6 Food Trucks Bringing Cool, Fresh Flavors This Summer

You might not think of food trucks when the hot days hit. Cooking inside of a food truck can be sweltering even months before the summer. A lot of food truck fare is poutine, tacos, fried chicken, and the kind of warm, greasy stuff that isn't exactly what the stomach craves when temperatures reach scorching levels. But some food trucks offer cool bites and sips. Some offer tropical flavors and frozen sweetness. What we mean is that some offer just want you want on a hot summer day. Here are six that bring delicious coolness.

Phoenix Phreeze Shaved Ice
480-399-5544
Shaved ice is a summer favorite in the Valley, and Phoenix Phreeze is roving around serving authentic shaved Hawaiian Ice to the masses. The ice is fine, shaved off a block and pillowy like snow. On any given day, there are 33 flavors to choose from and combine to create your own, from blue-raspberry to cola. Phoenix Phreeze is a cool and exciting treat for anyone looking for an alternative to ice cream that’s got the same cool factor and refreshing sweetness.

The Hot Cookie Truck
480-993-5854
Instagram: @hotcookietruck
Maybe a hot, fresh cookie isn’t the most appealing choice when it’s 115 degrees outside. But consider ice cream melting all over that hot, fresh-baked cookie. Just imagine it – a heaping scoop of vanilla ice seeping into the core of that melty chocolate chip cookie. Sure, it's really just cookie dough ice cream with more crunch and a better ratio, but it’s more than that. Everything is made fresh; there are many toppings available, and the cookie is always just warm enough to be delicious.

Waffle Crush
480-304-5636
Instagram: @MyWaffleCrush
Waffles are great, but gourmet waffles with ice cream and myriad toppings? This is the kind of snack you need in the summer. Flavors combos include classics like Choco Nana, Cookie Crush, and Fluffer-nut’r. Waffle Crush is owned by Ariana Zeiner of Sweet Thangs Bakery. Zeiner is expanding Waffle Crush's menu to include several of her scratch-made bakery sweets as well as a few more traditional waffles if you’re not in the mood for ice cream — or if you’re somebody who eats dinner before dessert.

Sweet Treats Ice Cream
480-582-7651
Instagram: @Sweettreatsic
Look out for the scoop-and-serve ice cream truck serving large scoops of Thrifty ice cream around the Valley. Jasmine Williams is serving up Thrifty Ice Cream as a nod to her childhood in LA. Sweet Treats is just an ice cream truck the way you remember it: no thrills, just six to 10 flavors of ice cream. Sweet Treats scoops ice cream using cylinder-shaped scoops so the ice cream looks like a giant marshmallow sitting in a bowl. They also have several waffle cone options, so you can achieve peak childhood throwback.

Cuties Lemonade
480-485-4116
Instagram: @Cuties_lemonade
Lemonade can inspire serious cravings on a hot summer day. There is about the simplicity and the magic of sugar, lemon juice, and water. Cuties Lemonade Truck is serving lemonade cocktails, which include fruit juice combinations like strawberry-lemonade with lemon-infused strawberries or blue-cherry-gummy-bear lemonade with gummy bears floating in between ice cubes and congregating at the bottom of the cup. Cuties also serves grilled cheese, quesadillas, and snow cones if you're hungry on top of your lemonade craving.

Love Acai Bowls
Instagram: @loveacaibowls
This vegan food truck is serving acai and pitaya super fruit bowls good enough to make you forget that giving up ice cream was a sacrifice. Frozen pink acai or deep purple pitaya is blended with berries. This cold base can be topped with oats, honey drizzle, kiwi, strawberries and other fruit options. The brightly colored, all natural bowl is a wholesome adventure and an Instagrammable cool summer treat.