What I Got: Wild-Foraged Berry Slab Pie, Rhubarb Crumble with Toasted Anise, Wildflower Honey and Lemon Chess Pie, Gruyère and Tomato Custard Tart, Vegan Coconut Cherry Pie with Almond Crust

Price: $$$

Location: NYC

Review:

Salt & Straw has five special flavors this June that are all based on pie.  I had to try them all because they sounded so amazing!  I used my only break in a very busy day simply to rush to Salt & Straw and get a pint of each flavor because they were so enticing.  I certainly don’t regret sacrificing my rest.  One of the flavors is one of my all time favorite ice creams I have ever had!

Rhubarb Crumble with Toasted Anise – The Rhubarb Crumble with toasted anise includes a strawberry and rhubarb jam and toasted anise crumble in a sweet cream ice cream base.  This is one of my favorite ice cream flavors I’ve ever had!  The ice cream is generously swirled with gooey, sweet and tart strawberry rhubarb jam with a more rhubarb forward flavor.  The anise crumbles give a great crunch and a hint of complex licorice-like flavor.  The sweet, luxurious ice cream brought together the incredible jam and crumble to create a sweet, tangy, earthy bite that encapsulates summer and everything I look for in both a slice of pie or scoop of ice cream.  I wish this flavor was available all year long. It is so fantastically delicious!

Wild-Foraged Berry Slab Pie – The Wild-Foraged Berry slab pie is a salted vanilla ice cream with wild dark berries and puff pastry crust.   The wild berries have a gorgeous deep sweetness and jammy texture.  There is a generous, neat swirl of the berry jam.  The fresh puff pastry adds the perfect crisp bite that completes the pie flavor.  The salted vanilla ice cream is the perfect base that complements the berries and balances out their sweetness.  You can’t go wrong with berry ice cream and this is the perfect scoop.

Wildflower Honey and Lemon Chess Pie – The Wildflower Honey and Lemon Chess Pie is a wildflower honey flavored frozen yogurt with ricotta chess pie and lemon curd.  The frozen yogurt has a sweet, fragrant honey flavor and is surprisingly creamy.  I was slightly disappointed because the honey flavor overpowered the pie and lemon curd making the frozen yogurt only have a slightly tart flavor.  The pieces of pie were also small.  I was expecting this flavor to be one of my favorites, and it ended up simply being okay.

Gruyère and Tomato Custard Tart – The Gruyère and Tomato Custard Tart is a frozen custard base with salt and black pepper, Gruyère and cream cheese tart, and tomato jam.  This may sound scary, but it is not as offensive as it sounds.  The custard is amazingly creamy, rich, and sweet with a hint of savoriness from the earthy black pepper and slight saltiness.  I did not taste any strong gruyère flavor but instead enjoyed the nice bits of the more cream cheese flavored tart.  The pieces of tomato really did taste like bright, sweet tomatoes and paired beautifully with the rich custard.  It is a unique and tasty flavor for the adventurous eaters like me!  

Vegan Coconut Cherry Pie with Almond Crust – The Vegan Coconut Cherry Pie with Almond Crust is a coconut cream ice cream with vanilla and amaretto, gluten free almond flour crust, and tart cherry pie filling.  The coconut ice cream is so incredibly creamy.  It is by far one of the creamiest vegan treats I’ve had.   The gooey, sweet, slightly tart cherry filling includes gorgeous whole cherries and cuts through the rich coconut cream.  The almond crust adds a great crunch and beautiful nutty flavor that pairs perfectly with both the coconut and cherries.  This was my second favorite of the five specials.  It is both a refreshing and satisfying treat!