Ice cream brand Salt & Straw, co-founded by cousins Kim and Tyler Malek and known for its innovative artisan flavors, opens its first ever scoop shop in New York City on the Upper West Side [360 Amsterdam Ave, at the corner of West 77th Street]. Salt & Straw is led by chef and co-founder Tyler Malek (who has been featured as one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs). Salt & Straw also offers monthly rotating menus that reflect culinary trends, seasonality of ingredients, and relevant cultural moments. In addition to serving its classics like Double Fold Vanilla and Sea Salt Caramel Ribbons as well as its monthly rotating flavor series, the new scoop shop will also unveil a special menu of flavors exclusively available in New York, and created in collaboration with some of the city’s culinary institutions, including Breads Bakery, PopUp Bagels, and more.
Along with 11 of Salt & Straw’s classic flavors such as Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Honey Lavender, and Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper, Tyler has created an exclusive-to-NYC opening menu featuring collaborations with numerous iconic partners who are baking, boiling and brewing some of the most popular treats across all five boroughs:
- Cinnamon Raisin Bagels & Schmear – Made in collaboration with the buzzy, innovative PopUp Bagels, this flavor transforms the classic New York bagel into a salted sweet cream ice cream mixed in with cinnamon raisin bagels that are chopped and candied, creating a crunchy crème brulée shell, with cinnamon-spiked cream cheese ribbons throughout.
- Chocolate Babka with Hazelnut Fudge – The flavor features a salted sweet cream ice cream base mixed in with diced loaves of Breads Bakery’s famous babka, with homemade hazelnut fudge and chocolate stracciatella ripple.
- Pastrami on Rye – This savory and sweet flavor features a butterscotch ice cream base that is infused with a housemade pastrami sourced from Carnegie Deli, a mustard custard swirl and toasted rye crumble.
- Pistachio & Ricotta Cannoli – A reimagined take on Little Italy’s dessert, pistachio ice cream is laced with indulgent whipped ricotta ribbons, and studded with cannoli shells dusted with cinnamon and sugar and candied pistachios.
- Merlot-Aged Sour with Chocolate Figs – Made in collaboration with local brewery Grimm Artisanal Ales, the cherry-forward hoppy sherbet features complex flavors of the broken dawn sour and is rippled with dark chocolate Italian fudge, creating a malty sweet finish.
On opening day, the first 100 guests will also receive a non-alcoholic beverage from Grimm Artisanal Ales in celebration of the collaboration flavor, and through the end of September, pints of the Apple Series will also be available, which showcases the bounty of autumn and captures the seasonal fruit in five unique flavors, including Apple Pie vs. Pumpkin Pie; Apple Cider Donuts; Finnriver’s Black Currant Apple Cider; Green Apple Wasabi Sorbet and Caramel Apple Sherbet.
The space is located at the corner of West 77th and Amsterdam Avenue in the heart of the Upper West Side, and features a mural by Brooklyn-based artist and wallpaper designer Dan Funderburgh, combining architectural details and street textures of New York City along with Salt & Straw’s waffle cones. Guests line up along the case of flavors to order their ice cream, have the opportunity to try unlimited samples, so they can taste the full array of flavors, and experience the story-telling aspect of the brand to learn about new ingredients or partners.
Co-founded by cousins Kim and Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw makes ice cream that tells the story of artisans, farmers and meaningful food moments. From their humble beginnings as a single ice cream cart, Salt & Straw now has shops in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, and ships their ice cream nationwide, while still maintaining its commitment to craft and artisanship and connection to their communities, with seasonal flavors made in their kitchen headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Salt & Straw has built up a significant fan base in New York City even before opening its first location here, having hosted a sold-out pop-up last summer with lines wrapped around the block, and has also teamed up with some of the city’s top chefs, including James Beard-nominated chefs Mary Attea (Musket Room) and Michael Anthony (Gramercy Tavern).
“Since founding Salt & Straw over 12 years ago, we’ve used ice cream as a platform for telling stories of artisans, culinary movements, and meaningful social causes, and along the way have been fortunate enough to build some great relationships in NYC, including with our partner and key advisor, Danny Meyer and the Enlightened Hospitality Investments team,” said Kim Malek in a statement. “Our Upper West Side location embodies the sense of community that’s been so fundamental to us and stays true to our roots of a gathering space where you can come with your loved ones and run into friends and neighbors.”
The Upper West Side shop will be open from 11 AM – 12 AM.
