Dessert Trucks Are Popping up Throughout New York

Doug Quint loves his summer job.

Though he is a freelance bassoonist by trade, Quint doubles during his summers as an ice cream man, traveling daily from his home in Morningside Heights to the truck depot in Brookyln, where he grabs a ride and hits the streets as a member of New York's sizable street-vendor squad.

 Quint, however, has a special claim to fame. He's avoided Mr. Tastee. Instead he and boyfriend Bryan Petroff are the owners and operators of the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (BGIT), a wonderfully distinct addition to the street vendor scene which offers regular soft-serve but can top ice cream with anything from wasabi peas to Nilla Wafers and Nutella.

The BGIT, which opened last summer, is just one addition to the steadily growing supply of novelty dessert trucks browsing the Big Apple. Others, including Thomas DeGeest's Wafels & Dinges truck (Belgian Waffles), offer similarly clever concoctions and surprisingly friendly faces behind the counter. In a city where street food often comes with a side of surly service, these amicable dessert stops are gathering fans at lightning pace.

To a certain extent, it is a miracle that these trucks can make it at all. Lev Ekster, owner of Cupcake Stop, puts in "anywhere between 70 and 90 hours" of work every week. Though he doesn't make the cupcakes he sells (he found a baker on Craigslist who comes up with the recipes and bakes the goodies), Ekster still has to divide his time between kitchen supervision, truck driving, publicity and, of course, sales. Such a rigorous work schedule is not uncommon amongst owners, either. Quint and DeGeest also log heavy shifts, estimating that their weekly totals fall between 60 and 70 hours.

Before they can get out on the road, however, these vendors have plenty to keep their hands busy. Not only do they have to find a truck, they have to store it and license it. Also, New York City requires all vendors to be licensed themselves, which means taking a Mobile Food Vendor course and passing the test, a seemingly undemanding task considering the fact that Quint's testing time was "28 seconds, and [he] was being leisurely." Of course, this is only followed by a prolonged period of waiting akin to waiting at the DMV. Once the license is received, however, the vendors are able to hit the streets and brave the competition.

Fortunately for these novelty trucks, competition is a minute issue.

 "I think we offer a unique experience," DeGeest said.

Quint and Ekster concurred.

"I don't really think about competition," Ekster said, adding that he concentrates solely on his making his truck the best it can be.

When asked about rivalries between trucks, Quint chuckled.

"It's kind of like we are all employees for the same company," he said.

Customers, though sometimes unruly, are always greeted with a warm smile. On its routes, the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck does see its share of pejorative patrons who take issue with Quint's proud homosexuality, but Quint says he always maintains a grin.

"I kind of like it when I see them, because you just smile, and that's always worse than anger," he said.

Most visitors, however, are pleasant and eager for their treats. Other vendors and police officers may not be as neighborly. Lev Ekster holds a law degree from New York Law School, but on the truck, it is street laws that matter most.

"You'll park somewhere, and as far as laws are concerned, you are okay, but the hot dog vendor might not agree," Ekster said.

DeGeest says that cops get a little picky as well.

"They'll come and say ‘We don't like that,'" he said. "It's something you have to put up with."

Quint hasn't had much of a problem, a fact that he attributes to his first few weeks on the job.

"I was just really friendly to everyone," he said.

For all three of the vendors, the truck is hardly the end of the line. Cupcake Stop is preparing to open its first brick-and-mortar location in Chelsea on May 7, in addition to adding another truck to the arsenal. DeGeest said he hopes to open a location, and Quint hinted that he hopes to expand his Big Gay Ice Cream empire, too.

For all of these men, their businesses are pure bliss. Ekster began Cupcake Stop last year having just graduated law school. DeGeest is a former IBM consultant who worked for almost a year on waffle recipes before leaving to start Wafles & Dinges. Quint is a Julliard-trained bassoonist. For all three men, their trucks are for much more than just profit; their vehicles have become their oases out on the streets of the greatest city in the world.