Missed the Jingle? Track Down Mister Softee Trucks With An App

Remember those hot summer days chasing down an ice cream truck through the neighborhood? Talk about pure nostalgia. I remember the jingles blaring from the truck with my money at hand, anticipating my Looney Tunes popsicle. Typically, listening out for the ice cream truck was the only way to track one down. But now, there’s an easier way.

If you’re looking for a Mister Softee ice cream truck around New Jersey, there’s an app that can help you locate one. According to the Mister Softee website, there are 625 trucks across 18 states.

“People are willing to drive 10 to 15 minutes to track a truck down because there may only be one truck in that county compared to the 20 to 30 trucks in [the Northeast],” Mike Conway, Mister Softee's vice president told Food & Wine. “Here at the front office, that’s one of the main questions we get. They call and say, “Hey, where’s the truck? I need ice cream now.’” 

Apparently, Mister Softee has had an app since 2020. The app features a map function. Its homepage is an Apple map flooded with images of Mister Softee trucks. You can enter your zip code or share your location. Both options will show you how close you are to an ice cream truck. Click on an image of a truck, and you’ll find its name and how long the truck has “been on the road for.”

You can also click “View Menu,” which takes you to what should have been Mister Softee’s full menu. It’s worth mentioning that it only shows chocolate and vanilla soft serve offerings available on the trucks.

When you tap the information button, then you’ll be led to an “About Us” page. “Welcome to the App of Mister Softee! This app will allow you to locate your local Mister Softee franchise, learn about becoming a franchisee, learn about private parties with Mister Softee and download our jingle,” it says. As described, there’s a “History” page, a contact form for party and event requests, and a page that describes how Mister Softee wants you to become a franchise owner.

Food & Wine reported that several of the company’s ice cream trucks are owned by franchise owners. They also mention that franchisees can decide whether or not they would like their trucks visible on the app. So, not all trucks are traceable.

Ben and Jerry's new flavors couldn't be more different from each other. The popular New England based ice cream brand has added three options to their creative family so far this year, and here I will rank them all.

Coincidentally, I tried each of these in one sitting. This was an unplanned taste test. With a house full of young kids, a visiting friend recently stopped by and knew the way to quickly win over the youngsters. Pints of ice cream.

Before I get into explaining which was best, I should note I am not an ice cream (or dessert) enthusiast by any means. Dare I say, I hardly seek out ice cream, even in the summer months. However, if it is put in front of me, I will eat it if it's one of my favorite varieties.

If I'm going for ice cream, though, Ben and Jerry's is easily my brand of choice. Being a New Englander, I have toured their Vermont location a handful of times. Their half-baked in a cone is my go-to choice.

If you are not familiar, these are the Ben and Jerry's new flavors that have rolled out in 2024. Impretzively Fudged, PB S'More, and Marshmallow Sky. Now, it's important to note that Marshmallow Sky is new just to pints. Meaning, it was available in their scoop shops only.

Another flavor entitled Strawberry Cheezecake was also unveiled earlier this year. This did not qualify here as a new flavor ranking because it had been an ice cream flavor (branded "cheesecake). The new "cheeze" version is a vegan dairy-free dessert.

Upon seeing these at my house, I realized they were new. So, instead of selecting one pint to scoop, I took one for the team and realized I needed one proper scoop of each.

My process was to try one at a time and not have all three in the same bowl. Blending flavors might compromise the intended taste.

As a result, there was a flavor where one bite was enough. Another where I couldn't get enough, and the third was somewhere in between.

Here is my official ice cream ranking of Ben and Jerry's new flavors.

It's chocolate ice cream with fudge covered pretzel pieces and pretzel swirl. The problem here is that I do not like chocolate covered pretzels. Oddly enough, I love pretzels alone. Dip them in sugar and ice cream and it either compromises the flavor or classifies as "too much." So, this was my least favorite.

Here we have toasted marshmallow ice cream with peanut butter cups, graham cracker pieces, and marshmallow swirl. The graham crackers are the star of this show. They pair better with the ice cream and chocolate than the typical marshmallow of a S'More. This was certainly a tasty delight, but I feel if the marshmallow swirl did not need to be invited to the party.

Admittedly, I was a little cautious about the blue ice cream color thinking it could suffer from cotton candy syndrome (where too much equals upset stomach city). That is not the case here. It's marshmallow ice cream with swirls, and then chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough. The latter of the cookie dough bites just brings this to another level. Some sweets get forced together and some just belong together and make each other better. That's the case here. It's no wonder Ben and Jerry's decided to promote this flavor. It tastes as cheerful as it looks.