It's Summer and Time to 'Get Shaved!'

I admit it! I am . There is something so much fun about waiting in a line with a bunch of people and watching your food get freshly prepared in minutes. The food truck craze is sweeping the nation, and even Food Network and the Travel Channel are hosting several shows based on this new phenomenon. Years ago, I would have never eaten anything out of a food vendor’s truck, but this is a whole new era of cuisine. Delicacies, gourmet dinners and decadent desserts can be purchased right from a gourmet food truck.

One of my favorite food trucks is Get Shaved. It’s based out of Northridge, but travels the southland and makes its home on Foothill Blvd. most Thursday nights outside Ralph's at 2675 Foothill Blvd. in La Crescenta. Usually open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Get Shaved truck features sensational shaved ice that claims to be just as good as the famed Matsumoto Shave Ice on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii.

My passion for shave ice might have come from my Snoopy Sno Cone machine that I had when I was little. I would spend hours tumbling a rock hard ice cube inside Snoopy's house, and then top it with some sugary red substance that would come from the Woodstock flavor dispenser.

Get Shaved is not your typical shave ice dispensary. They claim to have the finest Hawaiian shaved ice equipment that shaves ice so thinly that it's like fresh, fallen snow. There are over 30 different flavors to choose from to top off your Hawaiian creation, including classics like strawberry, blue raspberry and coconut.  But be sure to try the tropically-inspired flavors melona, blue Hawaii, and POG.

Get Shaved has also compiled a list of six popular flavor combinations, so if you are feeling overwhelmed by all of the choices, this makes the decision a little easier. Rockin' Rainbow combines cherry, blue raspberry and pineapple shave ice on top of vanilla ice cream. Let Them Eat Cake combines blue vanilla, coconut, and pineapple with a drizzle of sweet cream sauce over the top.

With all of the warm summer nights in our future, Get Shaved is the perfect place to enjoy a cool treat outdoors with the whole family and enjoy the social scene around the truck. Half the fun is talking to everyone around you while you are waiting in line to order, and then watching as your creation is prepared.

Be sure to try some of the extras available to make your shave ice a masterpiece. Add sour spray (or as my kids say "extra super sour spray!"), sweet cream or the popular Hawaiian accent spice Li Hing Mui for free. For an extra fifty cents, you can add ice cream, azuki beans, or mochi balls.

With reasonable prices and great flavor combinations, the Get Shaved truck makes for a refreshing little vacation at the end of a long, hot day. Check out the Get Shaved website for the truck’s schedule, because dates and locations can vary.