of such a cool treat. They describe themselves by saying, "Tampa Snow Shave Ice is a Woman Minority Owned Business that travels the city to bring joy & cool right to you!"

The craft traditional shave ice that packed into a plastic basket-style bowl and handed to each happy customer with a spoon-straw for as little as $3. Their flavors include watermelon, strawberry, and pineapple. If you can't decide which one to go with, you can do a half-and-half combo.

Tampa Snow Shave Ice is available for private parties or neighborhood get togethers. You can follow their locations on their Instagram as well.

Bronson Arroyo pitched in the major leagues for 17 years, winning a World Series title in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox. Obviously, baseball has always been a big part of his life. And so has music. Arroyo, who grew up in the greater Tampa area is also a guitar player, singer, and songwriter. He released his first album, Covering The Bases, in 2005. It features covers of Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam - who is listed here as one of Arroyo's favorite Tampa concert experiences.

Just like taking the mound, Arroyo has also taken to a few stages. He's rocked with Pearl Jam and he's jammed with Eddie Vedder at the singer's solo concerts. He's also performed regularly at benefit concerts such as Boston's Hot Stove Cool Music. In fact, Arroyo's first time performing live was at the Hot Stove Cool Music benefit in 2012. Legendary baseball analyst, Peter Gammons, suggested Arroyo play a song. So he did, performing a cover of Pearl Jam's "Black."

Two weeks ago, Arroyo played with his band the '04 at the Innings Festival in Tampa. This was the second year this unique festival occurred in Tampa. It's a unique mash-up of mainstream live music and professional baseball.

In addition, Arroyo just released his new record Some Might Say on February 17. This a collection of 10 original songs, some of which were played live at Innings Fest for the firs time.

He's also a big music fan. The 2023 baseball season is finally here. So, it felt like the perfect time to reconnect with the legend. We spoke with him about his three favorite Tampa concert experiences.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers took their Stadium Arcadium tour to stadiums all around the world. Though this tour lasted almost two years, this was the only stop in the Tampa region. The show consisted of a 20-song setlist (5 Stadium Arcadium tracks), bookended by a Flea, John Fruciante, Chad Smith jam. Red Hot Chili Peppers first Tampa show was back in 1986 at the London Victory Club.

The Lumineers' first official world tour in support of their debut record comes to the University of South Florida campus. They closed with a cover of "Sweet Virginia" by the Rolling Stones. The Lumineers have only played Tampa proper three times, twice since then (2017, 2022). This Saturday night show was the second to last stop on their U.S. 2013 run. The band did not return to Florida until 2017.

The home of the Tampa Bay Lightning is also the home to one of Bronson Arroyo's favorite Tampa concert nights. Pearl Jam started their 2016 tour in South Florida, with show number three in Tampa (formerly named the St. Pete Times Forum). How about a 32 song setlist with two encores that included John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix covers. In total, songs from 10 different Pearl Jam records were performed. R.E.M.'s "It Happened Today" served as the band's walk up to the plate music. This was the band's most recent Tampa area show.