Best of Rome Eats: ice desserts
When in Rome... GELATO! I was lucky enough to try a bunch of different gelaterias, and one coffee shop that serves granita di caffe, or granita made from coffee.
The Most Revelatory Gelato Experience was San Crispino, which many sources say is the best (NY Times, Lonely Planet, David Lebovitz), though I didn't know it when I took my first bite. It was so hot in Rome and I was so exhausted from walking around, that I was really craving fruity flavors (I usually prefer the caramels, coffees, nuts...the "brown" flavors).
The serving guy, told me that the smallest size of cup (no cones here) I could get with three flavors was the €5.50 cup. He wasn't the friendliest, and actually more than one of the above sources have noted that the service is "icy" like the gelato.
For my three flavors, I chose (clockwise from top left): white peach, grapefruit, and white fig. Wow, all three were so good. White peach tastes just like white peach. You can tell because it's brownish, that there must be a lot of peaches in there and they don't use agents to keep the flesh from browning. The grapefruit was nice and sour - refreshing. The white fig, which as the picture shows is actually a pale green, was the Big Revelation. It was such a gentle flavor, a bit melon-y perhaps. That was the one I saved for my last bite.
Now, San Crispino isn't 100% heavenly. I actually went to a different branch the next day (next to the Trevi Fountain). There, the guy was a lot friendlier, and he told me that the smallest size I could get with three flavors was the €4 size. For this round, I ordered (clockwise from top) meringue caramel, ginger cinnamon, and honey (though the latter two might be reversed). David Lebovitz who is usually right with everything, said that the meringue caramel would change my life. It didn't. With tiny pieces of egg white meringue stirred in, this was a bit too sweet for me. On the other hand, the ginger cinnamon and honey flavors were so subtle I couldn't tell which one was which. That's why I'm just guessing that honey is on the right and ginger cinnamon is on the left.
The first gelateria I went to was Giolitti. This was really old school, with all of the serving staff dressed up on uniforms. You can see the inside here, with some policemen on the left getting their coffees.
Though the shop must be inundated with tourists, the cashier was quite friendly in explaining that even the smallest order size came with up to three flavors. For my €2.50 cone, I got (from the bottom) rice, marron glace (chestnut), nocciola (hazelnut), and on top the serving guy gives you a smear of panna or whipped cream if you'd like. These were very nice flavors. The nocciola was perfectly nutty, the marron glace was a tad too sweet, but the rice flavor was my favorite of all. Very light and creamy, with chewy grains of rice mixed in. I don't know why you wouldn't get the whipped cream if you had the option - it really is just whipped cream, with little or no sugar.
The last gelateria was Ciampini. Here, I tried to order the white fig flavor, but I didn't realize that it was a sorbet, not an ice cream. When I paid at the register, I paid for ice cream - and ice cream and sorbet do not mix! (Though they're the same price.) So I ended up ordering (from right to left) peach and pine nuts, melon, and because I was indecisive the serving guy basically told me I was getting strawberry as my final flavor. I apologize for the picture; it was so hot that I was busy trying to eat up all the drippy parts before I remembered to get out the camera! I'm glad the serving guy basically forced the strawberry on me, because it is pure strawberry flavor. The melon was good, and the peach was fun - I wouldn't have thought to put peach and pine nuts together!
Finally, I paid a visit to Caffe Sant Eustachio, which is also quite written up. It's highly popular among locals and tourists alike. You can see a bunch of suited businessmen lining up for their espresso, which they literally do just down in one sip and leave. On the right you can see some nice branded merchandise like coffee beans, which according to the NY Times article I read on the wall, is also sold at an Italian market in New York.
Here I had the granita di caffe. Basically it's whipped cream, topped with coffee granita, topped with more whipped cream, and a pirouline cookie garnish. This was really mixing a two of my favorite flavors: rich coffee, and whipped cream! Even when the granita and whipped cream melted together, or maybe, especially when they melted together, it was really like heaven. The coffee is so flavorful and the cream so rich, it was like drinking liquid caramel.
