Dreamy deliciousness at Gelato Bar
Friday, September 29, 2006 0:23
Tujunga Avenue in Studio City (just south of Moorpark) is rapidly becoming LA’s very own Little Italy (at last!), what with Caioti Pizza (so-so) and old-skool Italian joints like Vitellos (the death restaurant – just ask Bonnie Lee Bakely). Village Gourmet has an array of wonderful imported goodies too.
Now we have a cosy little breakfast and dessert place called Gelato Bar, from the creative brain of Gail Silverton, sister to Campanile and La Brea Bakery’s Nancy Silverton. You can have an espresso and a muffin or pastry from sis’s bakery here in the morning, then return in the afternoon or evening to sample their superb gelati, hand made by an Italian guy named Alessandro, whose family has reportedly been in the gelati business for the past century.
Italy has a long tradition of ice creams and frozen ices. ‘Gelati’ simply means ‘frozen stuff.’ Apparently Catherine de’ Medici, of Florence, introduced this novelty to the French and then the luscious fad took off in Europe.
Here at Gelato Bar, they’ve gone to great lengths to achieve a friendly, neighborhood trattoria vibe, with its gaily painted striped walls, funky light fixtures and indoor plants on terra cotta tiled floors.
With twenty four flavors on display at any one time, they actually rotate twenty five of some of the creamiest and tangy tastes you could ask for. Coco (coconut) is so pungent, it makes you feel light-headed, like Keith Richards. Tiramisu competes with Zabaglione for creamy sweetness. Their Caffe e Ciccolato (chocolate and coffee mixture) is sinfully dark and rich. The Stracciatella is vanilla laced with chocolate chips and they have a few chocolate ones with nuts, such as hazlenut (Nocciola). They have a sherbetty Aranciata Rosso (blood orange) flavor which is delectable and various other fruit flavors such as Ananas (pineapple), Fragiola (strawberry) Banana and, of course, Limone (lemon). Mango is delicious too (if only they had Passionfruit *sigh*).
I was seduced by their Dulce de Leche (caramel) in a sugar cone ($4.50). Pricey but delicious, I’m going back for a pound (a pint) of four flavors in a styrofoam container — $16. That might work out cheaper than the little plastic cups and cones ($3.50 and up), but my waistline may hate me in a few week’s time.
Actually, they say gelati is less fattening than ice-cream, seeing as it is made with water or milk (but loads of sugar, naturally) rather than cream or buttermilk. So there is 50-60% less butterfat and a third fewer calories. Also gelati generally has 35% less air than ice cream, which means you get a dense and extremely flavorful product that melts faster.
If you don’t see Pistacchio (pistachio) at Gelato Bar (their most popular flavor) it’s probably out the back waiting for a free spot in the case.
So creamy, so divine – so damn close to where I live…
Gelato Bar Wholesale & Retail
4342 ½ Tujunga Ave
Studio City, CA 91604
818 487 1717
Open from 10am ’till 10pm, ’till 11pm on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Be advised, parking could be tough in the evenings.
By MaxMillion (see more of her posts). Max Million is the nom de 'net of Pauline Adamek. Born in Sydney, Australia, Pauline has lived in Los Angeles for the past ten years and finds it agrees with her. She has been reviewing films and filing celebrity-based interview articles since 1991, and has filed stories from various international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Toronto and Sundance. She is completing a family cookbook and also writes novels for 8-12 year olds.
Gillian says:
September 30th, 2006 at 2:13 am
Yummy scrummy. I was PMSing when I read this review and - since I live nearby - raced out to buy a dulche de leche ice cream. It totally hit the spot and I’m now feeling a lot more mellow. Thank you Max in a Million!
Homer says:
October 1st, 2006 at 7:43 pm
Creamy, creamy, gelato…. arrghhh… must have some… unggghhhh… drool
kelly potter says:
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Now I can have coffee (Aroma Cafe), buy French cheese (Village Gourmet), pick up dry cleaning, browse couture clothing (Hoity Toity), look at shoes, take a yoga class, have a pint at the Starlight Lounge AND scoff down Italian ice cream without even leaving Tujunga Avenue.
Hurrah!!!!
Anna says:
November 2nd, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Max- In reference to the posting about PB yougurt powder mix is somewhat true. I can not discuss the details but this product is not as natural as everyone thinks
MaxMillion says:
November 3rd, 2006 at 10:18 am
Thank you for your comment, Anna. I wish you could spill what you know!
I had written that someone on Colleen Cuisine’s site had commented that the yoghurt is made from powder that is sent over from Korea. Thus, no live cultures are present in the final product, which is too bad.
When I see the word ‘yoghurt’ I think ‘live cultures’ and ‘relatively healthy’. But Pinkberry is probably almost as full of sugar as icecream. Perhaps less buttermilk, cream or milk solids… But a sugary, frozen confection nonetheless.
Sarah says:
March 8th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Yes it’s great but one disappointment I have is that they use a solid plastic cup (probably a quality that could be reused over and over) as a disposable. In this day & age, and given the kind of neighborhood, I would’ve have expected some environmental condsideration. Just think about how many people are buying gelato in a cup everyday! We don’t need hard plastic cups for that. What happened to using paper cups?!!! Perhaps the price would then be slightly cheaper too.
MaxMillion says:
March 8th, 2007 at 11:02 am
^ You make an excellent point. I think it is worth proposing this suggestion in a letter to Gail Silverton. I know I will. This is one of the reasons I eat my gelato in a cone.
MaxMillion says:
March 9th, 2007 at 11:49 am
So, I emailed Gail asking if she’d consider using paper cups. Here’s her reply:
“I wish everyone would use a cone, even though they are the most expensive of all! The plastic cups are recyclable and I use a lot of them in my nursery school, too. My favorite thing is when families have us wash them and take them home! Thanks for the feedback.” Gail.
kenster says:
June 2nd, 2007 at 8:38 am
love gelato!!!!!! can’t find anything good in the san gabreil valley( arcadia, monrovia , glendora) area can you HELP!!!!!!
Clau says:
January 4th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I went there is really good!, I loved it!
But is true is very expensive, then you eat this very slowly thinking how much is each bite, hahaha!
You should try a new place in Pasadena check my blog!
:P
Aromi Gelato says:
February 18th, 2008 at 6:18 am
I wonder if they make their gelato on site? It’s always exciting to see these kinds of places popping up. I think it is an upward trend [gelato bars] in the U.S. because, like you mentioned, gelato being more healthy than ice cream.
MaxMillion says:
February 18th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
^ No, I’m almost certain they do not make their gelati on site.
I believe they get it directly from the ‘gelati artiste’ (I just made that term up…) named Alessandro, who concocts it at his lab - I mean kitchen according to some traditional family recipe.
I keep going back to Gelato Bar because they have new flavours all the time.
Cursed temptation!
Stephen Bishop says:
May 28th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Gelato is OKAY..all the pastries are frozen than defrosted and sold..they are hard and tasteless…I was actually sold one that was still cold & hard …coffee is good sometimes… depends who making it..I suppose the pretty decor is to distract from overpriced items.
MaxMillion says:
May 28th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
^ Well, Bish, you may be pleased to learn (as I just heard, only this week) that sometime in the near future the owners are planning to send all their staff off to ‘barista’ school to learn how to serve consistently good espresso.
As Gail mentioned, “I think our Gelati is an A+ and our coffee is only a B+ — I want them both to be A+.”
You gotta admire that level of perfectionism.
Also, they just started selling panini sandwiches that they press and serve hot to order. They are excellent. (From Press Panini across the road, also on Tujunga.)