Steph Curry doesn’t normally get overwhelmed. Four-time NBA champion? Check. Eleven-time All-Star? Check. The two-time NBA MVP generally does whatever is needed to win for the Golden State Warriors, but send him to buy ice cream at California’s famous Salt and Straw, and he freezes up! Cameron Brink and Curry’s sister Sydel witnessed his foible after taking him to the ice cream parlor themselves.
Advertisement
Cam and Sydel were recently joined by Jamie Jacquez Jr. on their Straight to Cam podcast. Jacquez had no idea was Salt and Straw was, so they enlightened him.
“They are known for their weird flavors,” Brink said, surprised that Jaquez didn’t know about the place despite being Californian.
“They have a lot of weird flavors,” confirmed Sydel, reminding Brink that the first time she tried was with her in Oregon. This triggered a funny memory for Brink involving Sydel’s brother, Steph.
“Sydel’s brother, we took him to Salt and Straw once, and he got really overwhelmed because there’s like crazy flavors. There’s like olive oil. For thanksgiving, they had stuffing or whatever. He looked at the menu. He was so overwhelmed. He was like, ‘Is it okay if I just get vanilla?’ We were like, ‘Yes, Steph. It’s fine if you get vanilla,’” Brink revealed.
Well, vanilla works. It’s often overlooked because it’s basic. It goes with pretty much anything, though, so it’s really versatile. Olive oil flavored ice cream would certainly be an experience, but vanilla’s safe. You know exactly what you’re getting, and that kind of sums up Steph.
Right after Curry’s rookie season, when he signed that contract with the Warriors, he took a ton of ridicule and criticism. Most people thought the Warriors overpaid for an “olive oil” player who wasn’t that special. In his first year, he seemed basic. But 16 years and four NBA championships later, nobody’s complaining anymore.
As far as actual dietary preferences are concerned, it should be noted that Steph really loves his food.
Curry’s love of eating
That may be an understatement. Curry not only loves to eat, but he likes chronicling his culinary experiences as well. He has even ranked the popcorn in all the NBA arenas across the country based on freshness, saltiness, crunchiness, butter and presentation.
In 2019, the year that list debuted, it was topped by the popcorn at Dallas Mavericks’ American Airlines Center, with an almost perfect score of 24. Closely following were the Nets’ Barclays Center and the American Airlines Arena, former home of the Miami Heat. These rankings are flexible, and Curry has been known to change them each year according to his experience.
Steph is also known to have a decent threshold for spicy food. He, very bravely, appeared on Sean Evans’s Hot Ones, where celebrities eat progressively hotter wings while being asked deeply researched questions by the host.
While Curry didn’t necessarily have a great time, he fared better than Shaquille O’Neal and Gordon Ramsey. Perhaps he will someday find himself back at Salt and Straw to choose something other than vanilla. I’d advise against olive oil, though. It’s already a travesty that ‘healthy cooking’ must be done with it. There’s absolutely no need to flavor ice creams like vegetable oil.
