99¢ Pizza, 99¢ Hamburgers, What’s Next?

Soft-serve collision or collusion?

Somewhat mysteriously, a fleet of colorfully painted vans has appeared in the streets of Sunset Park, edging over into adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods. In doing so, they have practically vanquished their rival, Mister Softee.

As you might have noticed, the price of a simple ice cream cone from a Softee truck is now pushing $3, though the cost varies depending on where you overtake the sweet-frozen-treat vehicle. But the new vans–christened the Dollar Truck–seem to be offering cones for 99 cents. Quite a deal, right? Well, yes and no.

When a friend and I approached one of these purple trucks around sunset on Saturday night, and asked for the 99-cent deal, the guy in the window reached over and tried to upsell us the $2 cone, saying, “These 99-cent cones are really intended for kids. You know, it’s so the kids can afford to get an ice cream.”

We acknowledged that that was a charitable idea, but insisted on the 99-cent cones anyway. Although the more expensive version comes with either a cherry or chocolate dip, or sprinkles in a rainbow of shades, the budget cone, available in either chocolate or vanilla, is a bare-bones affair.

Nevertheless, it’s actually about as much ice cream as you want to eat in one sitting, prior to the onset of brain freeze, and the soft-serve is every bit as good as Mister Softee’s.

Look for the trucks along Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue from the park called Sunset south to 59th Street. And probably coming to your neighborhood soon.

Available in two flavors, but without coatings or sprinkles

Check out the rest of the Incredibly Cheap Eats archive.