You cannot miss 2 things when visiting the charming village of La Jolla in San Diego. One is the Ocean and other is Gelatos. Gelato in Italian literally translates to 'Frozen' and can be thought of as an Italian equivalent of modern day ice creams. In fact, the traditional milk-based Gelato has its origins from the Northern Italian regions while the water-based Sorbettos owes its existence to Southern Italy. With its rich flavor and a creamy texture, Gelatos have been the way of Italian life for many years now. 'Gelateria Frizzante' brings that piece of Italy right into the heart of San Diego.Gelataria Frizzante is the brain child of the husband-wife duo Eric and Christine who is passionate about serving fresh and authentic Gelatos to San Diegans. Eric, her husband, is a lively personality who is always keen on talking about Gelatos. He loves to share information about it and a conversation with Eric on a lovely Sunday morning revealed lots of interesting facts.
The shop
Gelateria Frizzante opened its first shop in La Jolla in October of 2005. This shop is managed by Eric. His wife, Christine runs the newest location in the Gaslamp Quarter. The La Jolla shop with its colorful array of Gelatos and a casual ambiance truly adds to the vibe and feel of the locality. The guests are often seen sampling the new flavors and browsing the various pictures of Italy and a number of interesting Gelato facts that decorate the wall.
Gelatos in Gelateria Frizzante
Gelatos here, is made from a base material that consists of fresh whole milk, sugar, dextrose, non-fat dried milk powder and a 'bag of magic' from Italy as Eric puts it. This bag of magic contains the natural emulsifiers and stabilizers, necessary to give Gelato that unique texture and flavor. Unlike ice creams that contain a lot of butter cream, the only cream present in Gelato is the cream found in whole milk, serving as a much healthier choice. Also when compared to ice
creams, very little air is beaten and blown into the Gelato which is also served much warmer. However, Gelato is more dense and creamy in texture than the ice creams.Gelatos from Gelateria Frizzante is made right at the shop here and most of them are consumed within 24 hours. No Gelato sits in the freezer for more than 96 hours. Care is taken to maintain the same consistency and smoothness, as in the original Gelatos made in Italy. Many Italian expatriates visit Gelateria Frizzante and give their thumb of approval for authenticity. In fact, a lady professor teaching Italian studies in UCSD (University of California, San Diego) feels right at home sampling the Gelatos.
Now to the favorite part; Flavors
Gelateria Frizzante prides itself in its ability to create 125 different flavor mixtures. The shop in La Jolla has room for about 40 offerings at a time. About 80% of the flavor choices are made on a regular basis and the rest are influenced by seasonal, staple foods and customer requests. Most of the flavoring ingredients are procured from Italy including certain nuts and chocolates. Christine has worked with executive chefs from Italy who visit the West Coast occasionally. Eric and Christine have also been a part of a few international gelato conferences. Many ideas are invented and brainstormed in the conference and Gelateria Fri
zzante tries to bring in such flavors as well; the most recent addition 'Lychee' being one among them.Talking of flavors; Children love the Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon and Strawberry gelatos. Other popular picks are Pistachio, Mocha nut, Bananas Foster, Chocolate Carmel and Yoghurt forest berries. There are certain flavors like Rice that take up a lot of work and are not made often. It is also interesting to find that there is a marked difference in the preference and tastes of La Jolla visitors versus the Gaslamp visitors.
All this must have set your taste buds racing. Without wasting another moment, rush to a Gelateria Frizzante nearest to you.
La Jolla shop
1025 Prospect Street #130
San Diego, CA 92037
(858) 454-5798
(Open - noon, till late evening)
Gaslamp Quarter shop
435 Island Ave
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 876-4203
(Open - noon, till late evening)
Help yourself with some Gelateria coupons !!
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