When I travel, I find some of the most memorable moments (and meals) are the ones that are unexpected. This was the case when my friends and I went to Lake Como. I ate lots of delicious pasta while I was there. But, the pasta…
Hiking Cinque Terre was a bucket list item for me. That is why I was so excited when this trip to Cinque Terre came together. The vision of hiking the cliffs between the picturesque towns enchanted me. During the height of the pandemic as we…
I recently returned from a trip to Northern Italy. It was wonderful to travel with friends again! I’ll post more highlights from my trip soon. However, I thought it would be best to start with one of my favorite things about any trip to Italy: the gelato. As you try to scope out the best gelato in your Italian travels, look for the key words ‘gelato artigianale’. This means it is homemade or artisan gelato – no artificial colors and flavors and not mass-produced. Of course, really the most important thing in your search for the best gelato is just to eat gelato as often as possible – which is what we did in Lake Como, Cinque Terre, and Genoa. Yum!
Bar Iron Gate, Candenabbia near Villa Carlotta. Definitely the best view of all the gelato shops on our trip. The Amarena (cherry) gelato is not to be missed. Or try the affogato with hazelnut gelato if you need a little caffeine pick-my-up.
La Darsena Ristorante, Tremezzo I’ve eaten a lot of tiramisu in my life. This was a refreshing and gelato-based twist on the classic. It had lady fingers followed by a layer of rich custard and topped with coffee gelato and chocolate sprinkles. I will definitely try to recreate this for a future dinner party.
Ristorante Minstral, Bellagio is a Michelin starred restaurant, so expectations were high. Dolce (dessert) was definitely a highlight. They prepared stracciatella gelato tableside with liquid nitrogen. (See the video here.) As if this wasn’t enough, it was used to top amazing chocolate dessert over which they also poured a warm chocolate espresso sauce. It was unforgettable.
Crotto dei Platani, Brienno. If you find yourself in this part of Lake Como, you should definitely stop here for a meal. When you do, save room for dessert. The Passion Fruit Sorbet was fantastic.
Gelataria Vernazza was near our apartment in Vernazza, so it became our go-to gelato place in Cinque Terre. The Lemon sorbet was my favorite to cool off after a long hike between towns. However, the pistachio semifreddo was also delicious.
OK, I know cannoli has nothing to do with gelato. But the Sicilian cannoli with pastry cream and strawberries at il Parata 5 Terre in Vernazza was so good that I had to include it here. The pastry cream was infused with orange. It was so addictive that we went back the next day to get one for breakfast.
Gelati Italiani may not have had the most picturesque gelato we ate on the trip, but the quality of the gelato was excellent. After a long travel day that came included some frustrating hiccups, this gelato was the turning point in what ended up being a lovely (and delicious) day in Genoa.
