Transported to Italy (via the West Village)

I mentioned Grom in my previous post and since I had dinner in the West Village once again, I figured it was worth a re-visit. I ate at Keste, which is one of the new hot brick-oven pizza joints in town. So what better way to end a rustic Neapolitan dinner than with typical Italian ice cream?

Grom is an Italian gelato chain that came to New York a few years ago. The Upper West Side location has a huge line down the street almost every night. The gelato is not cheap, but it is really really good.

The shop itself is rather sterile and modern looking. The employees are usually young, but friendly enough. And the flavors, which all go by their Italian names, are varied and change pretty regularly.

The girl behind the counter made a face when I picked my first flavor to sample - liqourice. I picked up on her judgement and when I accused her of not liking this flavor, she admitted that it was the only flavor she didn't like. I can empathize because black licorice is not my favorite flavor in the world. But I found this to be very delicate with just the right balance between herbaceousness and sweetness.

Fortunately, my next choice met the girl's approval a bit more: Marron Glaces, which is a traditional Italian candy with candied chestnuts. This refreshingly did not remind me of Christmas. But it had that delicious, rich sweet chestnut flavor without being mealy or spicy (two adjectives I think of when I think of chestnuts).

It took minutes of agonizing to decide, but I picked Caramello with pink salt and Tiramisu for my actual order. The caramello was great. The saltiness was very subtle and just enough to balance the deep sweetness of the caramel. The tiramisu could have been a bit more espresso flavored for me, but all the components of a tiramisu were present, included pieces of ladyfingers mixed in.

Everything I tasted was incredible. The flavors were all sweet without being overpowering. The add-in's were perfectly distributed. The flavors were strong and lingering. The mouthfeel was incredibly soft and creamy. Somehow you feel like you're in Italy (even if you've never stepped foot in the country). For a brief moment, while the gelato-filled spoon lingers in your mouth, everything is perfect with the world.

My only complaint with Grom is the price. A small order is $5.25 (about the same size as Sant Ambroeus' $3). But when you consider how much a plane ticket to Italy costs, I think those five measly bones are worth it.

Sant Ambroeus

For almost a year now, I have been following a list. I love following lists - I'm watching all the Oscar winning films, reading all the Pulitzer Prize plays, and eating all of Time Out New York's Top 100 Things We Ate and Drank. Thanks to TONY, I have discovered some great dishes all across the city and I'm almost complete (besides the closed restaurants and seasonal items that are now long gone).

This project has finally brought me to some gelato. The other night, I went to Sant Ambroeus, an Italian bistro, in the West Village (there's also a location on the Upper East Side), in search of another of my list items: gelato!

I have eaten brunch at Sant Ambroeus a few years ago and enjoyed the ambience and the food. The most memorable moment was being watched by a little boy from inside, who surprisingly turned out to be the precocious son of Matthew Broderick. And now I've come back during a busy Friday night to try nothing be gelato.

At the side of the bar, they had a small little gelato freezer and it definitely was not your typical take-out window. Amongst West Village diners, we picked our flavors from about ten options that the bartender told us verbally. There may have been the sampling option, but due to the unique environment, I felt it may not be appropriate.

I settled on traditional Italian flavors: mint chip and hazelnut. For $3.50, the one scoop was quite small. But the gelato was creamy and soft and very enjoyable. The mint flavor was not as authentic as I expect but the chip pieces were well distributed. The hazelnut was nice and nutty, if a bit artifical.

Overall, this is a pretty standard gelato option. If you're having a meal at the restaurant, a gelato serving is worth it. But if you're just walking by, Grom is a few blocks away and, in my opinion, a better gelato destination.