An icy-cool treat on a warm summer evening is worth the wait — at least, I've always thought so.

And I'm not alone, judging from my recent roam to a few of the Salt Lake Valley's many proprietors of cool and frozen confections.

Waits ranged from five minutes to 20, with sizeable crowds at the most popular establishments from early evening all the way to closing time. Even when there were few other customers, the made-from-scratch nature of most of the treats meant a bit of thumb-twiddling.

But that doesn't matter, said Holladay resident Eve Day, waiting in line for a butter-beer shave ice with cream at the Snoasis hut at Dan's Foods on Fort Union and Highland Drive.

"I'm here at least once every weekend," said Day, who stood hand-in-hand with boyfriend Dan Willes of Murray near the end of a line of 14 people. "All my friends come here that much, because Snoasis is the best. The flavor is all the way through it; it doesn't sink to the bottom."

Cottonwood Heights resident Marc Overby, just behind Day and Willes, agreed.

"I have a family of four, and I can come here for under $15," said Overby, who brought his 2-year-old daughter, Brenna, for a cotton-candy ice. "When I come home with a shave ice, I don't feel gouged. At Maggie Moo's or Cold Stone, I feel gouged, even though it's really good."

Willes, planning to buy a blackberry shave ice with cream, was making his second-ever trip to the Snoasis hut.

"She introduced me to it," he said, indicating Day.

"And now he's hooked!" Day said.

The Christensen family of East Millcreek confines its cravings for Nielsen's Frozen Custard to a few times a year, when daughter Katie Marble visits from California with her husband and children.

"(Katie) used to work in an insurance office (nearby), and her boss used to buy them concretes all the time," said matriarch LaVelle Christensen, referring to the shop's signature item. "It's expensive, but we don't do it that often. It's an occasional treat."

Whatever your chilly craving, there's someone out there waiting to serve it to you. Here's the skinny (or, more appropriately for most of them, the fat) on a few.

Snoasis

Location: 2029 E. 7000 South (Dan's Foods parking lot), Cottonwood Heights

Prices: $1-$3.25 (add-ons 25 cents)

The basics: Featuring dozens of flavors, a finely shaved ice that holds generously ladled syrups without melting and add-ons such as cream and chocolate, this kiosk is a favorite in the Fort Union-Highland Drive area. Soccer teams, retired couples out for a walk and laughing teenagers line up for the hut's treats.