Samantha Brown has big Jennifer Garner energy—a warm hug kind of vibe. The TV travel host seems like the type of friend who’s always there for you and always has a purse stuffed with the right essentials for any emergency. It’s one of the reasons I love her so much and why I became a travel journalist myself. And after watching Brown’s latest travel hack, I’m a fan for life.
What makes the host so beloved—from her days on the Travel Channel to PBS and her own social media content—is a down-to-earth, no-frills palate. Brown actually (and rather accidentally) helped test Uncrustables in the early 2000s. Sure, she’s covered all kinds of fine dining around the world, too, but stateside she always keeps it real—even at the gas station.
While on a road trip in New England last weekend, Brown posted a video from a pit stop declaring July as “Gas Station Affogato Season.” That’s right. She made an affogato at the gas station using a genius ingredient. It’s one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moments.
And it’s why she’s an absolute national hero.
Samantha Brown’s Ice Cream Sandwich Affogato
I love a good celebrity ice cream hack, from Barbra Streisand’s no-churn secret ingredient to Glen Powell’s favorite candy topping. But this is the GOAT because Brown does the unthinkable: She makes gas station drip coffee useful and even…enjoyable.
“My gift to the world,” the post caption reads. “A dessert that blends a high-brow treat with the realities of an American road trip.”
In the video, Brown, hilariously using an air pump machine as a table, says, “You’re seeing everyone in Italy, Positano, the Amalfi Coast, but you’re at Gulf station off the Mass Pike.”
So, to “make it fancy,” Brown takes a black cup of coffee and a plain ice cream sandwich, and then dips the frozen bar into the coffee.
“And you make the affogato in your mouth,” she says. That’s it. That’s the recipe.
The best part about this hack is that both the coffee and the ice cream bar are likely less than $5 total, so it’s an incredibly savvy creation compared to the latest Dunkin’ ice cream creations or the recent price hikes at Starbucks.
“This is why the internet was invented,” one fan said.
“Only Sam can make you consider eating anything from an American gas station,” someone added.
But this isn’t a new idea for everyone. One fan shared, “My mom loved coffee with ice cream sandwiches. This was back in the ’70s and ’80s. We thought it was quirky—turns out she was having a[n] affogato.”
However, as relatable as Brown is, fans were quick to comment on one detail they could not get on board with. In the video, while Brown is making the Gas Station Affogato, she takes the coffee lid off the cup and places it on her air pump table, mouth side down.
“Hope your immune system’s ready for the adventure,” someone joked.
Honestly, that’s something I would probably accidentally do, too. It just makes her, as one fan put it, “a lady of the people.”
Happy Gas Station Affogato Season, everyone!
