Tag Archives: Gelati

The cream scene

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Kariton Sorbetes, 50 Leeds Street, Footscray.

Think there’s a buzz and hububb, a pronounced air of delicious trendiness, surrounding Footscray’s new Filipino gelati joint?

You’re right!

Bennie and I first check it out a day or so after it opened.

It was Australia Day and 34C.

Yet still, as spied during our drive-by, the queue was something like 50 metres.

Um.

No thanks.

We’ll wait until the fuss has died down.

Maybe this year; maybe next.

But then, just days later, on a Saturday of lunching and market shopping – when you’d expect the crowd to be just as intense – we find the place pretty much deserted.

So in we go.

Looking at the Kariton FB page and website, we’d somehow gained the impression the place is mainly about fancy pre-made specialties.

Think “curated”, “styled” or maybe “designer-constructed”.

So we are thrilled to discover that in addition to such fridge items, Kariton does indeed serve up a range of flavours by the scoop and in cup or cone.

Yay!

It’s a neat place to hang while slurping.

Seating is down to a plain wall-side bench, while we prop at the stand-up bar at the window.

Bennie goes with ube halaya, described as “creamy purple yam (ube) gelato topped with our rich and decadent ube jam, preserved blackberry and malty, toasty latik (caramelised coconut curds)”.

For me, it’s a scoop of buko pandan – “velvety coconut and pandan gelato with pandan jelly, candied coconut and crispy, toasted pinipig (rice flakes)”.

Wowee, this is some really great stuff and absolutely worth every cent of the $5.50 admission fee.

The experience is quite unlike Italian gelati – and seemingly a lot more creamy.

I reckon Kariton will become a regular for us when we’re in the icy mood.

In the process, we’ll no doubt check out some of the more adventurous flavours.

Though we’re bound to be cautious when it comes to ingredients such as durian and fish sauce!

That’s my gel

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Gelati by d’Asporto, 3/11d Murray Street, Yarraville.

As if we aren’t spoiled enough in the inner west for ice-cream and gelati … along comes Gelati by d’Asporto.

Under the auspices, of course, of the namesake pizza/pasta/Italian joy restaurant just around the corner and – also very much part of the same family business – another eatery at Rifle Range shopping centre and the fabulous kiosk at Williamstown Beach.

The new gelati shop is all smiling business and no fuss – just ice delights and a couple of standing/leaning tables to enjoy them.

Given the plethora of eating – and coffee – options in Yarraville village, this streamlined approach makes all sorts of sense.

I make my first visit, as a guest (see full disclosure below), with high expectations that are easily met and even surpassed.

Prices range from $4.80 for a single scoop and upwards – pretty much regulation gelati prices, in other words, but on the excellently cheap side given the quality at hand.

My twin scoop deal for $6.80 strikes me as a fine deal.

The flavour line-up (see below) is agreeably concise.

My first-up selections …
Mascarpone and fig – creamy, heavenly.

And mildly flavoured, as is usual with this ingredient combo.

Bacio – really, really superb.

Largely thanks to the inclusion of wonderfully crunchy hazelnuts.

I pay another visit the next day and go for the choc mint – and it, too, is lovely.

Will we be back?

Yes.

Over and over and over …

Opening times are 2-10pm Mondays-Thursdays and 11am-10pm Fridays-Sundays.

(Consider The Sauce enjoyed Gelati by d’Asporto as a guest of the management and we did not pay for our sweet treat.)

Yarraville gelati

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Augustus Gelatery, 175 Somerville Road, Yarraville. Phone: 9315 314

The first things Consider The Sauce looks for when trying a new gelati/ice-cream joint are unusual or intriguing flavours.

We find one at the Yarraville shop of the rapidly expanding Augustus chain – dark chocolate gelati.

So dark it is, it looks like tar!

We both find it to be very, very good – and very chocolate-y.

The pistachio that makes up the rest of my twin-scoop cup is just average.

Bennie finds the same with his strawberry cheesecake.

Other than the dark choc gelati, we find most of the other Augustus flavours to be of no particular interest to us and …

… there appears to be an accent on pastel adventures!

What else?

Price per scoop?

Here it is $5 for a single; we reckon our double scoop deals for $6.80 are well priced.

Baby/kids cones?

Not that we can see – and the staff members are dealing with an ongoing kiddy/holiday rush when we’re in the house.

Sometimes we find ice-cream/gelati places don’t advertise the fact they serve smaller serves.

And sometimes that’s all we feel like!

Coffee?

No.

Yarraville Augustus is apparently a hit and is sure to remain so through the forthcoming summer.

But it’ll probably be a some-time location for us as we stick to firm and long-time favourites in the village and in Kensington, the latter at which we can get great coffee, too.

I scream, you scream

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Sourdough Kitchen, 172 Victoria Street, Seddon. Phone: 9687 5662

It would be glib and inaccurate to proclaim, for the purposes of this story, “summer’s here and so is ice-cream season”.

Truth is, we eat the stuff all year round and even when the weather is at its most dismal.

But there’s two new kids on the block in the west and we really feel obliged – haha, our sort of obligation! – to give them a spin.

Gelati and/or ice cream?

See here for a handy explanation of the difference.

If anything, we prefer gelati, if only because it’s more likely in our world to mean in-house production by people we dig at places we love – see here, here and here.

But we never get too technical, snobby or hipster about it …

Sourdough Kitchen – long-running and beloved community fixture, source of regular work commute coffees as well as the occasional sandwich and more – and now doing their very own gelati line-up.

 

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Bennie is well pleased with his single scoop cone of chocolate gelati ($4).

It’s soft in the gelati way, with much of it oozing down the cone – so I have no way of gauging value for money in terms of serving size.

There’s no such problems with my cup scoop of Christmas mince pie (top photograph).

This is sensational – a bit like rum-and-raisin or cassata, with plenty of fruit and texture.

It makes me smile.

Lots.

 

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Gelati – and lunch, too

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1565, 3 Gower Street, Kensington. Phone: 9376 1965

Since first writing about the gelati emporium that is 1565, we’ve dropped in for the odd and very excellent cone or cup.

On a recent visit, we discovered that Kensington joint is doing lunches, too, so I am happy to check it out.

 

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The 1565 lunch routine is the epitome of simplicity …

Soup ($10) with a crusty bread roll.

 

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There’s arancini for $5 ($9.50 with salad).

And those same superb rolls are used in panini ($9.50) – your choice of schnitzel, eggplant or beef.

 

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My beef schnitzel job is medium rather than large, but there’s no doubting the good, fresh flavours and prime eatability of the meat, bread, rocket, roasted capsicum and scamorza cheese.

 

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As well, there is a small but wonderful range of biscotti and cakes, all made on the premises.

Gelati pasta for lunch

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Gelateria Millefiori, 338B Keilor Road, Niddrie. Phone: 0457 404 041

Gelateria Millefiori is a new gelati place and I’m excited to be headed there for a taste.

Or several.

It’s lunchtime … but truth be known, I’m not that hungry.

So as I drive, I’m idly speculating as to the viability of a scoop or two as lunch.

With a coffee on the side.

As it turns out, Gelateria Millefiori has me covered.

For in addition to cones and cups of a juicy line-up of gelati, some panini and good-looking canoli, the menu (see below) boasts quite a range of glorified sundaes paraded as bona fide meals.

I choose the spaghetti al pesto ice ($9.90), which isn’t pesto so much as pistachio.

 

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Luckily, I spy my p-nut gelati being turned into pasta – on a bed of cream from a can!

Happily, they’re only too happy to start afresh for me!

 

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How is it?

Well, the pasta thing seems a bit of a gimmick, even though there are toppings of pistachio chips and syrup.

But there’s no doubting the creamy, rich, delicious quality of the gelati.

Most of the gelati flavours are familiar to me … but how about black chocolate and oro di oro?

The latter is, I’m told, based on the lemon custard used in Italian baking.

I have a taste of both.

Wonderful!

Check out the Millefiori Facebook page here.

(This story has been sponsored by Moonee Valley City Council. But in all other regards it is a regular Consider The Sauce post – we chose the restaurant and when to eat there; we ordered what we wanted and paid for it ourselves; and neither oversight nor an editorial role were sought by the council.)

 

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Frozen yogurt?

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Icebar frozen Yogurt, 105a Victoria Street, Seddon. Phone: 9689 1837

Friend 1 has spoken highly of the Icebear frozen yogurt.

Friend 2 demures, she being something of a sweet treats maven.

So we check it out for ourselves.

Bennie, it has to be said, is a lot keener about this than I.

Him being attracted by the dazzle, the self-serve dispensering and the array of toppings.

For old-school gelati guy me, some of the toppings – the chocolate bits and the nutty pieces – make sense.

But sour cola bottles and the like?

Or muesli?

Here’s how it works:

Choose your poison from the available flavours, fill a cone or cup as you see fit, top with toppings – also as you see fit.

The cones are big, and even the smallest cup would seem to be an invitation to over-indulgence.

I warn Bennie to try to keep it simple and not end up with an expensive mish-mash.

He ignores me, though not as spectacularly as he could.

 

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He gets apple pie and salted caramel, topped with choc coffee beans, apple pie coulis and lychee popping balls.

It costs $9.50.

He likes it OK.

I like the yogurty tang of the main ingredients, but also find them way too sweet.

 

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Two of the flavours are labelled “soft gelato”, so that’s how I roll to the tune of $5.40.

A modest excretion each of chocolate and hazelnut, topped with just a sprinkle of choc sprinkles and a couple of wafers.

Conservative, moi?

My dessert is enjoyable, but novelty value aside will never reside in my heart in the same way our beloved neighbourhood gelati joint does.

In the end, Bennie agrees.

Though we suspect there’ll many, many folks whose mileage will very much vary …

 

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Gelati magic

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Hello Gelo, 15 Anderson St Yarraville. Phone: 90785696

As previously and recently noted, Hello Gelo in Yarraville is very much our go-to place for gelati.

Indeed, we love Scott and what he does, dig checking out his new flavours and can barely imagine life without our several-times-a-week visits to his Anderson Street emporium.

So we are excited to invited to witness him whipping up some of his gelati magic.

Scott has been running Hello Gelo here for about 4 1/2 years, having sold his Carlton cafe about three years ago.

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We have questions.

Is there a difference between gelati and ice cream?

The answer appears to be “no” but also a significant “yes”.

As I understand it, ice cream is higher in fat but has more air, while gelati is lower in fat but is a much denser product.

Fat-wise, this would seem to balance out.

But I’m also left in even less doubt that when it comes to ice cream/gelati, you get what you pay for.

Budget-priced supermarket brands cost what they do because of ingredients (“padding”) the details of which you may not want to know.

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As it is, our admiration for Scott and his products grows in leaps and bounds as we watch him in action and hear about how he goes about his work.

The attention to detail and solid determination to use only the best ingredients is fantastic!

Here is a man, for instance, who makes his own hokey pokey using golden syrup, castor sugar and bicarb.

You reckon that’s what you may be getting in your generic brand ice cream?

I don’t think so!

He uses fresh fruit where available, affordable and applicable.

For other flavours, he uses frozen fruit just because the flavour is better or, in the case of the gorgeous-smelling amarena cherrys, a premium imported product simply because it has to be that way.

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When we arrive, he has already prepared the bases of the four flavours he will be making – forest berry sorbet, raspberry ice cream, black cherry yogurt bubblegum.

The bases consist of dextrose, sugar, skim milk powder and natural vegetable gums.

Those bases are then poured into his Corema gelati machine along with full-fat milk and the fruit or flavourings.

For ripple gelatis, such as today’s black cherry yogurt or hokey pokey or anything involving solids such as nuts, Scott deftly uses a spatula to weave the goodies into the gelati as it exits the machine.

The gelati straight of the machine tastes delicious, of course, but has the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

A couple of hours in Scott’s “shock freezer” fixes that up and then they’re ready to sell.

Scott tells us his most popular flavours are chocolate and salted caramel.

Quantities vary, but last summer found him making 300 litres in a two-day period.

And yes, in summer and on hot days, he sells way more of his dairy-free sorbets or ices.

 

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Ponds gelati scoop

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Mio Dolce, 89 Puckle St, Moonee Ponds. Phone: 9326 0402

Our post about gelati in the western suburbs brought forth a number of responses, both here and on Facebook.

Thanks to those comments we have at least one solid lead to follow-up.

But several things seem plain …

There are people in the western suburbs who love gelati.

There is gelati in the western suburbs for them to thrill over.

But the western suburbs will never be Carlton or even the CBD.

And thank heavens for that!

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In the meantime, having gelati on our minds leads to us checking out a beaut Puckle St business past which we must have walked a gazillion times without taking much notice.

Puckle St is a bit like that …

But Mio Dolce turns out to be a cosy, homespun and old-school Italian bakery and gelateria.

Sure, they do sandwiches and a few hot things, but the heart of this place are gelati and biscotti.

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We like it that they only do half a dozen or so gelati flavours, with none of them being unusual or particularly exotic.

I enjoy my very big $4.40 cup of caramel, Bennie digs his cone of donatella … sounds like a turtle to me but it’s apparently a mix of chocolate and hazelnut.

My cafe latte, too, is fine.

But Bennie finds his banana milkshake too sweet to handle. Could be a sign this lad is maturing, eh?

We ogle the range of biscotti, slices and other sweet treats.

We see, among others, crostata, almond bread, almond crescents, ameretti, vienesse, romanini and florentines.

We grab a bag of “mini-romanini” to take home.

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As you can see, the $5 price makes this a pretty good deal when compared with the prices of similar products at our local supermarket haunts.

 

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Where do you go for a gelati fix?

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On Christmas Day, after we’d had our fill of super-spicy food at Dosa Hut, a strong gelati lust came upon us.

Knowing places that sell gelati that were even vaguely local were bound to be closed, we headed cheerfully headed to Lygon Street …

… where we figured, Christmas Day or not, somebody would be selling gelati.

Nope.

Upper Lygon, lower Lygon and even Brunswick Street – we were luckless.

OK, OK – Christmas Day and all, but … COME ON!

Seriously, had it been any sort of normal day we would for sure have hit Hello Gelo right in Yarraville Village.

We’re first-name regulars and enjoy at-least weekly visits.

We love checking what new flavours Scott has dreamed up and really like one of his latest – gingerbread!

Outside of Hello Gelo and taking in the broader west?

Well, there’s actually four gelati and/or ice-cream emporiums on Nelson Place in Williamstown.

We’ve been customers at all four at one time or another over the years.

But we’ve not warmed to any of them.

Outside of those options, I can’t for the life of me think of any other good gelati joints in the west.

Tips anyone?

Brunetti

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Brunetti, 380 Lygon St, Carlton. Phone: 9347 2801

If there had been a red carpet and VIP list involved, we wouldn’t be up the first or on the second.

Nevertheless, we reckon we’re smack bang in the middle of a bona fide Melbourne event – a happening packed with buzz and delight.

It’s the opening day of the ultra-swish new Brunetti and we’ve fronted for breakfast.

So have a lot of other people; everyone, staff and customers alike, is revelling in the moment.

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We know there are those who never had much or any time for the previous Brunetti incarnation in Faraday St, finding it too slick, flash and imposing.

For them, the new premises are likely to be even more problematic – because the new Brunetti is huge, taking up almost the entire space of what used to be Borders and running from the Lygon St entrance to the more formal restaurant space at the Drummond St end.

In between there is everything you’d expect – gelati, pizza oven, biscotti, pastries, cakes and more.

And a raised caffeine hub with two gleaming monster machines already doing grand business.

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Our semi-regular Brunetti visits have almost always been about mid-week gelati treats, takeaway biscotti or breakfast, and doubtless that will continue to be the case.

We’ve never had much truck with the more substantial fare, though it seems it may possible to pursue those avenues in the new place with more ease and perhaps even greater quality.

Because there is a lot of comfortable seating spread along the length of the premises.

The place will still be a madhouse at peak times – in our experience, that means any weekend after about noon in spring or summer.

But there is no denying the spaciousness and style of the new place – it’s like the old Brunetti on steroids.

If you loved Faraday St, you’ll likely love Lygon St. If not … run!

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It’s a special adventure so I let Bennie off the leash – he enjoys not one but two apricot Danish pastries at $4.10 each. They’re fresh and hit the spot.

His two hot chocolates are slightly better than good but don’t send him into raptures. Same thing goes for my two cafe lattes.

My toasted ham, cheese and tomato is a $9.50 dream that has me issuing moans of delight.

Really, it’s hard to imagine how a toasted sandwich could be better – excellent bread uniformly, perfectly toasted; great tasting ham; gooey melted cheese.

When Bennie has a taste, the cheese strands stretch from his sandwich-holding hand to his gob until they snap and bounce happily off his chin.

 

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Hello Gelo

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15 Anderson St, Yarraville. Phone: 9078 5696

Does ice cream lose the taste factor after a single scoop?

Do tastebuds become so frozen that subsequent scoops become gratuitous?

Is scarfing multiple scoops an exercise in gluttony?

Why aren’t great minds working feverishly on the answers to these important questions?

Actually, while we love our ice cream and gelati, we almost always restrict ourselves to what are generally referred to as baby cones.

Taste issues aside, with gelati we reckon there can be too much of a good thing. I see cones and cups stacked with three or four scoops, and I’m puzzled how people can inhale so much of the sublime stuff.

Our single scoop habit fits specially well with Hello Gelo, as their kids cones tend to be a bit more generous than elsewhere – although it is a variable situation. And their kids cones cost a mere $2.50.

In several years of living in Seddon and Yarraville, we revelled in the wonderland of cheap, funky eating out options on our doorstep.

But it also bugged the hell out of us that a gelati fix required a drive to Williamstown, Sydney Rd or Lygon St. OK, sometimes the drive was fun, but still …

And then came Hello Gelo, now entering its second summer and the owner of which obviously contemplated the same unsatisfactory situation and decided to do something about it.

Hello Gelo does several of the things expected of a gelati joints – hot dogs, sundaes, those little Dutch pancake thingies, coffee, sweeties of various kinds – but when we’re there, we’re strictly on a gelati mission.

We like checking out the new flavours, of which there always seem to be two or three, even on our very regular visits.

Bennie holds dad’s apple pie and his own honeycomb crunch, while our very cool jazz chick neighbour Dulcie works on her blood orange.

The chilli chocolate is a fixture, as are fruity ices such as lemon, lime and blood orange.

We’ve had a few disappointments. The almond, for instance, tasted like plain old vanilla to me.

By contrast, another flavour that could have been too subtle to nail – apple pie – did indeed taste just like apple pie.

Another big plus: Hello Gelo operates a frequent flyer card scheme – buy seven and get one free.

And, yes, the card deal also applies to kids cones.

Excellent!

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