written by Julie Lee | photos courtesy of Ruby Jewel
The heat is here, and there’s no better way to chill out than with some ice cream. Like all its foodie endeavors, Portland is brimming with hand-crafted ice cream options.
Ruby Jewel
There’s ice cream, and then there’s Ruby Jewel. In the land of artisan frozen treats, Ruby Jewel is king and queen. When Portland was on the cusp of a foodie revolution in 2004, owner Lisa Herlinger took advantage of a void in the ice cream category and opened shop. Starting with a cooler at the Portland Farmers’ Market, Ruby Jewel has since expanded to grocery stores from Alaska to Los Angeles. Focusing on ingredients from the Northwest, the business holds true to its simplistic roots, despite national attention received from the likes of the Oprah Magazine and the Washington Post. Ice cream sandwiches are the specialty, and our favorite is the lemon cookie with honey lavender ice cream.
3 locations:
428 SW 12th Ave.
3713 N. Mississippi Ave.
4703 SE Hawthorne
Salt & Straw
The story lies in the lines around the block—from open till close, fall through summer. There’s no denying, Salt & Straw is special. With social marketing genius and front of house finesse, Salt & Straw has turned ice cream on its head, proving that a profitable business can be churned out of cream. With eclectic ingredients like olive oil and blue cheese, this game-changer has taken over Portland and L.A. The newest addition, Salt & Straw’s Wiz Bang Bar, is located inside the newly opened Pine Street Market and introduces its spin on soft-serve.
4 Portland locations:
3345 SE Division St.
2035 NE Alberta St.
838 NW 23rd Ave.
Wiz Bang Bar: 126 SW 2nd Ave.
Fifty Licks
You don’t need to go to anywhere for a delicious scoop of this hand-crafted ice cream—they’ll come to you. Fifty Licks makes French-style ice cream, made from scratch with real egg yolks as the base ingredient, resulting in a rich custard style treat. Visit them in Southeast Portland or, for larger gatherings, have their mobile truck come to you.
2021 SE Clinton St. | fifty-licks.com
Cloud City Ice Cream
There’s no sweeter smell than a waffle cone in the making. Cloud City Ice Cream is a sensory overload and a hit with families. Kids love the Circus Friends! ice cream with animal cookies and rainbow sprinkles; adults dig the Bourbon Vanilla, made with Burnside Bourbon, or the Chocolate Stout, made with Hopworks Survival Stout and single-origin chocolate.
4525 SE Woodstock Blvd. | cloudcityicecream.com
What’s the Scoop?
Searching for the perfect dessert for your next special occasion? A mini ice cream cake from What’s the Scoop? is guaranteed to impress. Ice cream is made in small batches, mixed with candies, fruits and sauces to produce an über creamy, scrumptious treat.
3540 N. Williams Ave. | whatsthescooppdx.com
