Dessert on Wheels

Nostalgic for the ice cream truck of your childhood but have the sophisticated palate of a food connoisseur?

Then the sight of the pale yellow, vintage Van Leeuwen step van serving cones of Sicilian Pistachio, Piedmont Hazelnut and Hudson Valley Red Current is sure to make your heart go aflutter.

Unlike the additive filled and artificially tasting Mister Softee, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream crafts their gourmet product using only high quality natural ingredients including, fresh hormone free milk and cream (from farmers that they know personally in Lewis County, New York) as well as fresh egg yolks and pure cane sugar.

Their dense and rich ice cream (made with 18% butterfat) can be topped with caramel or hot fudge sauce made from decadent Michel Cluizel Chocolate, organic cream and exclusive, oak barrel-aged organic vanilla.

“I started Van Leeuwen Ice Cream as a way to apply my passion for fine food to a product that everybody loves,” explains founder Ben Van Leeuwen.

His classically redesigned ice cream trucks can be found around New York selling up to 10 delicious flavors. Check the web site for exact times but locations include, Soho (Prince and Greene), the Village (University and 12th Street) and the Upper West Side (Broadway and 75th Street). Scoops, which are served in cups made from biodegradable sugar cane, range in price from $3.95 for a small to $7.00 for a large. This Fall, look for Van Leeuwen Ice Cream in the freezer sections of select Whole Foods stores and Murray’s Cheese.

To hire the Van Leeuwen truck for events, contact Laura O’Neill at laura@vanleeuwenicecream.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

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