It’s a Saturday night in the hippest part of Hollywood and people are lining up by the dozens for Cherimoya. And no, that’s not the name of the latest new indie rock band, but an ice cream flavor at Salt & Straw . When there is a wrap around line just to get through the door, you know it’s going to be good, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.
Salt & Straw is a handmade, small batch ice cream shop that uses all natural, organic ingredients to create their unique flavored scoops. The shop was packed, but it was also exactly what I had been expecting.
A few weeks back I visited Portland and had a similar experience: line out the door, smell of freshly made waffle cones wafting from the building, charming printed menus of all the different flavors, and most importantly, incredible ice cream. So when I heard that Los Angeles was yet again borrowing from it’s foodie neighbor up north and opening up a shop on Larchmont, I had to find my way to the store.
From Manhattan Beach to Larchmont Village was a forty-five minute drive, which was just about how long I had to wait outside of Salt & Straw to get my ice cream. It was nine p.m. when I arrived at the red and white striped awning of the shop and it was still bustling with customers. Everything surrounding the shop in the Village was quiet with dimmed lights and not much going on, but outside of Salt & Straw, people excitedly anticipating their ice cream were overflowing out into the street.
As I scanned the intriguing array of flavors, I was slightly overwhelmed. They had a long list of classic, “can’t miss” flavors, as well as a long list of seasonal flavors. I was genuinely concerned that I would not be able to try all of them (you’d think that after nearly an hour of waiting around in line and scanning the menu I would have a flavor picked out already!).
Luckily, once I had made my way to the counter, the man who was scooping my ice cream was more than willing to let me get a sample of everything that I wanted. He handed me multiple tastes on mini silver spoons.
I thought that after I had tried the Sea Salt Ice Cream with Caramel Ribbons, my heart was set. Then came the Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache and I was hooked. But I couldn’t go to Salt & Straw and not try one of the seasonal flavors. May’s theme of special ice creams was flowers, so the list included Rhubarb Crumble with Toasted Anise, Wildflower Honey with Ricotta Walnut Lace Cookies and Honey Lavender (just to name three of the fabulous five flavors).
After some seriously difficult contemplation, I came to my final flavor decision… okay, final two-flavor decision because I couldn’t just pick one. I ended up choosing Toasted Coconut with Candied Macadamia Nuts and Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
As my flavors were scooped into a beautifully large waffle cone, I was asked the very difficult question of which flavor I wanted to eat first- now that one took some thinking. Once I was handed my cone, I was eager to dig in and each taste was better than the next. The sweet chewiness of the toasted coconut with the crunch of macadamia nuts was absolute perfection. And the gooey chunks of chocolate mixed into my cookie dough ice cream, looked as though I had topped it with hot fudge sauce. The hint of saltiness in the cookie dough was a nice touch.
Thankfully, I came to Salt & Straw in a group of seven people, so I sneakily tried everyone else’s flavors too. A group favorite that needs special mention is the Stumptown Coffee and Compartes Love Nuts, which had a beyond delicious crunch. A fearless friend in the group went for the Black Olive Brittle and Goat Cheese (which I shied away from) and said it was phenomenal. But I guess I would expect nothing less from Salt & Straw. Every single one of their flavors was a hit in my book and I left wondering when I could make it back to Larchmont Village for another scoop… okay another two scoops.
