Austin has no shortage of summer-like days, typically spanning from March through November. All that hot weather means there can never be too much ice cream, and who doesn’t like ice cream? Let me put it this way: show me someone who doesn’t like ice cream and I’ll show you a social pariah someone who hasn’t been to The Ice Cream Social. It’s a new breed of ice cream truck, less focused on junky novelties and completely focused on churning out small-batch ice cream with big flavor.

Stationed in a hidden gem of a trailer lot on Jessie Street (near Barton Springs Rd and S Lamar), the Ice Cream Social looks like a repurposed airport shuttle van. With room for about one and a half people inside, this little operation is run by a brother/sister combo who really know their frozen treats. The writing on the side gives customers the scoop.

The menu, featuring a daily special to keep even the regulars on their toes, is pretty consistent but based on availability (remember, this is small-batch ice cream). On a beautiful Saturday afternoon I made

my way over to the little bus to see what they were made of. Remember, I love ice cream, but not all ice cream gets a pass. I have standards! Anyway, on this day Lee was manning things and very friendly (read: patient) with me as I wanted to try several flavors.

First I tried the Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake. I was so impressed

I nearly ordered it right then without trying others, but my resolve held strong and I asked for a spoonful of the Peanut Butter Molé. Wow! Like nothing I had ever tasted before. Deciding to test Lee’s seemingly infinite patience and generally very friendly mood, I got one last sample of the Salted Caramel. Surprisingly just ok, especially after a killer salted caramel from Coolhaus a few days prior.

The verdict? Peanut Butter Molé! Think of it as Mexican chocolate (you know, chocolate ice cream with spicy pepper and some cinnamon), but with peanut butter as the base. I had just seen on Facebook that they had fresh gluten free cones too! So I got my large single scoop on top of a delicate, though decidedly terrific, cone and devoured it. I’m looking forward to going back to try some of the other standards as well as see what specials they have in store bus.

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p style=”text-align: left;”>One final note: if you’re looking to combo up some flavors, getting the Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake and Peanut Butter Molé would make one heckuva peanut butter & jelly. To The Ice Cream Social, all I can say right now is: Bravo! Oh, and Thanks!