Danny Meyer-backed ice cream upstart Salt & Straw opens its first NYC location on Friday, September 20, on the Upper West Side, at 360 Amsterdam Avenue at 77th Street. After a 12-year legacy on the West Coast, it debuts here with a roster of classic flavors as well as limited-time New York-inspired scoops. New York City is actually the theme of this month’s rotating flavor collection, a signature move across over 40 locations of the Portland-based shop.
Salt & Straw from cousins Kim Malek, originally from Montana, and Tyler Malek, originally from Washington State, started in 2011 as a cart. By the time they were named Eater Young Guns in 2013, they had two Portland-based shops and a third on the way. “Every ingredient just reeks of Portland,” Eater wrote of its “brilliant, brilliant ice cream.” Danny Meyer backed the brand in 2017 back when there were nine stores.
The newest shop is about 1000 square feet and features a mural by Brooklyn-based artist and wallpaper designer Dan Funderburgh. The space is set up in anticipation of people trying unlimited samples. “Guests sometimes stay for a half-hour tasting everything,” says Tyler Malek, who notes the tastings feed into the storytelling of flavors, an aspect of the brand that’s important to the Maleks.
This month’s New York flavors run the gamut in a series of collaborations with spots around the city. Popup Bagels has inspired the cinnamon raisin bagel & schmear ice cream, while Breads joined in for its chocolate babka with hazelnut fudge. There’s also a merlot-aged sour with chocolate figs flavor in collaboration with Grimm Artisanal Ales, while the Sicilian pistachio and ricotta cannoli flavor is inspired by Little Italy’s popular dessert. Perhaps the most challenging scoop is the pastrami on rye, in partnership with Carnegie Deli. It’s seasoned with sweet paprika, “the perfect coriander,” and a “mustard custard,” which, Tyler Malek notes, is fun to say, “so it has to be good.” Salt and Straw also serves about a dozen classic flavors all the time, including double-fold vanilla, sea-salt caramel ribbons, honey lavender, and strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper.
“They’re more than just a scoop,” Tyler Malek says of the brand’s eclectic collection of ice creams. “They’re a way to provoke conversation.” The new shop will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight every day.