Mister Softee

I found Mister Softee today in FIDI area near water street… the funny thing is — 1) I was randomly craving ice cream 2) I have always wanted to try out Mister Softee and I feel all the good stuff is located in midtown
It was meant to be for me to try this today. I got a vanilla cone with half nuts and half sprinkles. I have never got this combo before but I loved every bite. You have to have crunchies on your ice cream I realized! This cost me $ 3. which I feel was a bit on the steep side for a cone from a truck… but the quality was there. I also docked a point because my cone was stale… which normally I throw away my cone so it all worked out… but those of you who love the crunchy cone with ice cream inside… might be a deal breaker!

Mr. Softee is pretty much everyone’s childhood anthem. That gentle song that you hear playing down the street is all it takes to get you to fumble frantically around your wallet for singles as you rush outta the door to catch the ice cream truck before it leaves your block! I don’t need to convince you guys, lets all revert back to our 10 year old selves as we savor our soft-​serve ice cream :).

I LOVE THIS! I managed to get it twice after doing some shopping errands and walking in the heat. When we saw it, my husband and I each decided to get a cone to cheer us up – carrying bags and trekking along with crowds can be a little annoying. As soon as I got my (soft serve) chocolate sprinkles/​chocolate ice cream cone in my hand, I suddenly had a smile on my face. It cost $ 2.75 (with sprinkles), my husband’s vanilla cone without anything was $ 2.50. Not a bad splurge for a once in awhile summer treat.
Not sure if it’s nostalgia, or feeling like a kid again, (eating a fast melting cone quickly, sprinkles falling all over the place) but I swear this ice cream is really good. I used to get Carvel, and it didn’t taste the same. Mister Softee was richer and creamier, and not too sweet. Perfect chocolate flavor.
Haven’t seen the truck in awhile. See other soft serve ice cream trucks all the time, but I’m holding out for Mister Softee.

Mister Softee is a glorified Mcdonald’s soft serve ice cream at several times the price. The toppings are nothing out of the norm and it seems like a truck is camped out on every other block in the city. Where do these wagons go to hibernate in the brutal winter months?

Ahhh Mister Softee, you shouldn’t have! Hahah I love ice cream trucks in general because I feel like ice cream tastes 1000x better when they come out of a truck. Where I’m from, you don’t really see any mister softees. And now, after trying it, I feel compelled to run after one whenever I go down to the city.
I was walking with my boyfriend when I heard the music playing. I turned to look at him, and without saying a word he automatically says, «okay, let’s go». At this point I’m already giddy because my bf is psychic. When I actually taste the ice cream dipped in a cherry hardshell… the clouds parted and the sun was shining. Of course im exaggerating, but i was pretty darn happy! I think I smiled all the way back to his home.
Mister softee is a good man! Eat his ice cream!

Mister Softee is part of summer in manhattan. It’s the best ice cream around. This ice cream is always very thick and I love getting sprinkle on the top. It’s such a shame when the weather changes and they are gone!

Wow. I hadn’t had a vanilla milkshake in ages, but this one was awesome! Creamy, satisfying, cold. Not too sweet actually!
I happened to just run into one of these trucks while shopping in Soho. My brother, who had lived in NYC for 6 years, immediately went up and purchased this said milkshake.
Unfortunately, I did not try their soft serve so I can’t comment on that, but I’m sure next time I run into Mister Softee, I will!

Having grown up in the city, I grew up on Mister Softee like every other New Yorker did. Finding a Mister Softee truck on a sweltering hot New York day is God sent. Back in my days (not too long ago considering that I’m not THAT old) one come would cost you $ 1 – 1.25. Now it would cost you about $ 3, but you get the best soft served ice cream that the city has to offer.

Ok, so it’s not the best soft serve out there, in fact, it’s not even close to being as good as a rural Dairy Queen (meaning, one that’s in a small town vs a big city), but still, it’s one of those things that I catch myself doing a couple of times a Summer in NYC — taking down a chocolate or cherry-​dipped cone or a rainbow sprinkled cone.
Maybe it’s the quickness or the convenience, or the cost, or that it just reminds me that Summer is here in NYC and I’m living it. Either way, it’s something I’d recommend everyone try at least once. And please, stick with the soft-​serve options as opposed to the prepackaged ones.

Once upon a time, there was a time — a time long long (but actually not too long) ago, before moving to the NY area, I lived in a world in which I had not ever experienced Mister Softee.
My soft serve came from buildings that did not sit on wheels, often touting flashy promotions, a seemingly endless array of new ice cream type products, and a fixed address.
One day I came to NYC, a visitor. Naïve in demeanor yet confident in spirit, I ventured through the most populated of areas, experiencing a variety of food options, always (foolishly) engaging with anyone that looked my way, never pondering the motives behind the amazing tour bus deals, CDs with no labels, or very pointed «Hey, do you like Human Rights?» type questions, in which «no thank you» isn’t really an answer that makes sense.
In one of those early visits, as if David Blane himself was working me with invisible strings, a soft serve twist cone with chocolate sprinkles presented itself to me.
It was amazing. It was delicious. It was my favorite.
I now associate Mister Softee with all the good things about New York.
It is a treat among treats; consistent no matter which truck you encounter, and no matter which way you order it… you have made the right decision.
If I didn’t live in NJ I would probably indulge my fatty fatty lardo soft serve inner-​brain cortex (that’s the scientific name) and run outside to find one right now, given i’ve spent 20 minutes typing about it.

This damn truck haunts our ‘hood.
Nice ice cream though.

I just got a Mister Softee strawberry cone at 6^th ave, close to Rockefeller center. The guy charged me $ 6 !!! I almost dropped my ice cream when he told me the price. I kind of didn’t feel comfortable returning the ice cream… I should have totally returned it though!
I understand, it’s Midtown and everything but $ 6 for an ice cream cone? Too much is too much.

I grew up having this amazing soft serve ice cream. I’ve been addicted since day 1. I find myself leaving the office after lunch in search for a mister softee truck at least twice a week.
Vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles is what you have to have, period. It’s so good that the price has quadrupled over the years … but the price is well worth it. The vanilla shake is also amazing. Enjoy!

Pretty sure that Mister Softee follows me around NYC, if that isn’t the case there are just Mister Softee trucks everywhere!
With this muggy, warm weather Mister Softee does not disappoint. From various dips, sprinkles and flavors this truck makes them so cartoony perfect you don’t even want to eat the $ 5.00 ice cream you just bought. But to hell with that, soft serve to your heart’s desire.
I got a double vanilla, cherry dip for $ 4.00 and it was pretty good. It’s refreshing, sweet and the soft serve was pretty good. The cherry dip tasted anything but cherry and was more of a coating to protect the quickly melting soft serve, it just tasted sweet. After a while the flavor does get kind of old, stick to your single or grab ice cream elsewhere.
A good quick treat, but man $ 4.00 for a cone of ice cream is kinda steep especially coming from an old school ice cream truck like that!

Oh Mister Softee, I remember when we were $ 1.50 a cone. Yes, I am showing my age but now you are double that price. However, I have fond memories of your music coming down my street and it always reminds me of summer.
Now to the present day. Mister Softee does not always play music while driving the streets of Manhattan but the trucks look the same. Price now range from $ 3 to $ 5, I recently ordered their vanilla with fudge topping (you know, the kind that hardens on your ice cream, like a miracle of chemistry). It was tasty although a bit overpriced at $ 5. Wow, take me back to 80s prices. Anyway, it was good nonetheless.

Hit or miss. Sometimes you’ll get stomach flu for days eating one scoop of this stuff. I don’t rely enjoy sitting on the toilet for days so id avoid.
It’s four bucks for a double scoop on a come. So for four whole bucks, I get a soft serve with stomach flu included. This totally is better than going down the street to the nearest Duane reade and purchasing my own bucket of ice cream and cones for Less.
Slurpies or those cold ice things are a dollar. It’s alright. Food coloring isn’t the healthiest, but it’s Cheaper than Starbucks.
I’m only giving it an extra star because I love the music. Childhood.

Not all Mr. Softee trucks in Brooklyn are the same. Ali who drives this truck has been serving the kids (and adults) ice cream, slushes and milkshakes at the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Newkirk Avenue (next to PS 217) for 21 years. He is known by thousands of kids as the friendly man who does not raise his prices when everyone else does and who always has a kind word for each and every customer!
Likewise unlike the unlicensed push carts that the city does not shut down, he keeps his truck spotless and is out on the street from early March through the first flakes of snow in the autumn. And for those who observe religious dietary laws, his ice cream is Kosher. In addition to soft ice cream and ice cream bars, he sells exceptionally good grape nut, strawberry, cookies and cream, rum raisin and pistachio hard ice cream.
On a budget? He sells Marino Ices for the same price ($ 1) as the illegal unlicensed carts!
In short, Ali may sell the same ice cream as the other Mr, Softee trucks, but what he gives in goodwill has no price!
Update: 6÷17÷14: This season Ali has added Mint Chocolate Chip and Coffee Ice Cream to his hard ice cream flavors… yes! And I learned today that the Ditmas Park Corner interviewed him for a story… he deserves the recognition!
Updated: 5÷3÷15: His 25^th year at the corner of Newkirk and Coney Island Avenues and he still only charges $ 2/​cone for soft ice cream and $ 2.75 for two scoops of hard ice cream!

5 stars for soft serve ice cream! Freakin 1 star for the BS pricing!
My topping of choice… RAINBOW SPRINKLES! Gay and classic.
Reason for the BS pricing, try purchasing a soft serve cone with sprinkles in the city and then purchase the exact same thing in the hood, lets say… Jamaica Queens? Big difference! Some trucks would charge up to $ 3.50 to $ 5.00 for a vanilla cone with sprinkles! Hood price — $ 2.00 to $ 2.50 tops! When I was in elementary, $ 1.50 was the most expensive cone w/​toppings you could possibly get.
Verdict — Still one of my all time favorite ice creams. Once you hear that jingle, you’ll find your hands running through your pockets searching for some loose change and if your lucky enough, the truck you come across might not rip you off with tourist prices.

SOFT SERVE & other ice cream!
if you’re indecisive like me & can’t choose btwn vanilla & chocolate, instead of getting the swirl you can get vanilla on the bottom and chocolate layered on top!!!
—$ 2.50 for a cone which is way more expensive than McDonalds and i still think McDonalds tastes better, but Mister Softee is such an NYC novelty, not to mention there’s more selection here!

If you’re in the mood for mass-​produced ice cream bars, just take a hit and go for it. Mister Softee equals love, and like that pesky emotion, Mister Softee can strike anywhere. Just make sure you have cash so you can buy me some soft serve. Please?
Like Pavlov’s dog, every time I hear the familiar chimes of a Mister Softee truck, my ears start wagging and my tail perks up. Something like that.