Growing up, my siblings and I would clamor for the chocolate section of the Neapolitan ice cream my Mom would buy (probably thinking, "3 flavors, 1 carton = economical!") resulting in a carton of 1/3 strawberry, 1/3 vanilla, 1/3 empty. My dad, however, was a mint-chocolate-chip fiend, but, of course, if it wasn't chocolate, no one else would eat it! He had that gallon of M-C-C all to himself!
Also, if it wasn't ice cream, forget it! No frozen yogurt, sherbet or "sorbet" for us; our tastes only varied as far as the soft serve machine! If we had heard of gelato, we probably assumed it was an off brand of Jell-O...
Now, I have not (yet) been to Italy, so, according to friends who have, I don't really know what gelato IS. HOWEVER. This review last summer in Real Simple magazine of different brands of sorbet pointed to Ciao Bella as having the most realistic, and therefore delicious, tasting Mango Sorbet. I was hankering for some fruity dessert that would cool us down, so I bought a pint of the Mango at our local co-op. (Unfortunately, I was less than impressed, but that's not the point of the story!)I also picked up a pint of Espresso Gelato and Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato by the same maker, the former for me, the latter for Matt. As I opened the carton of M-C-C to dish some up for my dear husband, I was taken aback by the smell! Heavenly! It smelled like MINT! It didn't smell milky and...well, kinda green, like your standard M-C-C ice cream; it smelled like I had just sat down in a field of fresh mint with a favorite bar of chocolate. So I tried some. Oh, my, goodness. It is amazing. And it's perfect for these warm afternoons, when it's too hot to stay inside, or for those cold afternoons when you're wishing for a taste of spring!
There is a store locater on the website; if there isn't one near you, start lobbying for it TODAY!
P.S. The Espresso was also delicious, and my girlfriends vote unanimously for the Chocolate Hazelnut!
3 comments:
i LOVE gelato and mcc is my favorite ice cream flavor. when I was in rome and venice i had gelato like three times a day. it's flipping amazing...
I love gelato, too and also love mint ice cream. I like peppermint the absolute best but mint chip is a closer second!!! Thanks for sharing!
Kristine, I'd be interested to hear how Ciao Bella measures up to the real deal! I don't think we'll be making it to Italy anytime soon...
Anne, I looked on the website, and they don't seem to be selling in your area yet, but their shipping system looks pretty efficient, albeit a tad pricey, for overnight delivery on dry ice...
:)
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