Gelato World Tour

Food Porn of the Day: The Champion of All Gelatos

Gelato World Tour

The Gelato World Tour came to Austin this year! Everything I tasted was amazing, but the flavor I ended up voting for (everyone who tasted at the event was allowed to vote for their top pick) was the same flavor that won the North American tour here – Salted Pecan with Montmorency Tart Cherries & Tahitian Vanilla by James Coleridge and Salvatore Boccarossa of Bella Gelateria in Vancouver, Canada.

I can’t even explain HOW good this was. It was a really, really hot day in Austin so as soon as I was handed a cup of gelato it would start dripping out of its container and melting all over my hands, but I didn’t even care. Everything I tasted was sososo delectable, especially the champion pictured above. This gelato deserved to win – next time you’re in Vancouver, look these people up. (Or if you’re ever in the same city as a round of the Gelato World Tour – GO!)

Top Ten Things I Ate in Rome

artichoke

I asked. You chimed in. I’m back from Rome and I’ve just got to let you know the goods on what I had, including a recap of the dishes that I was most anticipating.

Did everything live up to my sky-high expectations?  Let’s find out.

10. Gelato – I actually took it easy on the gelato.  I only had it twice while I was there…tremendous restraint on my part.  Our first time was at Giolliti, a famous spot, and I had a hazelnut/fior de latte cone and our second was at Della Palma (below) where I had creme caramel/ricotta with fig sauce. Both were delicious, but the thing that really struck me was the overwhelming number of varieties these places had. They made Baskin-Robbins and his 31 flavors look like a punk.  I did a quick guesstimate at Della Palma and came up with more than 85 flavors.  I’m convinced that the majority of the fun involved in the gelato experience comes from the process of choosing which varieties to get.

gelato

9. Zucchini Blossoms – I was a bit nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get these due to the early season, but after seeing how fantastic they looked in the market at the Campo dei Fiori (below) we ordered them as an appetizer at La Campana, a ristorante just around the corner from our hotel.  Delicate, crunchy, and filled with oozy cheese.  But the best, most flavorful part of the perfectly fried flower was the fact that it was filled with…

zucchini

8. Anchovies – Listen, I don’t want to hear that you don’t like anchovies.  And I’m not getting into the canned/tubed conversation because the ones I had in Rome were light years ahead of even the best canned anchovies you can get here.  The anchovies that we had both in the zucchini blossoms and on a pizza were flavorful but surprisingly mellow. I’m now more convinced than ever that people who think they don’t like anchovies just haven’t had good anchovies.

Find out what topped this list and pick up the names of some great restaurants along the way, after the jump.

7. Amatriciana This dish makes the list even though I didn’t order it during my time there.  Of course, I did sample more than my fair share of it off of Mrs. TVFF’s plate (she got it twice), so it’s in. It was quite a bit richer than when I make it, and without the red onions that I typically put in. I asked one of our waiters if the restaurant made it with pancetta or guanciale and he replied quickly and forcefully: “Guanciale…if you want good amatricana, you must use guanciale!” There you go, folks, straight from the expert.  If you’re in NYC, pick some up at Salumeria Biellese, which is where I get mine.

6. Filetti di Baccalà – Fried fish?  Yep, pretty much the same as the fish and chips that you’ll find in the best places in London, but there’s something to be said for simple fried food executed perfectly. It’s just another reminder of how seriously they take their food in Rome…even the glorified bar snacks are inspired.  We got ours as an early-evening snack at a place named, unoriginally, Filetti di Baccalà, located a few blocks away from the Campo dei Fiori, in a bustling part of town that we cut through after a long day of touring churches and walking through Trastevere.

Next: Top 5 Things To Eat in Rome

Avocado Oil is a Scam

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I don’t give a shit. I fucking love chips. I could not live without potato chips. When I lived in Barcelona for a month I ate Ruffle brand chips and gelato for breakfast everyday on my way to Barceloneta, the closest beach. Everyday. I was in Spain. I could have eaten anything and I carried around a bag of Ruffles with me everywhere I went.

I still can’t eat a sandwich without a side of chips. Slices of apple won’t help. Maybe a pickle, but I’d rather eat a pickle and chips. Actually, I don’t even like sandwiches that much, but we can talk about that later.

When I’m hungover there’s no cure like chips and a Coke. I can only sub chips’ grease with fries, but if I’m at home without a fryer, chips are the only thing that truly makes me feel better. Yes, even over eggs.

My only problem — the chip addiction not being the problem — is I only like plain chips. I love ruffled/ridged chips, but that’s the only texture I can handle. I hate kettle. I hate pretty much all flavors. I hate BBQ and any other chip that would leave weird orangeness on my fingertips (and I hated this as a kid too). At parties I can snack on some other flavors, but only out of desperation. Salt and pepper is okay, as is sour cream and onion and shockingly, salt and vinegar. But that’s about it. It’s weird that I love chips so much, love so very much, but only in a very limited way.

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