Gelato Classico

Outside on Castro St.

The weather has been warm and sunny, the perfect atmosphere for enjoying some gelato. Gelato Classico is locate on Castro St, and always seems to be busy. Long lines usually indicate that the product is worth the wait. Matt, AJ, and I decided to check it out. 

So many choices!

This little shop had a plethora of choices from pumpkin, to pistachio, to white chocolate raspberry. The long line gave us ample time to decide. After switching my choices a couple times, I finally landed on the small cup with strawberry and double espresso bean. AJ went with the jamocha almond fudge and pistachio, and Matt chose dark chocolate and cherry.

The owner does all of the scooping.

You can also order a medium (with 2-3 flavors) or a large (3-4 flavors).  Gelato is generally much richer and creamier than ice cream, so usually a small tides me over.  They also serve milkshakes and sorbet. A milkshake will cost you $7! I'm not sure who has that much to spend on treats these days.

Strawberry and Double Espresso Bean.

While I was unsure as to how well strawberry and espresso would go together - I was pleasantly surprised. The sweet, slightly fruit strawberry went well with the strong espresso flavor. The espresso bean was probably my favorite, with pieces of chocolate covered beans mixed into the espresso flavored gelato. AJ's nutty combo - chocolatey almonds and pistachios was a bit overwhelming, but tasty all the same. The simplicity of Matt's dark chocolate and cherries was a definite winner. 

Jamocha almond fudge and pistachio.

So you might be asking yourself, what is the difference between gelato and ice cream? I had heard that gelato actually has less fat than ice cream, so I was curious as to why it always seems creamier to me. I went to the internet to find some answers. As I had suspected gelato tends to contain less fat, using a higher ratio of whole milk to cream. This method allows the flavors to stand out. In addition gelato is churned at a much slower rate, which decreases the amount of air that is pumped into the mixture, leading to a creamier taste. As one site put it: gelato = less fat + less air = richer creamier taste. 

 

Gelato just makes people happy.

While I have never had gelato in Italy, I will be back for some more gelato in Mountain View, CA.