GULFPORT -- The business of indulgence that serves the likes of ice cream stuffed snowballs in 29 flavors, is offset by healthy sandwiches and salads at a new coffee and ice cream shop in downtown Gulfport.
Mississippi Belle's Coffee and Ice Cream Company is named after young Annabelle Higman, nicknamed Belle and daughter of owners Michelle Hughes and Geoff Wacker, who opened their shop in June. At any given time this summer, she and her brother Blake Higman might be found behind the counter concocting their favorite combinations of ice cream or sandwiches.
Nothing is set in stone here. Customers, also, do their own concocting and select panini sandwich makings from lists of multiple spreads, cheeses, meats and toppings, as many of each as they want.
The menu lists possibilities and if they're not enough, Michele just might have something else up her sleeve.
When the selection of meats - roast beef, turkey, ham, tuna melt and chicken salad or chicken grilled, and toppings of mushrooms, red bell peppers, tomato, red onion and garlic still left this writer wanting more of veggie sandwich, Michelle didn't miss a beat.
"How about some grilled fresh asparagus?" she asked.
Oh, yeah. Ver-r-r-ry good. But try to avoid our mistake of adding oil and vinegar as it tends to make the bread a bit soggy.
Another customer was picking up her first ciabatta burger that she ordered based on recommendations by co-workers who told her, she said, "it's absolutely wonderful." The ciabatta roll is a 4-by-4-inch square that when grilled becomes soft inside and crispy outside. The ciabatta burger is made with ground meat, the customer's selection of fixings and sells for $6.50.
Panini sandwiches come with a side of chips, or salad for $5.75, plus tax and drink.
Salads and a soup of the day are also on the menu. Every day, there are specials, some off-menu and some not.
The ice cream selection is massive, not in numbers of different flavors but in different combinations.
The snow shivers, for example, blends ice cream with shaved ice and any of the 29 snowball flavors.
Southern snowballs stuffed with ice cream can have as many flavors as you want plus sweetened condensed milk added, and can be sugar free or sour.
"People are particular with their snowballs," Michelle said. "It's almost like an art form." She said ice makes the difference between a snowball and a snow cone: snowballs are made with shaved ice and are a southern thing, while snow cones use crushed ice.
Decor throughout the shop says "fun" in red, white and blue against gray concrete floors with splashes of stars and costumed cowgirls. There's a separate back room with purple walls used for private events and known as the Mardi Gras room. One wall, however, is movie screen gray specifically to allow people to project pictures on it.
Another Mississippi Belle in Pass Christian is located at the flea market off Menge Avenue and specializes in just snowballs and small pizzas.
Specialties: Soft serve ice cream and snowballs in 29 flavors and wide-ranging combinations of both, coffee drinks, soups, salads and select -your-own ingredients for panini sandwiches.
Where: 1427 25th Ave., Gulfport, on the west side of the street just south of the railroad.
When: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Details: 868-7555.
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