We get it: Life gets sour at times. The practical solution? Probably therapy. The cheaper and way more fun solution? A sweet treat! It’s tasty, gets you out of the house, and, to quote Marge Simpson, it’ll be good for the economy.
Now, you could go to a regular-shmegular chain restaurant and get – what, a vanilla ice cream cone? – but this is Austin, babe. You deserve better. Here are five unique dessert food trucks to visit whenever you need those spirits lifted.
Avalanche Texas Size Snow Balls
2500 E. Cesar Chavez
When you need a respite from these back-to-back heat domes Austin is getting put through, take yourself to Austin Avalanche for some snow balls. They don’t play around about being Texas-size. You would hardly believe the mini serving is mini from how generously it’s scooped. The Signature Flavors creatively combine tastes and textures, like the Mango-nada, which comes with freshly cut mango pieces and chamoy sauce, or the Cappuccino, which adds coffee and vanilla flavored milk to your choice of marshmallow fluff or whipped cream. While you wait for your cone, you can play giant Connect Four on their shaded picnic tables.
Manolis Ice Cream, Pops, Sorbet & More
8907 Circle
manolisusa.com
The first thing you’ll notice about Manolis is how beautiful the area is. It’s adjacent to great-smelling food trucks like The Indian Flame and Papagallo, but Manolis itself is fenced off and rife with modern (and plentiful!) seating, a swing set for the kids, and the jumbo-sized truck itself where you can get an eyeful of the ice cream flavors just like at a standard ice cream joint. The coconut ice cream pop is stuffed with actual coconut for a total wipeout of flavor. All the fruit options on the menu are made with real fruit, and there are plenty of non-dairy and vegan desserts to choose from, like the soft, sour-sweet strawberry-lemon sorbet that reflects the taste of both fruits perfectly.
Nuha’s Sinful Desserts
1017-B Barton Springs
nuhassinfuldesserts.com
Punctuate your next visit to El Alma with a trip to Nuha’s next door. The smell of this trailer alone is enough to want to give in to temptation. The menu lives up to the name, with each cookie titled as one of the seven deadly sins. Treat yourself and try Greed, the s’more cookie, which comes with a circle of marshmallow fluff on top and is packed with chocolate and graham crackers. The Lust cookie, with its bright, blood-red color, might catch your eye from the get-go. If you find these cookies that damn good, Nuha’s offers a Devil’s Dozen that comes with a free 13th cookie, because why not?
Kesshō
7800 S. 1st
kessho.com
Sometimes all you want is some chocolate. Enter Kesshō, an Austin-based craft chocolate brand with a plethora of international chocolate awards under its belt. Their chocolate bars come in watercolor packaging that contain details about the origin of the cacao beans used to make them. You can choose from several unique, Asian-inspired flavors, like dark chocolate with yuzu or white chocolate with hojicha. The dark chocolate bar with Himalayan pink salt isn’t too bitter, and interlaces the perfect amount of dried orange peel and berries to make every bite an experience. And while Kesshō specializes in chocolate, the truck comes prepared to service your gelato and pastry cravings, too.
Churro Co.
1906 S. 1st
Churros, but make them adorable! Churro Co. comes from the brilliant mind of Gabriela Bucio, who is responsible for Austin’s pinkest taqueria, Taquero Mucho, and the popular Latinx nightclub, Mala Vida, among other ATX hot spots. At Churro Co., an order of traditional churros comes with two cinnamon sugar-coated churros to which you can add a wide variety of sauces or toppings. Not in a churro mood? You’re in luck, because Churro Co. is no one-trick pony. They also serve ice cream floats and coffee drinks, and you can enjoy them at one of their pretty pink tables.
This article appears in July 12 • 2024.