I was in NYC the past week to attend some food and cocktail events and to tape some spots about summer time cocktails and spirits for a radio show, during the first heat wave of the summer. For several days the temps were in the mid to high 90's and the whole city was in meltdown. Everyone walked around slightly spaced out and dragging their feet, myself included. For me the weather was a real killer because I live on the coast of Maine and the warmest it had been all year was a day or two in the low 70's, with it so chilly at night I still had the heat on every night since last September. The morning I left for NYC it was 42 degrees out and I started the drive with my heat on high in my car, by noon the AC was cranked instead.

As I walked out of the radio studio on my last day in town it was the hottest yet. 96 degrees in the shade and the humidity was so high that you felt like you could actually feel the water sitting lifelessly in the air. I broke into a full sweat before I had walked ten feet and I started to think about waving down a taxi. My original plans were to walk from the financial district, north up to Chinatown to get some eats and buy some lychee fruit, and then through Soho and into the East Village. Now it didn't seem like a very good idea at all.

Now that summer, with all its attendant heat and humidity, is in full swing in New York City, I often find myself indulging in foods that I like to refer to as edible A.C. This includes everything from such main dishes as cold soba noodles and Korean naeng myun to desserts, like Taiwanese shaved ice, various types of psychedelic colored Indonesian ices and the ubiquitous Italian ice.

I admit some sheepishly that I've never cooled down with kakigori, or Japan's contribution to the world of sweet shaved ice desserts. And I've certainly never tried Champagne Kakigori mainly because it was only invented just this summer in Tokyo.

Maxim's de Paris, a posh spot in Chuo makes its version of this decidely adult snocone by starting with shaved ice mixed with fruit and herb extracts. Then the bartender tops it off with what I'm hoping for $18 a pop turns out to be a goodly pour of Dom Perignon.

[via Inventor Spot]

Shaved ice doesn't seem to be quite as popular as it once was, perhaps due to the huge surge in popularity that ice cream enjoyed when the concept of mix-ins became popular. After all, you can't really mix smashed up candy bars into a bunch of ice and get the same effect. Shaved ice is still a great summer treat, though. A pile of ice doused with flavored syrup is tasty, cooling and (in what seems to be a huge selling point for kids) will often turn your tongue different colors. This electric ice cream shaver allows you to make shaved ice at home, quickly grating ice cubes into fluffy ice shavings waiting for flavorings.

The biggest drawback to making this treat at home is that it can be hard to find syrups. Torani syrups can be used to make great snow cones and come in over 50 flavors. Get watermelon and root beer for the kids and something more grown up, like creme de cacao or amaretto, for yourself. You can also try making shaved ice without syrups using a fresh berry topping or a vodka-spiked flavoring.

Snow is beautiful when freshly fallen, gently blanketing everything it touches in shimmering whiteness. For some, fresh snow means skiing, snowboarding and sledding, while others simply enjoy making snow angels or building snowmen. To others, there is nothing more satisfying than an enthusiastic snowball fight, followed by a mug of hot chocolate. Except one thing: snow cones.

Instead of freezing water and shaving it down into the white fluff, take advantage of fresh, new-fallen snow if you have the opportunity. Simply pack a glass tightly with clean snow, mounding it up over the rim, then top with any flavor syrup you like. You can purchase syrups at stores like Target or make your own, in addition to using natural flavorings, such as maple syrup. Try adding shaved coconut to the snow for an extra layer of flavor and a bit of texture.