What is Oprah’s favorite ice cream? What has been named one of the best by almost every magazine in LA and Portland? Salt & Straw! This trendy shop has some of the most inventive and decadent ice cream flavors you’d ever find, and they all taste good. Go to one of their gorgeous, country-style shops to try homemade waffle cones with any one of their 20+ creative flavors or even sign up for their Pints Club and get seasonal pints of ice cream every month (they add new, exclusive flavors every month).
Most Salt & Straw locations also feature local artisanal goods in the store to purchase, such as Sqirl’s famous jam or Compartes’ famous chocolate. In store, you can try as many flavors as you want before purchasing, that is how much they believe in their product. The line is almost always out the door, but you never feel rushed and they take GREAT pride in making every scoop picture perfect.
My favorites are the traditional Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons and the Stumptown Coffee & Compartes Love Nuts. I usually get these in a waffle bowl, which is perfectly folded in a way that looks like a blooming flower around the ice cream. I strongly suggest that whatever you do, do not get more than one or two scoops max. A normal Salt & Straw scoop is HUGE and you will not want any more than that due to the richness of the ice cream.
Luckily, if you are like me and like to have more than one flavor, you can get one scoop split between the two flavors (see picture below – it just looks like two scoops together but equals one normal Salt & Straw scoop). My favorite location in LA is on Abbot Kinney in Venice because there is plenty of street parking along Electric and you can walk to so many other amazing local restaurants and shops. I dare you to not find a flavor here that blows your mind!
Salt & Straw (1357 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90291) 310-310-8429