“One of the most
beloved and popular
treats was the
ice cream sandwich.”
Annie Reese

It caught me by surprise. Despite the fact that it was 56º, foggy, drizzly, and windy, an ice cream truck, with music blaring, rolled down 48th Avenue yesterday afternoon. An ice cream truck… in San Francisco! I had never heard of such a thing.

Ice cream trucks were popular in my childhood, but not in The City. They could be found in small towns up and down the peninsula between San Francisco and San José and in the East Bay towns like Pleasanton and Concord. These smaller communities, generally speaking, had warmer weather than the City by the Bay. These were places where kids wore shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops in the summer months. Some had a swimming pool in their backyard. Things were different in San Francisco, where summer attire for kids included jeans, sweatshirts, and Converse All Star shoes. City kids never went barefoot outdoors. It was simply too cold.

I have fond memories of encountering ice cream trucks along the peninsula in my younger years. I would often order a Push-Up, Eskimo Pie, or Missile. They were such treats back then. When we would hear the jingle of the songs playing on the loudspeaker of the ice cream truck, we’d quickly ask Mom for a quarter, then run out to the sidewalk and wait for the truck to get to us. The driver would then stop, serve all the kids (and a few adults), then move on.

While we did not have ice cream trucks rolling up and down 38th Avenue in my childhood, we did have the yellow bakery truck that would come by once each week. That was pretty special, too. We’d go outside when we heard the horn sound. The driver would stop, get out, and open the double-doors on the back of the truck. Inside were shelves and drawers with various types of bread, donuts, pastries, and other assorted baked goods. These types of products were popular even when the weather was on the cold side. 

When I heard the music of the ice cream truck approaching yesterday afternoon, I stopped and watched. The truck moved slowly down 48th Avenue between Judah and Irving Streets. On that entire block, no sales were made, which is not surprising since there were no children outside playing. The driver saw me standing on the sidewalk waiting to snap a photo as he passed by. He waved, but didn’t stop. I guess I don’t fit the demographic of an ice cream truck customer. If he had stopped, I was prepared to make a purchase, just because I felt bad for the guy.

I can only imagine that ice cream trucks in The City’s Outer Sunset district would be a tough sell, especially knowing that just a few blocks away, Polly Ann’s Ice Cream has been serving delicious handcrafted ice cream with predictable, stable business hours since 1955. And the soft-serve ice cream at Java Beach Café is pretty darn good, too!