Even in the winter, customers have been known to wait in line for an hour or more for one of Ana Fernandez’s Komodo Dragons. The tangy, colorful shaved ice treat flavored with house-made syrup is just one in a lineup of creative flavors offered from Chamoy City Limits, the little sister of Fernandez’s Institute of Chili food truck. Launched last year, Chamoy will introduce a new lineup of flavors this summer, all served with visual flair, reflecting Fernandez’s other career as an artist.
What new flavors are on tap for this summer?
In addition to the classic flavors like cherry and blue coconut, we’re expanding our line of all-natural house syrups this season. Chili Queen’s Tiger’s Blood is the first one we are going to feature. It’s our own take on the very popular bottled Tiger’s Blood flavor, except ours is all-natural and made using whole fruit and juices—cherries, oranges, grape juice, grapefruit and more. We also make a seasonal Pink Leche flavor from scratch using fresh strawberries, cinnamon and milk—not powdered milk mixes.
How do you come up with your recipes?
The recipes for the syrups and drink combinations are really fun to develop. I like to start with a South Texas classic, such as the Piccadilly (pickles, cherry Kool-Aid, chili salt and lime) and make it our own. In our Piccadilly Circus, for example, we substitute cotton candy for the traditional cherry flavor. The combinations are endless!
What should a newcomer to raspas try?
We’re famous for our chili pepper snow cone syrup and our candied jalapenos. That’s one of the main ingredients in our Komodo Dragon, which is a sour, hot and tangy shaved ice served with cucumbers that includes a base of pickle brine and chili salt. The Chango, which is pickle brine and chamoy, is a favorite and the Isle of Misfits is also a huge seller. It features piña colada with green chamoy, pickles, Sour Patch kids and Kool-Aid.
Chamoy City Limits, 210-744-0000