Burnt Toast: It All Started With Hot Fudge Sundaes

April 20, 2023·22 min·1 clip

A woman stripped and changed clothes while ordering ice cream at the Big Gay Ice Cream truck before dumping her boyfriend.

The episode opens with hosts Kenzie Wilbur and Meryl Stubbs tasting a spread of melting Good Humor ice cream products alongside guest Doug Quint, while Brian Petroff calls in remotely. The group evaluates a Magnum Double bar, noting the American version is inferior to the UK original due to different chocolate formulations. They recall first encountering Magnums at an ice cream industry convention in Orlando, where they were puzzled by the name. The Choco Taco prompts a story about Big Gay Ice Cream being the only food truck ever invited to park at the James Beard House, where an impatient guest demanded to know how long a Choco Taco takes to make. A strawberry cheesecake bar is tasted and universally rejected. The conversation shifts to nostalgic favorites: Doug and Brian both cite hot fudge sundaes from Tasty Freeze, while the hosts prefer giant vanilla cones with sprinkles. Brian explains that heroin addicts near their Union Square truck consistently ordered the sweetest items — butterscotch or cherry dip — which connects to a section in their book about personality types who should never order their own ice cream. Chainsmokers are steered toward cayenne-spiked options, first-timers always get the Salty Pimp, and children should be allowed to order simple things rather than having adventurous parents impose wasabi pea dust on them. The Salty Pimp is described in detail: a chocolate cone injected with dulce de leche, sprinkled with sea salt, and dipped in salted, cayenne-seasoned chocolate. The naming of menu items is discussed — the first year everything was just a list of ingredients. The Bea Arthur cone was originally called the Buzzfeed internally after the site featured it, but was renamed when Bea Arthur died and left $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center for LGBTQ youth. The business name itself came from an offhand Facebook post by Doug saying he had 'a Big Gay ice cream truck,' with no formal name yet chosen. Designer Jason then built a logo around that phrase and it became permanent. The iconic unicorn mural in their first shop was painted by an artist named Sam Simon who used over 6,000 Swarovski crystals — nearly triple his original estimate — because he said he simply could not stop. The hosts ask whether ice cream can get too weird, and Doug and Brian express skepticism about meat-based ice creams, calling them publicity stunts that just taste like grease. Lobster ice cream is dismissed, though one host admits it was less repulsive than expected due to the lobster's natural sweetness. Beet soft serve is cited as a flavor both founders loved but that sold only two cones in a week. Vegan ice cream is declared not technically ice cream, and the difficulty of reformulating soft serve machines is explained. A story is told about a man who slammed them on blogs for not having vegan options. The episode's most memorable anecdote involves a woman who arrived at the truck in office clothes on a Friday night, stripped and changed into heels mid-order, and explained she was delivering her ex-boyfriend's possessions to his workplace and needed confidence — which she found in a Monday-Sunday. The episode closes with a discussion of cheddar cheese grated on chocolate ice cream, a combination suggested by Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's, who was born in Wisconsin.

As heard by us

A funny, fond ice cream chat with Big Gay Ice Cream on truck treats, salty cones, naming lore, and strange toppings.

Burnt Toast starts with the kind of ice cream-truck roll call that can send a person straight back to fifth grade, then lets Doug Quint and Brian Petroff of Big Gay Ice Cream run with it.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want an ice cream story with gloriously weird names and a little fifth-grade nostalgia.

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