There is nothing wrong with eating ice cream for breakfast. Really. It actually is the smartest thing to do if you have ever seen the mid-afternoon line at Salt & Straw in Portland, Oregon. It consistently flows outside the door and around the corner.
Salt & Straw is the hottest ice cream shop in Portland with adventurous and delicious flavors that are hand made in small batches.
Regardless, I wasn’t going to leave Portland without trying an edgy flavored ice cream, like Pumpkin Custard with Spiced Chevre or Honey Lavender. So, I made Peter do random drive-bys of both of their locations to scope out the line. Pretty much from late morning to well after dinner hours there was a wait twenty people deep.
You would think the stars of Twilight were in there autographing cones. Nope. These people just wanted ice cream. The best ice cream.
The solution? Ice cream for breakfast. The Northwest Salt & Straw location opens at 7am, so today instead of my typical Frosted Flakes, morning nourishment would include chilled cream.
We arrived at 8:30 in the morning and were greeted by a friendly sales clerk, not a line. Whoopee! There were about a dozen of flavors to choose from, which seasonally rotate. And they happily let you sample. And I did…starting with the Pear Blue Cheese.
The blue cheese was faint and a perfect companion to the pear. If it was a salad I would have ordered it.
With so many bucket list worthy flavors to choose from, the four ice cream tasting flight sounded like a good option. But, then something caught my eye.
A Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper.
That’s right, black pepper in ice cream. My decision was made.
Photo credit: Salt & Straw
I made the right choice. Just like the blue cheese, there was just a hint of pepper with chunks of strawberries. The ice cream was creamy and each lick was more delicious than the last.
It is evident that these people know and love what they are doing.
Adding a cup of acclaimed Stumptown Coffee to my breakfast made for a well rounded meal.
What’s the most unique flavor of ice cream you have ever eaten? Would you order the Pear & Blue Cheese?
