Tour del Gelato

As one of Tour del Gelato's Rome correspondents I am more than happy to take on this difficult task and share my favorite gelaterie. Rome has some great gelato and some not so great gelato so it was not easy to do and I had to filter through a lot of places but I managed to narrow down my favorites to 4 (!!!). Also I want to apologize to the Tour del Gelato team because I didn't exactly follow the rules.....meaning I bent the definition of gelato a bit. But bear with me because I think you will be happy with what I have to report.

My absolute favorite would have to be Gelateria Beautiful, Via Tagliamento 65.

Their specialty is Sicilian ice cream and desserts. I can't comment on the desserts like cannoli and cassate because I am always seduced by the 75+ flavors they offer (not really that many flavors but when I'm trying to decide they all look so good and it seems like so many to choose from). Their pralinone is another of their specialties which is a Sicilian praline gelato and it's literally heaven on your tongue. Verramente. I also like their limone and frutti di bosco. Plus they are always open late on the weekends for those after-hour cravings.

The next on my list is not really a gelateria but it is so worth mentioning. De Angelis near Piazza Crati on Via di Priscilla 18/20_Roma is actually a bar that serves the most amazing cremolati in Rome. Cremolati is similar to a granita or sherbert but it contains the fruit pulp as well. And I don't have a picture because they only make this in the warm summer months. However I can assure you there is always a line and their strawberry flavor is definitely the most popular. It's a bit pricey at 4euro but damn is it good.

There is also Lanzallotto, Viale Somalia. 96. tel. 06 86212257. This place is near Villa Ada and on Saturdays and Sundays it's always packed. Yummy yummy yummy is all I have to say. Cappucino, ciocolato, nocciala, and zabaione. They also make really good fruit flavors.

The last one I have to mention isn't a gelateria either and shame on me for this bit of self-promotion so I'll just quickly mention it. The restaurant I work at serves sorbetto and semifreddo handmade by a local Roman woman. This fall she made sorbetto all'uva fragola which is when concord grapes are in season here and we would sell out every night. A beautiful purple color with a sweet (but not too sweet) grape taste. She also makes a nice sorbetto al pompelmo rosa (grapefruit) and right now we are serving semifreddo ai croccante (hazelnut) with a spoonful of chocolate on top. It's becoming a favorite fast. If you are ever in the neighborhood stop by and try some. You won't be disappointed.
Risorante Pupina, via Marianna Dionigi, 37, just steps from Piazza Cavour. 063223338.

Of course I have other gelaterie that I like but maybe I'll save those for another post.