Summer, for us parental types, is a time for heaping happy childhood memories upon our young. We all want our offspring to experience the cool old-fashioned things that we remember fondly, and/or to have other cool experiences we wish we could have had when we were their age. So we go, ritually, to the sno-ball stand at Walther Gardens, the family-run Northeast Baltimore plant shop where we will later go, ritually, for a Halloween pumpkin and a Christmas tree.
To our palate, a sno-ball is a sno-ball; skylite and egg cream probably taste the same regardless of venue. In fact, we don't even like sno-balls ourselves--but never mind. Walther Gardens has charm, character, and amenities that most sno-ball stands lack, such as park benches, hanging plants, and a very shady sycamore tree. We like the counter staff, headed by a sardonic young actor (in New York, he'd be waiting tables); we like the handwritten sign that politely but firmly advises customers not to talk on their cell phones while in line or "you will be IGNORED"; we like the array of neighborhood folks who sit and chat in the cool of the evening; we even like the sluggish family dogs. And we love the feeling of neighborhood tradition: The Sinsz family has been vending sno-balls here since the Great Depression. While our kids load up on frozen water, sugar, and artificial flavoring--with or without marshmallow fluff--we opt for a cup of vanilla ice cream. Summer after summer, the kids beg to go back. Mission accomplished.
