10 of the Best Ice Cream Truck Classics, Ranked

Snow Cones are a perfectly good summer treat, made even more enjoyable after a long day at the pool or on the beach. In fact, the only real problem with Snow Cones as a classic ice cream truck offering is that the ice-to-juice ratio is a little unbalanced, and the shape all but guarantees a lot of the flavor syrup will sink down to the bottom of the cone. The reason they earn their spot on this list is because of how easy it is to consume them. Some might use a spoon, but really all you need to do is take a bite and squeeze the cone when you want more flavored ice to push to the top.

The combination of orange and cream has just never sat right with me. As a kid, something about this popsicle flavor felt like it was only on the menu for the adults to select. The plain cream base mixed with tangy orange flavor sounded better suited to an older palate than my younger, straightforward-sugar-craving one. But we have to admit it makes for a very interesting hard seltzer flavor.

You can’t really go wrong with a Fudgsicle. It’s just delicious chocolate substance on a stick. Yet the Fudgsicle’s greatest quality is also its greatest downfall, and reason it falls so low on this list: This popsicle is just a little too plain and simple. We’ll always seek out chocolatey flavor, but when you’re blessed with an ice cream truck crossing your path and you get to choose anything on the menu, you’re not going to waste such an opportunity on the simple stuff.

In complete contrast with the solitary flavor of a Fudgsicle are any of the rainbow-colored Popsicle options. Rightfully named Lick-a-Color, this popsicle checks off a lot of the kid-friendly boxes. The bright colors draw you in and turn your tongue a number of different colors. The only reason this particular offering doesn’t sit higher on the ranking is because not every color was a winning flavor. Yellow might as well be plain old ice; it offers nothing for the taste buds.

Twin Pops, with their double serving of sticks, are an innovation worth celebrating. These popsicles absolutely cannot be excluded from any ranking. Break that bad boy apart, and you’ve got two popsicles for the price of one. Keep it intact, and you’ve got a popsicle with double the structural integrity. Twin Pops come in at number six because, like some other low-ranking inclusions, they only provide a single flavor and texture experience as you eat them.

The Nestle Drumstick hits you with chocolate, vanilla, crunch, and cone in one entirely edible little package. Yes, I know it’s not on a stick, but it is something you can easily eat one-handed (and keep your hands clean while you do it). The Drumstick cleverly encases its ice cream in a layer of nuts and chocolate, meaning less drippy mess on a hot day. And let’s not forget the generous lining of chocolate in the tip of the cone itself, forming the perfect final bite.

Although I’ve always been partial to the Chocolate Eclair version, both the Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Eclair ice cream popsicles are a uniquely satisfying eating experience. Coated in crunchy candy bits, layered with either a strawberry or chocolate coating, ice cream, and a rich chocolate or strawberry center, this is a an ice cream bar that you can’t just lick—you must bite. Each bite delivers something a little different, and all of it melts away so wonderfully in your mouth that you’re just sad when it’s all over.

The Push Up has always featured a number of different flavors and various iterations through the years, but let’s be honest: It’s the Flintstones Push Up ice cream pops that stand out in our collective memory. Something about that creamy purple flavor was a “taste right out of history.” Actually, I have no idea what that even means, but the purple flavor was just very, very tasty.

People toss around the word “iconic” a lot, but there’s not really a word more fitting for the Firecracker popsicle, also known as a Bomb Pop or Rocket Pop. This red, white, and blue treat was always a mainstay when that ice cream truck parked itself on my block. I can picture those trickles of reddish blue juice streaming off the popsicle onto my hand, and I can absolutely taste the cherry, then the white lemon (sometimes lime, depending on the brand), then the blue raspberry as it changed the color of my tongue along with each tier. These popsicles are the most classic and recognizable offering on any ice cream truck menu. Period. There’s only one frozen novelty that could possibly outshine them... 

Absolutely nothing will ever top the various licensed-character ice cream bars you can get from your local ice cream truck—but whichever one you pick had better have gumball eyes, otherwise it’s just not right. The rotating cast of characters has featured everyone from Tweety Bird to SpongeBob Squarepants to the Ninja Turtles to Spider-Man to my personal favorite, Bubbles the Powerpuff Girl. (Only Bubbles was ever available; it was like they forgot about Blossom and Buttercup.)

The most memorable thing about these popsicles isn’t so much the flavor, which is unremarkable. Most of these bars all tasted the same, despite representing characters with vastly different aesthetics and colors. Instead, what we all happily seemed to accept about these treats—and what kids today seem to accept with equal delight—is that they never, ever look like the product promised on the ice cream truck signage. The gumball eyes have a lot to do with this; they’re almost always out of place, straying far down the character’s face, sunken too far into the surface of the ice cream, and the faces themselves look blurred. But who cares? You’ve got ice cream in hand, not to mention a memorable photo op.