Caffe Gelato

Has anyone already posted on this relatively new Wicker Park ice cream shop? Kerensa and I dropped in last night for a late cone and were pleasantly impressed. For 4 bucks you get three large scoops of fresh gelato in a waffle cone - i had almond, hazelnut and panna cotta, kerensa had chocolate, pannacotta and tiramisu. The big winners were chocolate and hazelnut - the chocolate had an intense dark chocolate flavor and an almost gooey texture. The hazelnut had an intense aroma of fresh ground nuts, and a pleasant texture. I'd go back in a second - I was very pleased. It doesn't hurt that the place feels like a roman gelateria boxed up and reassembled on Division st - eveything from the display case to the shelf of syrups and hte espresso machine feel just right. I'll go back soon and sample the fruit flavors, but so far it's as good if not better than Ice Dreams.

I'm a big fan of Caffe Gelato. I agree that the Chocolate Hazelnut is very good, but you definitely should go back for the fruit flavors. I think that's where they really shine. You can tell the gelato is fresh and that they use real fruit. My particular favorite is the mixed berry. You can taste the raspberry seeds which gives it a great texture. The peach, pineapple, and mango are also excellent. I only have one complaint. When they first opened, they would give a little cylindrical chocolate/hazelnut-filled thing (the name escapes me, but it starts with a "p") with your gelato. It was excellent. Now they give these lame little wafers. Not so good. This is a minor complaint however, because the gelato is excellent.

Hi,

Erik M and I were there several months ago. Erik had the pistachio, which he felt was the best gelato he has had in Chicago.

I believe the first time we heard about it was here.

If I recall correctly, there is a strong attempt to make this shop be as Italian as possible. The furniture and major equipment such as the gelato machine are all imported from Italy. I believe even the Gelato base is imported from Italy. This shop certainly had a European techno feel about it.

I will need to visit again. Thanks for the reminder.

Caffe Gelato
2034 West Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
773-227-7333

not to be the voice of discord, but i had the pistachio and it tasted NOTHING like pistachio and oddly chemical. the hazelnut, on the other hand, was delicious.

When they first opened, they would give a little cylindrical chocolate/hazelnut-filled thing (the name escapes me, but it starts with a "p") with your gelato.

Sounds like it might be a "baci" (kisses) from Perugia. Not really cylindrical, but nevertheless dark chocolate filled with a hazelnut fondue. Next time you're in a chocolate shop that carries imported chocolates (Marshall Fields, I think, has them), try them. They'll turn you into a believer.

No, I don't think it was a baci. It was a cookie filled with hazelbut/chocolate creme (generically called baci, I think). The big US brand is Pirouline. http://www.pirouline.com/

By the way, I did a report on this place within a few weeks of its opening. On my visit, I had bad coffee, bad gelato (old, real old, but I could see it being good fresh), and bad service from a surly (but, I must note, really attractive) Polish woman. I recal Gary and VI saying something about it in the same string, which I cannot find.

The fixtures and vibe of the place (all supposedly imported) really are pure Italy. I just wish they served liquor like such places do in Europe (and Canada and South America and I'm sure other places).

I'm anxious to try Caffe Gelato, in large part because I spent a lovely two weeks with my family in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, taking in the incredible scenery and the fantastic food, and we came back wondering why we can't get gelato in Chicago like they have there. They have gelato places on every other corner in Vancouver (interspersed with the coffee places), really really good gelato stands, with oodles of intensely flavored options. Why hasn't gelato taken off here? Any theories?

JeffB wrote:It was a cookie filled with hazelbut/chocolate creme (generically called baci, I think). The big US brand is Pirouline. http://www.pirouline.com/

Baci literally mean "kisses" ala hershey's kisses. The Perugino barnd of this type of candy is filled with choco-hazelnut cream, and has achieved such market dominance that the word baci has become metonymic for that flavor of thing - kind of like "snickers"-flavor ice cream. But, I would say that the word "baci" is not synomymous with chocolate hazelnut filling itself. Now, I don't know what the real word for that flavor is, but I'd be surprised if an italian told me about a cookie filled with baci. I could be wrong however...

Hi,

In Highwood, there is an Italian deli named Bacio. An Italian friend looking somewhat scandalized inquired if I knew what the name meant. Like why would she supposed I did? "It means kisses!" which was said with enough energy I knew I was supposed to be shocked to my core. I gave her my version of the 'deer in the headlights' look and the subject quickly changed.

Bacio's claim to fame in my book is their annual Christmas party. A very local celebrity is there playing her accordion and leading the slightly drunk shoppers in various English and Italian songs. They serve pizza, pastries, freshly made sandwiches, champagne and wine to their clients. I always show up to enjoy watching them enjoy themselves. It is one of the few times I come to this store. Yet when I don't make it, the very local celebrity always remembers the next time I see her.

Baci literally mean "kisses" ala hershey's kisses.

Ho capito, but around here one very often sees "bacio" in Italianate places used to describe things with a chocolate/hazelnut creme. Indeed, it was one of the flavors Chicago Mike used in his odd gelato roundup. This is a case where a brand name has become known generically. Stracciatella means "rags" but has come to be associated with chocolate chip (not rag) flavored ice cream. See also the nasty "snickerdoodle" which I think us. means cinnamon and hazlenut. Yuck.

HI,

When I think of Stracciatella I don't think of it exactly as chocolate chips like we know it. It is like very thin layers, slivers of chocolate, which when mixed in with the ice cream look like strata with all the parallel layers, found in rock or soil cross-sections.

Some ice cream company had/has a premium ice cream dessert, which is the very essence of Stracciatella with thin crispy layers of chocolate mixed with vanilla ice cream. I have bought the same or similar in Italy.

While looking around for an illustration/link I learned Stracciatella is also the name of an Italian egg drop soup.

While looking around for an illustration/link I learned Stracciatella is also the name of an Italian egg drop soup.

Yep, the best of which in Chicago cannot be bought -- but can be had for free with dinner at Sabatino's. The egg and cheese "rags" are great.

jblagg wrote:not to be the voice of discord, but i had the pistachio and it tasted NOTHING like pistachio and oddly chemical. the hazelnut, on the other hand, was delicious.

Went tonight and agree with this comment and others. The pistachio was off, the hazlenut was terrific, as was the limone and the Frutti di Bosco (mixed berries). Although I had no espresso, as a recent convert to home espresso, I was impressed with their espresso equipment and general ambiance.

OPMark, I agree with you on their nocciola and pistacchio. On the espresso, I'd recommend going down the street to either Letizia's or Pizza Metro. If the latter, both Fabio and Stefano make a great caffe, but not so with some of the other guys.

BTW, a self-described gelato historian I met in Rome claimed the addition of a cone was an invention of a gelataio at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Go figure.

The gelato here is pretty good, in my experience. I went here the other day (my 3rd visit in all) and had half hazelnut, half coffee, while my friend had half pineapple, half coconut (an order which made the otherwise surly and sneering girl behind the counter perk up for a nanosecond and say,"nice choice!"). The coffee and hazelnut were good, and my friend's impromptu virgin colada was better (nice bits of real fruit in both flavors). It's certainly creamy enough and has a good flavor, but is lacking the primal dairy freshness I expect in hardcore gelato. The best I 've ever had in the States was at the Parmalat Gelateria on Lincoln road in Miami Beach. The fior di latte there has a dairy quality and creaminess which comes at you with an immediacy like fresh mozzarella di bufala. The gelato at Caffe Gelato is really good but just a bit flat. In other ice cream news, I finally tried Australian Ice Cream on Southport and was impressed. I like the fact that they only had about 10 flavors (I'm usually overwhelmed and confused by the dozens of choices sometimes on offer at ice cream shops, and also suspicious that they all can taste good - I'd much rather have 10 or so basic choices that are done right). I had the mint chocolate chip, and it had a fresh dairy taste, mellow and natural mint flavor, and different sized chunks of good dark chocolate. It also wasn't frozen solid but had a gelato-like, cold, creamy texture. Plus, they dip the edge of the waffle cone in chocolate sauce right before serving. Nice.

Rebbe

The real question about Caffe Gelato, for me, is why go there at all when Miami Flavors is nearby?

I weighed in early on Australian on the old board, both on the Marshal Feild's and Southport stores. Too much air and way too expensive. However, I'll agree that the flavors are true and fresh-from-the-machine ice cream is a trend (see also Scooter's nearby) that I hope catches on more widely. It takes a lot of turnover, but it surely avoids the problems of inconsistency shared by Caffe Gelato, the Penguin and many others.

PS, the best Belgian waffles in Chicago are the waffle cones at Australian, which makes some sense. I like the waffles more than the ice cream.

I finally made it to this place. I don't know what took me so long. After a nice-enough dinner at Spring (which I'll post about separately) where we weren't too impressed with the dessert menu, we decided to head out for some gelato.

Petit Pois had the pistachio and I had the stracciatella. I was very impressed with the flavors in both. The pistachio had a strong, roasted pistachio flavor that was unmistakable. The vanilla flavor in the strac. reminded me of premium american vanilla ice creams, which is a good thing in my book.

The only complaint that I had was that the mouth-feel grew pretty tiresome after a few spoonfuls. It wasn't gummy, but my mouth started to feel as though it was coated in dairy fat. Perhaps I should have had some coffee with it or a few cookies (the one little wafer they thoughtfully included did help), or perhaps I'm learning after all these years that I just don't love gelato.

Either way, it's a nice little place and the sidewalk seating across the parking lot was a perfect place to sit and people-watch on Division.

Best,
Michael