Ice cream is going artsy at this all-black monochromatic pop-up in Soho

We may not have a cocktail of the summer or a song of the summer this year, but we did get something: the summer of unusual ice cream. First there was the melon and prosciutto combo from Salt & Straw. Then came the breast milk-inspired ice cream from OddFellows. And now there's an intriguing new flavor coming from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams—with an artsy twist.

Jeni's is collaborating with artist Cj Hendry to launch a jet-black flavor called OPAQUE. You can get a taste of it at an immersive pop-up shop in Soho this weekend, August 15–17. The concept promises a provocative exploration of color and flavor. As the team says in a press release: "What happens when you take the vibrant, colorful, nostalgic experience of ice cream and rely on other senses to rethink how it should look and taste?"

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Inside the pop-up, everything is going black. Tables, chairs, tiles, straws, napkins, ice cream cones, and the ice cream itself, of course—it's all the color of coal. Hendry has been documenting the build out on Instagram—and indulging in a few pints of OPAQUE along the way, gleefully showing off her black teeth after having a few scoops. As for the ice cream's taste, the flavor is made with black cocoa, espresso fudge, and tart balsamic cherry jam.

Ice cream is getting the fine art treatment at this weekend's pop-up. Hendry, who is known for her hyper-realistic artwork, is drawing unbelievably accurate ice cream scoops for the collaboration. Prints, encased in a black tri-fold package, will be available for purchase. The thing is, you won't know which color scoop you're getting until after you open it. If you're the lucky customer to reveal a black scoop, you'll get Hendry's highly valued original black ice cream scoop artwork. "It's gambling but make it art," she says.

"We wanted to create an experience that pushes sensory boundaries," Hendry said in a press release. "Removing color makes you feel everything else more deeply—the texture, the taste, the emotion. It's quiet, it's bold, it's unlike any other ice cream shop you've ever stepped inside."

Hendry worked closely with Jeni's over the past few months to create the flavor and the immersive pop-up. 

"This wasn’t just about creating a 'black' flavor," Beth Stallings, director of innovation at Jeni's, said in a press release. "It was about creating something that is layers deep, that feels like an excavation of flavor. With OPAQUE, guests will have to rely on their senses, allowing the flavor to unfold with each bite." 

Go grab a bite at the OPAQUE pop-up at 390 W Broadway from 12–7pm on August 15–17. The limited-edition flavor will be also be available in all Jeni's scoop shops and online at jenis.com starting August 14. Hendry's collaboration artworks will go on sale at 7pm on August 17 at cjhendrystudio.com.