Salt & Straw's New Dessert Spot, Wiz Bang Bar, Is Now Open

Retro and chef driven aren't typically words you'd expect to see describing the same restaurant. But with a menu that has three flavors of magic shell and a space that features a 10-seat sushi bar-esque chef counter, they're the perfect description for Wiz Bang Bar, now open in Portland's new Pine Street Market.

The soft-serve- and sundae-focused dessert bar is the latest from Salt & Straw founders Kim and Tyler Malek, and the West Coast dairy aficionados are serving ice cream creations as exciting and whimsical as the spot's name suggests. We were lucky enough to try some of the creations this winter at a one-night-only New York pop-up. They're more than worth the trip to Portland: soft-serve ice cream that tastes like a ham hock, miniature choco tacos made to order and a brûléed grits sundae are just a few of the menu's offerings.

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Salt & Straw is known for being thoroughly Portland, and that focus on local goods will extend to Wiz Bang. The chocolate soft-serve uses single-origin ingredients from the nearby bean-to-bar Woodblock Chocolate, and the maroon magic shell features Oregon black raspberries.

Pine Street Market is the city's first food hall and is expected to fully open in the first week of May (the Maleks opened shop early to accommodate the high anticipation). For now, you'll find us at the walk-up window that opens right into Wiz Bang, salted caramel stout beer float in hand.