Bethesda Row [take 4]

Well, here we are checking out the scene in our soon to be 2nd locale. Most of the hardwood floors were installed on Saturday and they are beautiful. They add a touch of warmth to the space, especially alongside the cool marble bar. We hope to pass through our inspections unscathed and will open the following week, say May the 20th, just in time for my mum's birthday, would be kinda cool, actually. So, for now we are just taking it easy on a green rainy night, prepping for another day of running around like a bunch of Cuckoo's. In the meantime, we received our first strawberries of the spring from Westmoreland Berry Farm in Virginia, of which I will write more about in the next couple of days. Just trying to take in the cool breezy Sunday night. Be talk'n to you later.

Bethesda Row [take 3]

So, here is a first sneak peak of our lovely soon-to-be gelateria. This at least will give you a an idea of the layout of the space, and now we just need to fill in the details. As you can see our floor is back to being a concrete slab, after the wood floors were ruined from the flood. We are awaiting our new wood floors, paint, track lights, walk-in freezer connection and outdoor sign and we should be good to go. Hopefully, this means an opening around the 15th of May. We shall see.

Farmers' Market

This is how our Sunday began, today, with light coming up over the clouds and spilling into our little shop, illuminating the newly adorned windows. First, we began with our morning coffee, obviously, and then quickly loaded our van to head to the Dupont Farmers' market. MAN!! it is so good to be back at the market, filled with folks who grow, raise, produce and appreciate good food. Today we spoke about having a farmers retreat on Bev's land at Eco Friendly Foods and brainstorming up a local food movement, and then we chatted with Melanie from Keswick Creamery about how we are in the middle of, and at the forefront of a food revolution, brought to you by these folks who bring their goods from their farms and fill our city streets. How charged and energetic these markets are surprises us every time we go. Violeta and I used to shop at the market for our home and for the store, but now to be amoungst these amazing people, it brings us a deeper level of respect and a new appreciation of what these folks really do, and who they are as people. There are so many personalities: visionaries, intellectuals, grassroots organizers, grumps, butchers, bakers and cheese makers. It is a little bubble that pops up every Sunday and let's us breathe a different air. It makes us realize that it is much bigger than simply making gelato, that it is a connection to something deeper, a different way of eating, raising children, doing business, relating to people, making choices and living, in general. It is a bubble that is alive and filled with beautiful music.

Drama in dolceZZa landia

Well, what can we say. We installed our hardwood floors, which were brought up from Argentina this past Thursday. Lots of cutting and lots of laying. On Saturday morning, as we were talking with our partner Dimas, he told us that the floor had been totally ruined and warped from a flood that took place Friday night. He said as he walked on the floor, water seeped out from under it. The flooding was a result of a blocked drain in one of the apartments above our store. So, it was not our fault but still, Total Nightmare. So, we figured, there are only a couple of approaches we can take - one, is something more of a Buddhists approach and just go with the flow of the chaos which is most certainly guaranteed when opening a new store, a new store in Montgomery County, at that, and second, we could choose a bit more existential approach and say, end it all over a tall, steep rocky cliff, perhaps. Luckily, we chose to take the first approach, a bit more gentle and to guarantee that Bethesda Row is still a go. We don't really know when our opening will be as we are awaiting news about the extent of damage. Cross your fingers for no more tragic news. We will wake up early tomorrow and asses the scene in Bethesda and I will be sure to post some of the photos.
On a much lighter note, we opened the farmer market season this week, setting up a stand in Penn Quarter for Thursday's market and today, Sunday, setting up in Dupont Circle farmer's market. It was sooooo good to be back. There is no place with fresher vibes than the farmer's markets and we are so anxious for the strawberries to begin popping their head's up and ushering in the summer fruits. We are about to get super busy at Dolcezza, so stay tuned for lots of new flavors and loads of drama.

Bethesda Row [take 2]

Well, let me give you a little update on the progress being made in our latest venture. As of today, we have passed the initial plumbing, electrical and building inspections and immediately began closing in the walls with 2 layers of drywall. Tomorrow, we will get there super early to install the bar along the back wall with a marble table and start putting the marble bar together that runs the length of the store. If all goes as we plan, which it never does, we will be 95% complete with the setup of our store by Saturday. So, after that, we will take next week to connect the walk-in freezer and ask for our final inspections - plumbing, electrical, building, mechanical and fire. We are projecting an opening date of April the 15th and are pretty confident with this date. As the photo shows, the complex itself still needs some work. We are hoping, along with a lot of other folks in the project, that Federal Realty will soon pass their needed inspections so we can open our doors by the middle of April.
This has been a pretty intense week so far. We participated in our first ever Taste of the Nation event on Monday night and then had to be in Bethesda at 7am both Tuesday and Wednesday for inspections. The Taste of the Nation was a wonderful event with some amazing food and we passed our inspections, so even though we are baggy eyed, we are happy and ready to get through to the end.
To add the frenzy of activity, April 3rd we start up in the Penn Quarter FRESHFARM Market and April the 6th in the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market. So, if you see us a bit baggy eyed, you will know why, and we will probably accept a cup of coffee, if you offer.

FURTHUR

Every morning we get up bright & early and head to our shop to begin juicing the citrus, pitting the peaches, melting the chocolate, infusing the herbs and roasting the nuts, all in the day's prep to craft our 20 pans of gelati, which we produce everyday for that day's consumption [minor note - we first sip exquisite shots of freshly pulled toscano espresso, not answering phones or questions until this daily ritual is complete]. Yeah we know, it's a bit obsessive and a ton of work, but everyday our showcase freezer transforms into a work of art, which changes day to day & season to season, depending on how the gelato falls from the batch freezer, which fruits are in season or which flavors we are inspired to craft that day. Over 4 years ago we embarked on this journey, and we never imagined how inspiring gelato could be. We get to know amazing and passionate farmers, brilliantly creative chefs and we get to see our shop fill up with smiles from people showing their approval without saying a word. We make everything with our own hands and there is such an immediacy to the whole process that gives us such a deep satisfaction. All of this pushes us FURTHUR down the elusive search for perfection, knowing that once we get close, it will slowly nudge away.

Coffee Greatness

This past Friday our little local was touched by a horde of coffee greatness. United Kingdom and World Barista Champion, James Hoffmann stopped by. He is on an East Coast Coffee Tour and was in DC for an event over at the DC Counter Culture Training Center that night. He came by with Anette Moldvaer, a World Cup Tasting Champion, Cindy Chang, a super-sweetie from Counter Culture Coffee, Trish Skeie, ex-Director of Coffee at Zoka Coffee Roasters, Nick Cho, the owner of Murky Coffee, David Fritzler, Coffee and Beverage Operation Director at Tryst and Open City, Greg Scace, the inventor of the Scace device which measures the actual temperature of the brew head on espresso machines, Katie Duris from Murky Coffee, Ryan Jensen from Counter Culture Coffee and Aaron Ultimo from Murky Coffee. Wheww! That's a lot of folks.
It was really nice to hang out and talk with people so involved, dedicated and passionate about coffee. I took James, Anette, Cindy and David on a little tour of our production area and fed them full of gelato. It was great to get flavor feed-back from such folks who live and breathe coffee, as sipping espresso every morning for the last four years has been so vital to the development and opening of my palate to the complex flavors and aromas in coffee. At Dolcezza, we are beginning to send all of our employees to the Counter Culture training center over in Adams Morgan to continue the development of our baristas. Coffee is one of those things that the deeper into it you go, the bigger it gets, or in other words, we never stop learning how to pull a more balanced shot of espresso, or how to froth the perfectly foamed milk. It compliments our pursuit of artisanal gelato so perfectly and continues to evolve each and every day.
So, James and Anette, it was a pleasure to meet you both and I can't stop kicking myself for not asking James to make me a cappuccino, where I could hang over his shoulder trying to soak up the knowledge. Oh well, maybe next time. kick+kick+kick+kick...

Madness, Take One

Testing...Testing...1-2-3. Is there anyone out there? Well, after 2.5 weeks of trying to nail down a general contractor, master plumber and master electrician, we still have absolutely nada. Hopefully that will change tomorrow at the store, as we are to meet with a general contractor. We are keeping our fingers x'ed. The thing we have been breaking our heads on for the last 10 days is trying to arrange an XRAY team to come out and send some cobalt rays through 14 inches of concrete. This is needed so we don't drill through the conduit and electrocute the driller while knocking out power to the rest of the complex; if this happens we will quickly pack our things and crawl into the nearest & deepest hole. Did you know that when they take the XRAY's, no one can be within a 200 foot of the radius of the site? Word has it, that men go sterile if they were to walk within the ray's radius. I don't know if it's true, but I am not going to find out. It's pretty scary SCI-FI stuff, if you ask me. Anyways, here's what the huge windows and 3 doors look like to our new space. Tis a beauty, huh?! Hopefully we will start knocking around and putting together our bar in the upcoming week. Stay tuned, as the drama is sure to thicken.

Glorious Daze

This past Monday was one of those days, when the heavens open and the angels sing. Violeta & I walked to the store and drank our sacramental coffee. That Toscano Espresso was oozing copper red, brown, thick & sweet. The morning coffee is one of the days moments I relish the most. So, after our coffee experience, we strolled home through the Georgetown neighborhood, back home to our Dupont apartment. The day was amazing, birds chirping, squirrels chasing, 70 degrees, sunshine and a nice little breeze pushing us along the city streets. As we neared our apartment, the sky grew dark and the rains came down, seemingly out of nowhere. So, it rained for a couple of hours and the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees, at least it felt that way. Then, as the storm peeled away, this glorious day left us with the confirmation, her beautiful colors arching the blue-gray sky.
True inspiration.

Gelato road trip

Well, Dimas & I took our first gelato road trip this past Monday. We first went to Philadelphia, where we visited Capogiro Gelato Artisans and then headed about 45 minutes north + east and visited the bent spoon in Princeton, New Jersey. We wanted to go and meet our fellow gelato-ologists and check out what they are up to.
First, we went to Capogiro in Philadelphia. Unfortunatley, Stephanie Reitano, the chef/owner was in the middle of that days production when we first passed by, around 9:30am and couldn't come up and talk. So, we will definitely be back and hopefully time it better. We ate 2 gelati - Cioccolato Scuro, Nocciola Piemontese and 2 sorbetti - Cilantro Lime and Red Grape. All 4 flavors were beautifully balanced and had a wonderful creamy texture. Capogiro works with local farms in sourcing their ingredients and does a wonderful job in producing deliciously fresh gelati & sorbetti, with many traditional flavors and some very interesting flavors, combining fruit with herbs and spices.
After our visit to Capogiro, we headed to Princeton, New Jersey and met the super kind folks at the bent spoon. Gabrielle and Matthew were there behind the counter producing ice cream and prepping ingredients, and came out and greeted us with a thick rich hot chocolate, probably the best hot chocolate we have ever had. They took us through the whole flavor rotation in their case. We tried Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Mexican Chocolate, Raspberry, Pistacchio, Cranberry, Mango and a couple of more that I can't recall. All the flavors were great, some subtle, like the Cranberry and others bold, like the Mexican Chocolate. the bent spoon also works with their local farms for their ingredients. This makes such a big difference not only in the flavors that are made, but the type of people that this practice attracts. They served up a couple of croissants filled with gelato and it was amazing! This was our first experience with the whole brioche and gelato combination. We were blown away by the vibes of their little space. They were so warm and friendly and even gave us a to-go bag with some of their pastries that they make right there in the shop.
All & all, we spent about 13 hours on our road trip, eating amazing gelato & ice cream, walking around the two beautiful cities and meeting some super nice folk that do justice to the East Coast gelato scene. Our next road trip will be to NYC to check out a couple of places there, so this was a really nice way to kick off our gelato tour, by checking out Capogiro and the bent spoon. Thanks for the warm reception and the great gelato! You are always welcome to our space in DC.

Bethesda Row

Well, it has begun. The beginning of no sleep, early mornings, multiple espressos and building our beautiful second store. Our boat with our crate arrived from Argentina about 1 week ago to the Port of Baltimore. We met at the space @ 8am on Tuesday and unloaded everything from a truck into our store. It took 7 people about 6 hours. Today, we un-boxed and un-crated everything for another 4 hours. Everything but the legs of an outdoor bench made the trip safely, which is such a relief. We have had a couple of sleep-ness nights thinking about breakage.
Our store is going to be a really special space. We have brought up chocolate woods floors, a 36 foot marble bar that will wrap most of the store, we have 5 antique frames with mirrors, a beautiful old chandelier and an old porcelain sink. Our ceilings are over 14 feet and we have massive windows that let in bookoos of light. I am going to try and photo journal the progress through the various stages of this project, as we crawl from the dust filled cavern that we have right now, all the way up to our GRAND OPENING THROWDOWN. It is a couple of months away and we IS getting MIGHTY anxious. So, let's see how this photo journaling goes. Journaling the process of los Dolcezzitos slowly going mad and falling down the rabbit hole. Let's see what happens?!

il Laboratorio

Well, here I sit on Super Tuesday, hoping that it actually will be super, and not another step to the dark side, like we seem to have done for the last 7 plus years. So, just sitting here thinking these thoughts, and reflecting upon our weekend excursion to the center of the universe, Manhattan. What a f!@#$%? cool city! Every time I go there, I fall in love just a little bit more. Her buildings, her streets, her night, her flow and vibes, her air that she so effortlessly carries. I see this huge metropolis as a thing, a huge organism, and I have no idea how something so big functions. There are certain things about Manhattan that remind me of Buenos Aires. I don't quite know what it is, but it has to do with people in the streets at all hours of the day, and that certain feeling of controlled chaos, which either pulls people in or spits them out. We are certainly pulled in, strongly. So, while we were there strolling her lovely streets, we payed a visit to il Laboratorio del Gelato. A super cute and delicious gelateria on the Lower East Side. John Snyder is the man behind the goodness and he does a really good job. His main business is wholesale to tons of NYC restaurants, and he also has pints in Dean & Deluca and Balducci. I ate the dark chocolate and Espresso and Violeta got the Lavender Honey and Nocciola, all 4 flavors were superb. So, the next time you're craving some good gelato in NYC, pay him a visit. & of course, the next time you're craving some good gelato in DC, pay us a visit. Either way, you won't be sorry.

il Laboratorio del Gelato
95 Orchard St.
(between Broome & Delancey Sts)
New York, NY 10002

++1 212 343 9922

Splash of Spring

This post is for all you folks out there who get a little depressed in the cold winter weather and who grow anxious for the coming spring. What are we to do with no fruit to be found? other than the citrus, pears, apples and ciders. Well, we take the attitude of a bear preparing for winter and fatten up with some of the "warmer" flavors: GEORGIA BUTTER PECAN, VALRHONA CHOCOLATE AMARGO, VIRGINIA PEANUT BUTTER, COUNTER CULTURE TIRAMISU & of course, DULCE DE LECHE. We kinda like the "off-season" because we get to drop down into production and experiment with different recipes and new combinations. Although this "off-season" has been a little bit different, as we are preparing to open our 2nd store. OH MY GOD!!! Yup, our boat from Argentina arrived in the Port of Baltimore a couple of days ago, and now we are just praying that nothing broke on the long nautical journey. We will soon find out as we begin to unload into our empty space on Bethesda Row. I will try to keep you posted with the progress of the space and the possible opening date, which we estimate to be around mid-April. One thing is for sure, We is goin to THROW DOWN ROYAL with a nice big Grand Opening Party. Oh yeaaah. Stay Tuned.

Feliz Año

Well, we returned from Buenos Aires early this morning. Back from the funk, the heat, the gelato marathon, the family, the friends and the vibrant chaos that is South America. Things move to a different pulse down there, one that is more random, chaotic and alive than what we are used to here. We easily adjusted to eating dinner at midnight, going to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, waking up at noon and taking siestas. We ate gelato everyday and worked with our maestro heladero for 2 entire days. He taught us how to balance the ingredients in our recipes: the sugar, the cream, the milk, the fruit, the nuts, etc. We are going back through the 360 plus recipes that we have spun since opening 3 years ago. This knowledge allows us to fine tune and tweak the ingredients in order to achieve the perfect flavor and texture that defines exquisite gelato. This balance is the technical side of gelato making, while the ingredients and preparation is the artisanal one. It is a necessary step down the path of creating the most delicious gelato possible, a pursuit that never sleeps for us.
Now that we have returned, we will go full tilt into our winter flavors, which includes Sicilian Blood Oranges, Meyer Lemons, Clementines, Georgia Butter Pecan, Tramontana and of course Dulce de Leche in all her fine forms.
Winter or Summer, it doesn't matter much to us, we eat gelato all year round!

Buenos Aires 2008

Violeta is somewhere 30,000 feet in the air, encapsulated in some long metallic tube with wings. She is on her way back to Buenos Aires for the holidays. I will be flying out to join her on Sunday evening, where we will be for christmas and new years with family and friends. Buenos Aires is such a vibrant city, with so much art, music, design, good food, good wine, and of course, amazing gelato. I will be studying with an old maestro heladero who makes, hands down, the most amazing gelato I have ever eaten. I am going with some specific questions, like how to perfect the art of sambayon gelato - a super rich gelato made with eggs, egg yolks and marsala wine, but mostly to spend a couple of days with him to pick up all that I can. He has been making true old-school gelato for the last 50 years and has a wealth of passion and knowledge.
So, while we are away, Dimas will be running things at the shop and the farmer's markets. We will be spinning a number of delectable flavors for the holidays:
VALRHONA CHOCOLATE HOMEMADE PEPPERMINT PATTY - Our Valrhona dark chocolate gelato has been compared to the likes of smoking a cigar. It is so rich and full of earthy, nutty, tobacco notes, definately an adult chocolate. We make a peppermint patty by boiling sugar, cream, milk, butter and cream of tartar to about 236 degrees to achieve a creamy soft ball sugar dough. We then mix in some organic peppermint oil, form little disks and finally submerge them in tempered dark chocolate. When the dark chocolate gelato spills from the batch freezer, we fold in the peppermint patty. The result is a rich dark chocolate gelato being uplifted and refreshed by the creamy peppermint patties.
QUAKER VALLEY ORCHARDS EGGNOG - Huge free-range eggs from Freddie Schulteis at Quaker Valley Orchards. We exchange pints of our gelato for dozens of her eggs at the Dupont Farmers Market. Their is such joy bartering our gelato for fresh farmer goods. We whisk and heat the eggs, add a bit of cream, nutmeg, cinnamon and brandy, then spin it cold. It is full body, rich, spicy, decadent. There's no way you can go back to eggnog in a cup after eating this.
CLEMENTINE - Sublte, sweet, tart, sophisticated. One of my favorite citrus fruits, along with Sicilian Blood Orange, which is coming soon.
POMEGRANATE - We split them in half one by one, and proceed to beat them on the back until we knock out all the seeds. We then puree and strain to get the precious juice. The result is a smooth, tangy, almost nutty flavor, so refreshing to the palate.
So, we are off, once again. Getting away from the cold for a little bit and warming our bones in the South American sun. Tonight is ripe with anticipation, probably more for Violeta than for me right now. We hope everyone has a beautiful holiday season, full of futbol, families and presidental candidate debates. We will be back in early January to continue working at the art of artisan gelato, a journey that becomes richer and richer every moment.