Mr. Yoshida and Cloud City’s Teriyaki Ice Cream Is Way Tastier Than Expected

The Portland collab will still make a great gag gift, but anyone bold enough to try it will crave more.

Mr. Yoshida x Cloud City Ice Cream (Andrew Jankowski)
By Andrew Jankowski

Mr. Yoshida, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?

To celebrate the return of the Pacific Northwest-founded Japanese marinade company to its founder, Junki Yoshida—who sold the Mr. Yoshida’s sauce brand to the Heinz Company nearly 25 years ago, only to see the condiment’s North American presence all but vanish—Yoshida Foods International has launched an eyebrow-raising collab with another Portland company, touting the Original Gourmet Sauce’s back-to-basics return to its once-beloved formula, over the less popular version Heinz used to sell.

Starting today and lasting the rest of the year, Cloud City Ice Cream will serve scoops and pints of a special sweet cream-based ice cream featuring a swirl of Mr. Yoshida’s sauce. Take a chance on it, especially if you are offered dried pineapple candy toppings. The end result is less gimmicky than it could be, and while it lands in time for customers to freak out their families this holiday season, those bold enough to try it are rewarded with a sweet umami treat they should just admit now they’ll want to come back to try again.

Caramel initially comes to mind on first lick. It’s not as salty, gooey or boldly sweet as Salt & Straw’s flagship flavor, and patrons will likely be puzzled by the experience, and fueled to keep trying to place where they’ve tried this before. It’s not at all like licking a chicken skewer, but a surprisingly light and sophisticated jaunt through flavor country. By the time the teriyaki aftertaste builds, most people will likely be too committed to give up. The aforementioned pineapple candies have a dried marshmallow mouthfeel that only elevates the experience.

Those lucky enough to attend a preview event on Monday, Nov. 18, were gifted a free bottle of the reformulated Mr. Yoshida’s original flavor. If you have only heard stories of the beloved brand, or haven’t tried it since the 20th century, shoppers can soon pick up bottles of their own from Costco and Amazon.

GO: Cloud City Ice Cream, 4525 SE Woodstock Blvd., cloudcityicecream.com. Noon–9 pm daily.

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