Having come back from Winnipeg remembering that fabulous gelato at Nucci's, I searched the internet for a gelato cafe here in Queens. I was so delighted to find out that a cafe opened less than a year ago in the Whitestone section about a half hour drive from where I live. I first needed to find out whether they use artificial ingredients or a prepackaged mix. I find that when this happens, I get the taste and aftertaste as well as the texture just hitting the mark.
I called and John, the owner, gave me the 101 and saying that the gelato is made "from scratch". One of my friends lives nearby and was coming over to my house. I asked her to pick up two flavors, chocolate and hazelnut. Those are the two on which I judge the gelato. Perfect! I told John that I would soon be making my way there and doing a taste test.
I took a ride to their location at 12-58 150th Street. Before I even met John, I took photos. You'd think you were in Italy with the murals on the walls and garden in the back. The garden even has a few fig trees and an olive tree.
I saw a table of people, took a shot and John said, "You must be Merle". John Greco was with his wife, Maria Louisa, his daughter Sara, and a few members of his family, John and Tina.
I actually tasted all of the 24 flavors in the showcase and those were just the ones he had this day. John's son, Michael, is the one responsible for creating the gelato as well as the flavors. We looked at a loose leaf folder of a lot more such as: Chocolate Bacon; Popcorn; Pancake; and Twizzlers.
The ones I sampled that stood out for me were: Dark Chocolate Orange, which tasted as if I were eating chocolate covered orange peels; Mint Stracciatella, like having the best chocolate mint ice cream; Baklava...and they first make the baklava, which would be an awesome ending to a Mediterranean meal; and yes, the absolute in chocolate and hazelnut.
They certainly have the gelato making down to a science. Real fruit in the flavors that are dairy free. You'd never know that it lacked any milk being so smooth and having a creamy texture. I thought about cranberry to accompany your turkey dinner. Lemon is always great as a palate cleanser. Mixed berries, mango, or just about any or the fruit flavors are an easy substitute for a fruit dessert.
Starbucks has nothing over a coffee drink called affogato. You take two scoops of gelato, throw in a shot of espresso and top it with whipped cream and a bit of chocolate syrup. I simply had a scoop of their heavenly coffee gelato, cafe bianco, with the shot of espresso. Their cafe bianco is one flavor whose color doesn't match the taste as we all expect anything coffee to be a shade of brown.
One of the murals is misleading and has a door. I was about to take a photo when the door opened and a woman walked out. That's when I noticed that it was the door to the restroom!
I'll be back to try some other flavors and see if I can chat with the gelato maker. John and perhaps Michael will be my guests on my radio show this week.
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