LITTLE ROCK — When the weather warms, what's better than a snow cone? Central Arkansas has plenty of spots to take the edge off the heat - from permanent stands to parking lots. We visited the regular haunts opened thus far, bought the wackiest flavor we could find and judged them on price, taste and amenities.

Purple Penguin Shaved Ice

10901 N. Rodney Parham Road (Kmart parking lot), Little Rock

Price: Regular flavors: $1 kid (8 ounces), $1.50 small (12 ounces), $2 medium (16 ounces) and $2.25 large (22 ounces). Add a quarter to each price for specialty flavors.

Flavors: Purple Penguin features more than 60 of the usual suspects (cotton candy, lemon-lime, peach, sour apple, etc.) on their regular flavor menu. But the specialty flavors get downright weird and wacky, such as Cotton Mouth Killer, E.T., Frog in a Blender, Godzilla, Ninja Turtle, Razorback and Smurf's Blood.

Purple Penguin also includes a collection of specialty cream flavors, including banana split, chocolate mint, mocha and others along with a number of sugar-free selections.

Presentation and taste: Served in a Styrofoam cup, Purple Penguin's snow cones lack an actual cone so there's no messy runoff.

I chose Purplesaurus Rex, a purple, bubble gum-flavored snow cone more cobalt in color but still tasty, although not exactly like purple bubble gum.

Amenities: While orders are taken at a small window, Purple Penguin does feature a shaded patio overlooking an asphalt parking lot and the hustle of Rodney Parham Road.

Popularity: Arriving at 4 p.m. on a weekday, Purple Penguin was at the tail-end of its post-school rush, with several children and teens in school uniforms awaiting the cold, delicious treats. But the line moved swiftly as I was in and out in under five minutes.

Cajun Sno

3000 block of Kavanaugh Boulevard, Little Rock

Price:The kiddie is $1.50, small $1.75, medium $2.25 and large $2.75. Toppings available include whipped cream, chocolate and angel syrup.

Flavors: A big board of approximately 70 flavors includes almost every kind of fruit imaginable, as well as some of the more exotics like Ninja Turtle and even white chocolate chip. Flavors also include seven sugar frees, mixes with cream (for 25 cents more) and specialties like homemade ice cream, which are 50 cents more.

Presentation and taste: Served in a Styrofoam cup with regular straw and plastic spoon, the syrup is just enough to flavor the incredibly soft ice without spilling over, leading to little mess. Given the stand's name, we tried the Cajun Sunset, a mix of tangerine and Cajun red hot flavors. It tasted like red hot candy, but with a subtle sweetness that kept it from getting hotter and hotter every bite. But the real star here was the ice, so soft it can barely be believed.

Amenities: Three benches, a handful of plastic lawn chairs and a couple of picnic tables - one for big kids, one for small - offer a lot of seating options, most of it in the shade.

Popularity: Whether it's the quality of the cone or the convenience of the location, this stand was packed during my whole visit as one car after another unloaded (kids and adults). At no time were there less than a dozen people around the stand, making the ample seating seem like it was in small supply. One out of every three in this crowd seemed to order the homemade ice cream flavor, and the workers in the stand said without a doubt it was the most popular, regardless of age.

Polar Delite

John F. Kennedy Boulevard near North Hills Boulevard. Behind the empty shopping center and near the city's recycling collection area. Sherwood

Price: Small, $1.75; medium, $2.25; large, $2.75. The small seemed like a very good deal for the amount I was given. The child's cup size was $1.50.

Flavors: I estimated about 60 flavors with interesting ones like Mardi Gras king cake, pink mai tai and one called Blue Orchid. The stand didn't have toppings on the menu.

Presentation and taste: Simple Styrofoam cup, spoon and napkin presentation. The Mardi Gras king cake was not tri-colored, but rather a shade of deep purple. It tasted like wedding cake mixed with grape - not exactly appetizing.

Amenities: Two wooden picnic tables set together in the parking lot. No shade trees around.

Popularity: No other customers on a Tuesday afternoon, but gets more popular in the evening hours. Stand worker said two of the most popular flavors this year are Tiger's Blood and Wedding Cake.

No name stand

Bryant near intersection of Stagecoach and Reynolds roads, across from Walgreens

Price: $1.50 for small; $1.75 medium; $2 large. Child's cup is $.75. I ordered a small but the snow cone was so good, I wished for a larger size.

Flavors: Roughly 55 flavors available from regular ones like root beer float to quirkier names like Rock and Roll, Razorback and the Swampy Snazzle. The latter was a mixture of blueberry, blue raspberry and coconut and quite delicious. Toppings like chocolate syrup and whipped cream are available.

Presentation and taste: The ice was impossibly light and fluffy, and the Swampy Snazzle juice was not too sugary. The only drawback to this snow cone was the snickers I got from other adults when the snow cone attendant looked at me and said, "Your Swampy Snazzle is ready." Despite that, I'd order it again.

Amenities: The stand has quaint-looking wooden benches and green umbrellas.

Popularity: Near a dance school, the stand was quite popular with adults, children and anyone driving home on Stagecoach after work. The stand attendant said without hesitation that the most popular flavor is wedding cake.

Summer Snow

Intersection of Arkansas 100 and Arkansas 365 at the north end of Maumelle.

Price:The 8 oz. junior is $1.25, 12 oz. small $1.50, 16 oz. medium $2, and 20 oz. large $2.25. Cream is an extra 25 cents.

Flavors: An assortment of at least 40 different flavors, with lots of opportunity to mix and match. The results end up with anything from cotton candy to the fruity mix called the olive breeze. Local specialties include the D-Mac and Bad Intentions (Darren McFadden and Jermain Taylor both having ties to the area), as well as the in-house creation known only as "the Concoction."

Presentation and taste: A nice soft ice is layered with syrup in a Styrofoam cup and served with a straw-spoon. A generous hand with the syrup can lead to some overflow and sticky fingers later, but that's better than being under-syrupped, especially with the Concoction. A blend of butterscotch, butter cream, French vanilla, and cappuccino (wait : what?) with cream on top, it comes out tasting just like a stack of fluffy pancakes topped with butter and maple syrup. No lie. Tasty but mildly disturbing in a popcorn-flavored jelly bean kind of way.

Amenities: Two tables with a rainbow umbrella offer seating. No shade on the order porch, though.

Popularity: A little late for the after school rush, only one carload of kids came by while I was there, but the attendant told me they open at 2 and usually stay busy until the evenings. Kids love Tiger's Blood, of course, and adults tend to like the wedding cake.

Tropical Sno

Benton, Military Road in the Sutherland's parking lot

Price: Small is $1.75; large $2.25; and Big Dog $3.25. Pee Wee size is available.

Flavors: This stand, located in a dry county, seems to have lots of flavors with the word "daquiri" at the end. There's only a few oddly-named flavors - the most notable being Ninja Turtle. Once the chocolate-covered cherries flavor caught my eye, however, there was no return. I should have known it would simply be cherry with chocolate syrup and whipped cream added. Then I was charged an extra $.50 for those toppings.

Presentation and taste: The cherry flavor was a bit wangy at first, but the snow cone overall managed to avoid an overly sugary taste, which was amazing considering the application of chocolate syrup to the top. The overall taste sensation was very much like a cherry Tootsie Pop.

Amenities: The amenities are sparse at this location. There's no shade to speak of, unless you count the giant retail signs towering overhead. Just two plastic picnic tables and a trash can.

Popularity: That didn't stop the locals from flocking to the place on a busy Friday afternoon. Customers were all adults and teenagers for the most part. No little children were seen running around at this roadside snow cone location.

Snow Balls

Arkansas 367 in the Landmark area

Price: $1 for a small, $1.50 for medium. Large is $2. A very good deal for the amount of snow cone given.

Flavors: An estimated 40 flavors including a few like bubble gum, dinosaur and blueberry cobbler. The most interesting had to be Fireball. I asked if that was like the hot cinnamon candy Fireball, and the stand attendant said it would taste just like it. I was sold.

Presentation and taste: The ice wasn't quite as fluffy as it could have been and tended to stay in big chunks. Do not attempt to eat this snow cone while you drive! As promised, the cone did taste exactly like the Fireball I expected. In fact, it was like eating the fireball and drinking water at the same time. However, it did deliver a hot aftertaste. The cone had a bit too much syrup for my taste and it clung to the white spoon like cough medicine. Despite the spicy taste, I couldn't seem to stop eating it.

Amenities: Two plastic picnic tables covered with bright rainbow umbrellas. The stand also plays local classic rock station The Point. I heard "Paradise City" and "Spinning Wheel."

Popularity: I'm told the most popular flavors are the fruity ones like mango and sour apple. Though no customers were around when I stopped at 7 p.m., I'm sure many showed up for the After School Special to buy one, get one free in the early afternoon.

Cozy's

North Little Rock at Parkway and West Military drives

Price: $1.75 for small; $1.75 for medium; $2.25 for large. I couldn't have eaten more than what was in the small cup, so I thought it was a good deal at under $2.

Flavors: Sixty regular flavors plus 20 cream flavors. Four sugar-free flavors. According to the snow cone maker, the most popular flavor is rainbow, a mixture of peach, strawberry and bubble gum. Cozy's has some exotic flavors, and not exotic fruit flavors but crazy flavors such as Frog in a Blender, Princess Leah and Dinosaur Egg. I decided on a the new cream flavor Cookie Dough, which tasted more like vanilla with a slight hint of chocolate. It was good, but not quite what I expected.

Presentation and taste: The snow cone came in a Styrofoam cup and one of those straws with a spoon at the end which made it easy to drink what melted. Because of the cup, the snow cone wasn't messy at all.

Amenities: There was one picnic table but no shade. Service was walk-up only.

Popularity: Six cars came and went while I was there shortly after the stand's 1 p.m. opening. According to the snow cone maker, the most popular flavor is rainbow, a mixture of peach, strawberry and bubble gum.