Riddle me this, Batman: “What would you get if a snow cone and an ice cream cone had a baby?”
No need to chase down the caped crusader, just ask Dad’s Ice Cream owner, Jason Tarbares. 
“We find that question is a fun and memorable way to quickly give people a sense of what exactly we’re making,” Jason said. And when Jason says “we’re making,” he means that literally because each of their 21 fruity flavors is made fresh right there in the shop which officially opened February 17 of this year.
While this is Dad’s Ice Cream’s first storefront location, many Big Country residents may have already enjoyed Dad’s Ice Cream from one of his mobile trucks. There’s his first truck – affectionally called “Big Bertha” – an almost 20-foot-long step van he served out of for more than 5 years. He also has a new addition, “Baby” – a cute 4’ x 6’ trailer. Dad’s Ice Cream spent the last few summers scooping up refreshing treats to a steady line of kids and families beside the Redbud Park Splash Pad. Convinced he had a hit on his hand, Jason decided to add a more permanent location to his expanding business. (And, yes, Dad’s Ice Cream still caters).
“I’ve always been a huge fan of ice cream,” Jason said. “Who doesn’t love a frozen treat especially in these Texas summers (and, this year, it’s heating up early). But I wanted an ice cream that was as healthy as possible without giving anything up in flavor or texture.” 
So began Jason’s envious task of researching all kinds of ice cream – great work if you can get it.
“Technically, Dad’s Ice Cream is considered ‘Italian Ice,’” Jason explained, “but most people aren’t clear on what that means. Italian ice is – here comes another phrase we like to tell our customers – creamy like ice cream and fruity like a snow cone.”
Not only that, Dad’s Ice Cream is, incredibly, only 17.5 calories per scoop! No, that’s not a typo.
“And all of our ice cream is non-dairy, non-lactose, low carb and low sugar,” Jason said.
Exactly how low in sugar? Only 2.2 grams of sugar per scoop. And this writer can tell you from personal experience, you wouldn’t guess that by the sweet, delicious flavor of it. 
Dad’s Ice Cream has a very active Facebook page full of hundreds of amazing pictures of their treats. They serve banana splits, Meltdowns (smoothies) and, of course, simple scoops of ice cream in cones or cups.
Interestingly they’re located in between Crunch Fitness and the Little Italy Restaurant. Interesting because you can work out and then have some and not feel the least bit concerned that your workout was in vain. Or, conversely, top off a nice meal with a sweet treat without wrecking your diet.
By Andy Holmes
Photos Courtesy of Dad’s Ice Cream
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