Oasis Coffee Company

Don’t let the name fool you. Oasis Coffee Company makes a mean snow cone to help you cool down on hot summer days. And you’ll need help. The double-sided drive-through is located in a parking lot at the Greenville Avenue and Bethany Drive intersection in Allen. An umbrella offers shade over Oasis’ one picnic table, or you can always stay in your car if you’d like to savor your snow cone before the sun kills it.

After you’ve made your “here” or “to go” decision, be prepared to pick a flavor … or three. Oasis offers three sizes of snow cones in plastic foam cups, and you can mix up to three flavors. Standards like cherry, strawberry and grape are available. Or you can get a little adventurous. Marshmallow! Wedding cake! Half-strawberry and half-cotton candy! Buttered popcorn! My niece and nephew loved buttered popcorn, which tastes like kettle corn. But they’re 2 years old. When my nephew said he liked the buttered popcorn-flavored snow cone, my response was, “Are you sure?” His mother’s response, “Are you serious?” My favorite was the half-strawberry and half-cotton candy. It tastes like strawberries dipped in sugar.

Other flavors we recommend on the menu of 65 (which includes 10 sugar-free options) are margarita, pumpkin spice, coffee and Popeye. We also recommend the stuffed snow cone — it’s got a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle.

-- Bridgette Williams