Now you can cancel your plane tickets to Portland − the holy grail of artisan ice cream has landed in LA on Larchmont Boulevard. Our lucky kids are the first outside Stumptown to sample Salt & Straw’s fantastical flavors like Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons or Salted, Malted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. If ice cream were vacation, this would be the journey of lifetime. So take the kids on a tastebud trip they won’t soon forget.
Creativity Comes In All Shapes and Flavors
The classic 10 will hook you on the spot. Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache? Insane. Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons? Impossible. The flavors feel like a taste tour of Willy Wonka’s world. Watch the eyes widen on your wee ones as they experience the burst of California Peaches followed by the tang of lemon and the sweet crumble finish (you’ll be powerless to pass on a pint of California Peaches with Lemon Crumble). Got a vested interest in expanding the pedestrian palate of your youngster? Let ice cream lead the charge. Get the i-Phone set to video to capture that moment when they taste the actual donut in the Cinnamon Apple Donuts. It’s priceless. They may never order plain chocolate or vanilla again. (Well, they might order Salt & Straw’s Single Origin Amadeus Vanilla or Chocolate Gooey Brownie, but to call those plain? Please.)
Every Flavor Tells A Story
Each Salt & Straw flavor is a product of dreaming up the most innovative combinations and procuring ingredients from local purveyors who share a similar passion for palate at it’s most pure, playful, and paradoxical (Tomato Water and Ojai Olive Oil Sherbet sounds crazy, but just taste it). Be sure to sample some of the saucier flavors that showcase creators and cousins Kim and Tyler’s true abandonment of convention. Avocado & Strawberry Sorbet. Black Olive Brittle & Goat Cheese. The products (the pride of the Portland and Los Angeles artisanal scene) that go into each finely tuned flavor are also available in the shop for admiration and purchase.
And It Comes In Kid Size
Of course, our Portland proxy arrives ever so kid friendly. You can get a kid-sized scoop, a kid-sized cone, or treat them to the hand made waffle cone of their dreams. This isn’t the spot to get gummy bears on top, but fresh toppings like caramel, fudge, whipped cream and sprinkles will gild the lily. Can’t decide what to get? Try a tasting flight and sample 4 flavors. You can also get sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, milkshakes and floats that will float the boat of kids and adults.
Small Batch, Big Heart
Ice cream is good for you? Well, when it’s made like this, it’s not bad! Gone are the days of electric green food coloring and unpronounceable ingredients. In this world of small batch artisan ice creams, when your littles are lapping up ice cream like it’s something they’ve never tasted, it’s because they haven’t. Salt & Straw procures the best organic and sustainable ingredients from local farms and local artisans, while importing flavors from small handpicked farms around the world, then hand churning it all in five gallon batches. So low-fat, no. But it’s as close to nature as ice cream can be.
Take Your Treat Down the Street
Oh Larchmont, what a lovely place to linger. The small town charm of this city bound boulevard is no accident, and the new ice cream parlor on the block only adds to its irresistibility. It’s family friendly start to finish, from the multiple hip kid clothing boutiques to the independent bookstores to the specialty toy stores that will kindly ask kids leave their cones outside before entering. So let the kids duck in and have a look. You can “hold” their cone outside while they browse. They just might get it back a little smaller. (Hey, you didn’t want it to melt!)
Salt & Straw is the best proof that the “Frozen” phenomenon has expanded beyond that little snowman in the sun. But don’t expect this fanaticism to fade any time soon, because after one silver spoonful, nobody’s letting this one go.
Salt & Straw
240 North Larchmont Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca
Phone: 323-466-0485
Online: saltandstraw.com
-written and photographed by Jolie Loeb
