Froyomind

Melt Gelato.

Location
Steadily growing franchise, found one in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California, right on the outskirts of LA. OK, so it’s NOT frozen yogurt, but hey, it’s cold, it’s dessert, and it sounded good at the time.

Flavors
Take your pick. Flavors range from sweet “strawberry” to decadent “double espresso”. If you don’t know what to get, be sure to ask for a sample, they offer a wide array of flavors.

Gelato obviously offers a distinct texture that differs greatly from ice creams and yogurts. Upon doing a simple Google search, I had to discover the meaning behind gelato, to better describe it:

# An Italian ice cream that is denser, more icy, and often more flavorful, than American ice cream.
www.chowbaby.com/10_2000/glossary/glossary.asp

# Frozen dessert, such as ice cream or sherbet, of wide-ranging flavors, chiefly fruit, nuts and chocolate.
www.nonnalinaskitchen.com/tools/glossary.htm

# is the Italian word for “ice cream”. It has a denser texture than American ice cream as less air is incorporated into it while making. It is also usually made with milk and not cream which lends to the denser texture.
www.cooking.com/advice/adgloss.asp

# [jeh-LAH-toh] The Italian word for “ice cream,” gelato doesn`t contain as much air as its American counterpart and therefore has a denser texture. An Italian ice cream parlor is called a gelateria.
www.mychefcoat.com/terms-g.html

# Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert made from water, milk and/or soy milk, combined with flavourings, sweeteners, and a stabilizing agent. The gelato ingredients are first pasteurized then super-cooled while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Unlike ice cream, gelato machinery whips almost no air into the gelato, resulting in a dense and extremely flavorful product. This allows even non-dairy gelato to match and sometimes exceed dairy-based gelato or ice cream for taste.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

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My first encounter with gelato was at the beautiful Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. There’s nothing better than a heaping scoop of gelato cupped in a crispy cone as you walk besides the fountains dancing to Luck be a Lady Tonite! Needless to say, it was an excellent virgin experience.

The gelato offered at Melt Gelato offers a similar consistency, and a creaminess that makes you savor each spoonful slower than the previous. In fact, I can say it’s almost so rich, that the smaller the scoop you get, the better. I settled for the single scoop which is a decent size but looked over at my cousin to spy that she was enjoying an even tinier scoop, I’m not sure what is considered smaller than a single scoop, the name escapes me.

I decided to take a shot at the double espresso, although I am not much of a coffee fanatic (tea suits me best), I still enjoyed it! It wasn’t overly sweet or bitter, it was a nice refreshing coffee-like taste.

Melt also offers sorbetto on their menu, which my mother would highly recommend the pomegranate. Sorbetto’s are typically less fattening than gelatos so it’s a great alternative if you’re too full to hold down gelato.

While I wouldn’t personally crave a gelato everyday, I think it’s a splendid little treat for those occasions where you’re just in the mood for something a little cold, creamy, and uplifting.