Monday, August 27, 2007

The Eternal Quest for Great Gelato, Part 1

No quest for the closest thing to Italian gelato would be complete without starting where I typically go for gelato, Dolce Spazio (pronounced dōl-che spŏtz-ee-ō) in Los Gatos. Long considered the hotspot for Bay Area gelato, Dolce Spazio has won numerous awards for their version of the classic Italian treat. A quaint little shop on the main strip of downtown, Dolce Spazio caters to the elite of Los Gatos. Saturday mornings blur into a rush of joggers, bikers, families with strollers, and visitors who line up for their treat of choice—coffee, Italian soda, tea, giant cookies, muffins, smoothies, and for those brave early-morning souls, gelato and sorbetto.

With a variety of flavors that run from the seemingly health conscious—strawberries & cream, pistachio—to the deliciously scandalous—oreogasmic—to the mouthwatering divine—chocolate liqueur, snickelicious, cappuccino chip—to the traditional classic—vanilla bean, menta chip—Dolce offers temptation to everyone. Sizes take their cue from the Italian numerical system of scoops, including uno (for one scoop), due (for two), and tre (for three). You may be tempted to choose the tre, but tre is not for the faint of heart, or for the tiny bellied. Dolce’s gelato is rich and dense—heavy even, causing even an uno to be overwhelming if consumed after any semblance of a meal. The gelato is creamy (although, depending on the flavor you order—those with chocolate chips or cookie crumbles—it can sometimes be slightly granular). Every serving of gelato comes with a perfect pie-slice-shaped wafer cookie that crumbles under the weight of the gelato. Enjoy your gelato out behind the shop in their hide-away courtyard at one of the dainty café tables.

Verdict: Dolce Spazio’s gelato tastes fantastic (seriously, it’s one of my favorite place to splurge on dessert), but it’s more the love-child from the marriage of ice cream and gelato than authentic Italian gelato.


Dolce Spazio

221 North Santa Cruz Ave.

Los Gatos

408.395.1335

www.dolcespazio.com

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