We’ve tried the sea urchin flavor—it’s better than you think.

Cousins Kim and Tyler Malek opened Salt & Straw in Portland, Oregon, in 2011—Kim handled the business, Tyler handled the ice cream. In just a few short years, it’s become a Portland institution and one of many reasons why the Rose City is now considered a major “food city.” There are now three S&S scoop shops in Portland, with a fourth opening recently in Los Angeles.

But there are hundreds of ice cream stores in the country. What makes Salt & Straw so interesting? They use local ingredients and prepare their wares in small batches and serve them “farm to cone,” sure. But Salt & Straw is getting famous for its chef-consulted, creative, innovative, and even downright weird ice cream flavors.

In addition to a handful of permanent choices (Double Fold Vanilla, Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, Coffee and Bourbon), the menu changes with rotating flavors, seasonal, holiday, and limited-edition flavors. (In 2013, the store asked prominent national and local chefs to create original flavors.)

How many of these flavors would you be willing to try?

• Pear & Blue Cheese
• Honey Lavender
• Olive Oil
• Tomato Water and Olive Oil Sherbet
• Hazelnut Rosemary Stuffing (a special Thanksgiving flavor)
• Black Olive Brittle & Goat Cheese
• Bone Marrow With Bourbon Smoked Cherry
• Mint Leaves and Sea Urchin Meringue
• Honey Balsamic Strawberry With Cracked Black Pepper
• Carrot Watermelon Sorbet
• Green Fennel and Maple
• Marionberry Goat Cheese Habanero
• Blood Pudding (a Halloween special)
• Sweet Corn, Waffle Cone, and Caramel (created by The Mind of a Chef subject April Bloomfield)
• Loaded Baked Potato. Yep. This limited-time-only offering had bits of potato, chives, sour cream, as well as chocolate-covered bacon bits and cheddar-flavored cookie dough. It was created by Tyler Malek with an assist from Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio.

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