A Definitive Ranking Of The Best (And Worst) Ice Cream Truck Treats
As a kid, there was never a better sound than the cheery jingle of the ice cream truck turning down your street. I would immediately run up to my mom or dad to get a few bucks and then sprint across my front yard to wave down the driver. My go-to was always the Orange Dream bar. It came wrapped in white plastic packaging and smelled like fake citrus. The outside was so bright and refreshing, and the inside was so creamy. It was perfect.
What always surprised me were the kids who would order the characters, a.k.a ice cream with a face. The SpongeBobs, Power Puff Girls, and Spidermans pressed into a lopsided treat that never seemed to look like the faded picture on the side of the truck. They were terrifying. The weird eyes would bleed into the ice cream—pure nightmare fuel.
My point is, there is a hierarchy of ice cream truck treats. Some are way better than others, and that's where this list comes in. It's a professional, definitive ranking of your childhood favorites. We're talking Bomb Pops, Drum Sticks, Screwballs, Chipwiches, Choco Tacos, and more. Let's go!
Craving a sweet treat right now? Track down a Mister Softee truck using their app, or try our recipe for a giant ice cream sandwich.
Character treats
If you read the intro, you knew these were going to be ranked dead last. These should not be served to kids! They are too scary! Not to mention the flavors were always confusing. I don't remember a single ice cream truck with any explanation on how these would taste. Fruity? Chocolatey? Ice Cream-y? Does Spiderman taste different from Buttercup? I don't ever want to know.
2 Ball Screwball
This almost always came in cherry flavor and would instantly stain your lips bright red. It seems to be the messiest of all the treats, as most kids would dig through the slushy mixture to get right down to the candy surprise. It's too sloppy, and not in a nostalgic, endearing way, and too syrupy sweet.
Snow Cone
Snow cones have the same problem as movie popcorn: you don't have control over the amount of syrup (or butter) poured over the crushed ice (or popcorn). There's either way too much and it overwhelms the texture. Or, more often, there's no enough, so you're stuck with dyed ice with no flavor.
Ice Cream Sandwich
Hot take, I know, to have this one so low on the list. I love ice cream sandwiches, truly. But when this item is just as readily available in your freezer at home, the allure of getting it from the ice cream truck really isn't there.
Bomb Pops
Did you know that the Bomb Pops they sell on ice cream trucks are jumbo sized? As a kid, that's what made them appealing. The flavor is a delicious combination of cherry, lime, and blue raspberry. But sometimes tragedy would strike and you would lose the red or white to the sidewalk.
Fudge Pops/Fudgsicle
Now we're getting to the good stuff. Fudgsicles never failed to be utterly creamy (pun intended) and so chocolatey. The only downfall was just how sticky your hands felt after you licked the last bit of chocolate from the stick. More would end up on your fingers than in your belly.
Soft Serve Ice Cream
This is one of the only things on this list that you can't buy at the grocery store and keep at home. There's nothing bad to say about it. Soft serve is creamy and sweet, but not the best thing you can get from an ice cream truck. It's the boring, dare I say, vanilla choice.
Drum Stick
Nuts on top of a chocolate shell coating the coldest, creamiest ice cream? I'll say yes to that every time. And by far the best part was the chocolate bottom.
Strawberry Shortcake
I don't think I ever saw a kid under the age of 12 order one of these, but as an adult, I love it. It's fruity, creamy, rich, and crunchy. It doesn't actually taste like strawberry shortcake, but it's a fun imitation of it.
Klondike Bar
There are a lot of things I would do for a Klondike Bar. One of them is sprinting after a musical truck in the heat of summer to buy this treat that I could get for cheaper at the grocery store. But there's something so magical about unwrapping that foil and biting into that simple yet delectable square.
Choco Taco
A taco in ice cream form had to come from the brain of a child. It's too crazy to come from the mind of a logical adult, but just crazy enough to work. The crisp waffle cone shell gets a little soggy from the melting ice cream. But the combination of crunchy and creamy textures with salty and sweet flavors make this one of the best.
Chipwich
Cookie + ice cream = genius. Need I say more?
Orange Dream Bar
I realize this is a radical opinion, but it's truly the best. It's on a stick, so it's portable. It doesn't fall apart once you start licking. It's fruity and creamy and delicious.
You Might Also Like
