Capogiro Gelato

[philadining]

Thai Iced Tea was a very accurate representation of the beverage, but it seemed little thin, or something, I tired of it...

Wildflower honey was so good that as I walked out with a cup of it, I was chased down Sansom Street by Heffalumps. Small price to pay.

[Lazrowp]

Looks like Capogiro has some competition now as a new gelato place just opened yesterday at 5th & Chestnut. I peeked in but was too early to get a sample.

(still a DQ fan)

Paul

[chowfun]

Rhubarb and the Yogurt flavor were good together. They are both a little tart. The yogurt tasted like the yogurt cream you get on top of Seven Stars farm yogurt, so decadent, so good!

[bilrus]

My wife and I went pretty basic on our first visit on Saturday afternoon.

Chocolate Peanut Butter, Champagne Mango, Cashew, Strawberry Tarragon and Burnt Sugar. The Chocolate was a little too rich for my taste and the Burnt Sugar was good, but ultimately not as "burnt" as I was hoping for (I love Hagen Dasz's creme brulee flavor, it gets this just right).

But the cashew was about perfect and the sorbettis blew me away with their sweet, tart fruitiness. Perfect on the miserable humid day that was last Saturday.

On the whole, as good or better than my previous favorites at Otto.

[Andrew Fenton]

Looks like Capogiro has some competition now as a new gelato place just opened yesterday at 5th & Chestnut.  I peeked in but was too early to get a sample. 

(still a DQ fan)

Thank goodness it's not an either/or situation! I loves me some Oreo Blizzard...

[mrbigjas]

But the cashew was about perfect and the sorbettis blew me away with their sweet, tart fruitiness.  Perfect on the miserable humid day that was last Saturday.

i'm not sure what it is, but capogiro really hits the nail on the head with their nut-based flavors. i think that really they're the best of the varieties, as a group. the pistachio tastes more like pistachios than pistachio. the cashew is slightly salty and ridiculously flavorful. the black walnut is super fragrant. the hazlenut is crazy. the... ok i can't think of any more nuts right now. but man they're good.

[effrontery]

I had mojito and strawberry next to each other last night--so good.

I had a taste of Turkish coffee too--rich and dense. A little heavy for a hot summer, though, I think.

[serpentine]

Looks like Capogiro has some competition now as a new gelato place just opened yesterday at 5th & Chestnut. I peeked in but was too early to get a sample.

It's actually at Sixth and Chestnut, and it's called Cafe Toscano. Same owner as Mezza Luna. I sampled their gelato on Friday. (It's mere steps from my office.)

Flavors are more traditional, unsurprising in a mostly tourist area. Laid out the same way as Capogiro, with fruit flavors on the front end and nuts/creams/chocolates going towards the back. I had zabaglione and wild blueberry. It was nice, but no Capogiro. The flavors were just not very intense. The texture is a bit off was well, the zabaglione in particular was a bit goopy.

The is one non-traditional flavor -- apparently the owner is a fan of G Power (is that the right name? Some sort of power-drink?)

They'll smoosh as many flavors as you want into any size cup. The small is $3 or $4 (sorry! an important detail, I know.)

In short, it was pleasant, but not outstanding. I'll go back and sample more flavors. In the name of research, of course. :)

[robertruelan]

Did everyone see this article on Capogiro's new store on PE.com:

"Rittenhouse gelato fans, you're in luck. Fab gelateria Capogiro, at 13th and Sansom, will open a second store at 1929 Sansom St. The 1,800-square-foot space with terrazzo floors will be designed in keeping with the 1920s-era building but will have a bar, display cases and outdoor seating. Owner Stephanie Reitano says she's still working on getting permits and zoning but hopes to open in August. In the meantime, you can also get Capogiro gelato at the giant new Di Bruno Bros. store at 1730 Chestnut."

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/en...nt/11616378.htm

Edited June 20, 2005 by robertruelan (log)

[butterfern]

I went to Capogiro yesterday and tried two flavors that I hadn't had before. Macadamia was fine, but not as good as the other nut-flavors I've had. Thai coconut milk was delcicious. I want some more.

[effrontery]

>Rittenhouse gelato fans, you're in luck. Fab gelateria Capogiro, at 13th and >Sansom, will open a second store at 1929 Sansom St

That's so fascinating to me...I'm trying to figure out exactly where it's going to be, considering that address used to be a nunnery (I used to live there--it was a boarding house run by Domincans) and now it's an apartment building. In the lobby, maybe?

[shinyboots]

So Philly eGulleters, what's the WORST flavor of gelato or sorbet that you've tasted at Capogiro? C'mon, they all can't be incredibly delicious. (Don't hate me.)

Sometimes, after buying a $10 pint of this or that, I'll realize a flavor is just too exotic or just plain not (that) good.

I remember being very disappointed with the chocolate chip, or Stracciatella. The apple with calvados got boring after awhile too, as did the wild flower honey (a little bit of a harsh after taste). That said, Capogiro is always adventurous and the selections rarely lfall below ice cream transcendence.

[mrbigjas]

black truffle. i imagine it would be interesting as a tiny little scoop at the end of a studiokitchen type meal, but i can't imagine eating much more than a bite or two.

[Andrew Fenton]

So Philly eGulleters, what's the WORST flavor of gelato or sorbet that you've tasted at Capogiro? C'mon, they all can't be incredibly delicious. (Don't hate me.)

Black fig. It just didn't pack much flavor. A generous person would have described it as "subtle", but I'm not generous: it was boring.

[KatieLoeb]

Carambola (starfruit). Just like Andrew's experience - too subtle.

On a separate note - I had the pleasure of meeting the principals of an ice cream manufacturing company in Ohio last weekend. Company is called Woo City Ice Cream and is based in the Cleveland, OH area. I tried several different flavors and lemme tell you, this stuff could give Capogiro a run for it's money. 16% butterfat and uses all organic ingredients! My personal fave was the Lemongrass-Ginger which was absolutely sublime. The Key Lime sorbet, the Amaretto-Peach and the Green Tea were also excellent. The flavors were all laser beam clear and the product was very dense and full flavored. They also produce a completely vegan soy based dessert called Woo Fu.

I believe they ship anywhere, so it's worth investigating, especially for restaurants.

[Capaneus]

>Rittenhouse gelato fans, you're in luck. Fab gelateria Capogiro, at 13th and >Sansom, will open a second store at 1929 Sansom St

That's so fascinating to me...I'm trying to figure out exactly where it's going to be, considering that address used to be a nunnery (I used to live there--it was a boarding house run by Domincans) and now it's an apartment building.  In the lobby, maybe?

←

I think (with *very* little evidence) that they must be in the old Police substation storefront around the corner, on 19th.

[jelly]

>Rittenhouse gelato fans, you're in luck. Fab gelateria Capogiro, at 13th and >Sansom, will open a second store at 1929 Sansom St

That's so fascinating to me...I'm trying to figure out exactly where it's going to be, considering that address used to be a nunnery (I used to live there--it was a boarding house run by Domincans) and now it's an apartment building.  In the lobby, maybe?

←

I have a friend who lived there in the mid-80's. That was a neat place. Wasn't it called Lucy Eaton Smith, or something like that? BTW, Capaneus, sorry I always thought you were a guy.

[herbacidal]

Cappy is a guy.

Yea, I remember it being something related to nuns as well.

Kate's Place will be/is geared towards low-income women, set up and adminstered probably by the nuns who owned it before.

[jelly]

Cappy is a guy. 

Yea, I remember it being something related to nuns as well.

Kate's Place will be/is geared towards low-income women, set up and adminstered probably by the nuns who owned it before.

←

Thanks. Scrolling back, I realize it wasn't Capaneus who wrote "I used to live there".

[percyn]

Has anyone tried ordering from them online? I am wondering if it will survive the shipping.

[philadining]

For the sake of contrast, I tried il Laboratorio del Gelato while up in NY today. It's a small place, with fewer selections that Capogiro has on any given day, but they feature a similar combination of classic flavors and more unusual ones.

I had dark chocolate and ricotta flavors. Each was quite good, but pretty subtle in flavor compared to similar offerings at Capogiro. They did, however, have a really nice creamy texture. In contrast, Capogiro gelato seems a bit gummy. Probably not coincidentally, the Lab's seemed to be served a bit colder, so perhaps that has as much to do with it as the ingredients.

Based on this admittedly extremely limited sample, I still prefer Capogiro. Many of their flavors are more intense, and interesting, and the texture isn't bad, just different.

But if you're in NY, il Laboratorio is certainly worth a try.

[shacke]

It got mention in the NY times dining section today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/dining/06stuf.html

Evan

[philadining]

Looks like Capogiro has some competition now as a new gelato place just opened yesterday at 5th & Chestnut. I peeked in but was too early to get a sample.

It's actually at Sixth and Chestnut, and it's called Cafe Toscano. Same owner as Mezza Luna. I sampled their gelato on Friday. (It's mere steps from my office.)

Flavors are more traditional, unsurprising in a mostly tourist area. Laid out the same way as Capogiro, with fruit flavors on the front end and nuts/creams/chocolates going towards the back. I had zabaglione and wild blueberry. It was nice, but no Capogiro. The flavors were just not very intense. The texture is a bit off was well, the zabaglione in particular was a bit goopy.

The is one non-traditional flavor -- apparently the owner is a fan of G Power (is that the right name? Some sort of power-drink?)

They'll smoosh as many flavors as you want into any size cup. The small is $3 or $4 (sorry! an important detail, I know.)

In short, it was pleasant, but not outstanding. I'll go back and sample more flavors. In the name of research, of course. :)

←

After about 16 orbits in ever-widening circles, and still failing to find parking near Capogiro, we bailed. (time for a drive-through window!!!) We were headed for the Ritz anyway, so we checked out this new place. And I'll concur with Serpentine: it's good, but no Capogiro. I liked it, and I'd go again if I were in the neighborhood, but I'm not making a special trip.

I don't know if people started torturing them with crazy requests, but they're now, sensibly, portioning flavors like Capogiro does: 1 or 2 in a small, up to 3 in a medium, 4 in a large.

I didn't try the G-Power! flavor, I'm afraid to, but yeah, that's a little weird.... Most flavors are pretty conventional, although they did have a mojito sorbetto.

Since Bonnie's closed, I don't know where else one can easily satisfy a frozen-dessert jones in that neighborhood, so they should do fine.

[katbert]

on Sunday had the lychee, Lancaster peach, grapefruit w/ campari, two different cherries. I recently made a lychee sorbet from fresh lychees (from the Italian market *shrug*) and the flavor was the same, but I need to figure out how they get their texture quite so creamy. I think I'm back onto gelato this summer, I'd managed to stop for a while.

[serpentine]

(time for a drive-through window!!!)

Oh, man...what can we do to arrange it so that Capogiro has a drive-through (and bike-through) window?