Salt & Straw: Wrong Location

People from my hometown often point out I haven’t gone to the mecca of Portland ice creameries: Salt & Straw. This is true, but I don’t like being told where to get my sundaes; one should never be compelled to go buy a sundae, it should be a natural occurrence. It just so happens my biological sundae clock urges me to indulge bimonthly.

In a vain attempt to spite these “S&S pushers,” I went to their location in Seattle. Now, that may seem like a far reach for a bit to some of you, seeing that I reside in southeastern Idaho. Luckily I was in Seattle on a school trip, and after some dinner, I convinced the other students that ice cream was “the move.”

We get there to see a long line. To the rookies, it seemed intimidating and not worth the wait. I gave them reassurance that it would move quickly, but goodness they were whiny. They don’t understand that the line is almost an essential element of going to Salt & Straw; they were soon overwhelmed with the diverse flavors and subsequently needed the time allotted by the long line to make up their minds.

But enough about these other people, this is my blog; no one cares about their experience.

You may notice from the picture that this sundae fits rather easily in my hand. That is because it is small. But it looks pretty.

The content was pretty immaculate; salted caramel ice cream with crushed hazelnuts and decadent fudge and whipped cream. Also, a freshly baked brownie on the bottom.

Quality of Toppings:

Great. Just splendid. Hazelnuts added nice texture and the cream was just out of this world good. The brownie on the bottom was also good, but I do have a gripe with it.

It took the whole process an extra five minutes. Is that silly to complain about? Maybe, but I had to stand around for an extra five minutes while everyone else got their scoops and went on their merry way. I just think there should be a way to streamline the process.

Quality of Fudge:

Warm and delicious, though it trod closer to chocolate sauce than actual fudge; this is a common error, but I hoped for better. At least it was tasty.

Level of Comfort Ordering a Hot Fudge Sundae:

The brownie wait time made it a little awkward. Also one of the workers was pretty abrasive. He came up to me and asked how many were in my group, but I didn’t understand the question and said I’m just paying for myself. Then he pretentiously explained their flavor sampling process to me.

He obviously didn’t know who he was talking to. I’ve been to the first Salt & Straw. He was just working at their annex.

Would I Rather Get a McDonald’s Sundae?

Salt & Straw loses the most points from its pricing. This sundae by itself costs $8.50, but add sales tax and Seattle’s sugar tax, it was $9.30. That’s just assinine.

Final Score: 7.1/10