Capogiro Gelateria- Italian Market (Philadelphia, USA)

After our meal at Birra, we went for a stroll on Passyunk street. I am already drawn to this area of town given the colorful shops, restaurants and young/hip atmosphere. We spotted a Gelato shop and decided we had enough room for dessert. 

At the time, I was not aware that Capogiro Gelateria has various locations and is a local and international Gelato celebrity. 

I loved the decor and presentation. Everything was clean, sharp and beautifully presented. The shop was very homey and cozy. 

The gelato is not set out like other gelato shops but is hidden by lids. There are also not a large variety of flavours to choose from but what they did offer was enough. 

The shop also offers a wide range of coffees and sweets. 

And biscotti! I love biscotti. But didn't get a chance to try on this trip. 

The flavors are written on a chalkboard. I ordered the Nocciola and Pistachio while the Count ordered the Dark Chocolate and Grapefruit. 

Capogiro uses local hand picked produce and milk from grass fed, hormone free cows. You can really taste the difference and quality in each spoonful. 

I was not expecting such an explosion of flavours in my mouth. I've had a lot of gelato in my time. And a good amount of that in Italy from Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples and Amalfi coast and I can confidently say that this was one of the best I have ever had. Definitely the best I have had in America. 

The flavours were so strong and the gelato was so creamy. I have never taste gelato this good. No wonder it was picked as the best gelato 'in the world'. 

This is definitely a new favorite. I have yet to try the other locations but I definitely love the space, decor and flavors offered at this location. 

SnoWizard SnoBall Shoppe-Uptown (New Orleans, USA)

And the sno cone series continues. I tried Hansen's and feel that I officially have a good basis for comparison. Next on the list was SnoWizard located on Magazine street. What I like about SnoWizard is that it has a parking area and out door seating. It is also very organized and clean! The inside of the sno making room is clean and everything seems to be as it should be. Two young girls were working the day I went. Both very nice and professional. One took orders, the other made the sno-cones. 

The flavors and options were endless. The girl at the counter offered a tasting which I though was great. After tasting a few I settled on the Dreamsicle Cream stuffed with ice-cream and condensed cream. It is the only way to do it. However, I did not expect it to be so big! 

The ice cream was served on top of the sno cone and I had to dig in deep to get to the frozen ice and syrup. Not a problem at all since the flavours all blended perfectly.  

The sno was nice and smooth. Not the same as Hansen's but in my mind just as good (especially since I only waited 5 minutes for this sweet treat). The syrup flavour was very nice and overall I really enjoyed it. I also liked the fact that there are seats for customers to sit down in- a great touch. When there are so many sno cone shops around town little details like that make all the difference in the world. 

Yogy the Yogurt Bar- Garden District (New Orleans, USA)

You may have noticed that frozen yogurt shops are popping up all over New Orleans. Many are franchises and others locally owned and operated. Yogy the Yogurt shop is a mom and pop yogurt shop which has been up and running for just over a month. They are located on Magazine street at the cross section of Louisiana street. They closed shop for a while in order to install a coffee and crepe bar since there is a serious coffee void in this strip of Magazine street with the closing of Rue de La Course. 

There is a large courtyard where you can sit down and enjoy your frozen dessert.

Toppings are mounted on a wall making it more functional and less messy.

I tried the Watermelon Sorbet which was tart and tasty. You pay by weight so make sure you don't go too crazy with your toppings. Even if you do (like I did) the prices are very reasonable and lower than other yogurt franchises in the area.

Overall, this is a wonderful cute and tasty addition to the Garden District.





Hansen's Sno-Bliz Shop- Uptown (New Orleans, USA)

A sno cone is one of the top highlights of summers in New Orleans. In the midst of a hot, muggy and sweaty day you can look forward to cooling off with a sno cone from one of many great sno cone shops around town. Hansen's Sno Bliz shop is a New Orleans tradition and I was told by many that I must try it out before leaving town. And so I found myself waiting in that long dreadful line on one of the hotter New Orleans days to get my hands on one of these famous sno cones.

An hour later... after getting to know my neighbors in line I finally made it to the the inside of the shop. Another fifteen minutes and I was at the front counter. The inside of the shop is...old. I am guessing that they are trying to maintain that old feel to the place so that it resembles what it looked like when it first opened up many years ago. You can look forward to taking a step back in time where life was simple and there was no AC. Yes you heard correctly- there is no proper AC in this small shop.

Once you get to the counter you are greeted by the owner and her helpers. The owner is the granddaughter of the founders of Hansens. She is warm, friendly and dripping with perspiration from a hard days work. You order your size, flavor and add any extras. I went with the cream of nectar stuffed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of condensed milk. The Count ordered the limonade- he likes his sno cone tart and fresh.

And finally after an hour and twenty minutes (we timed it)- we got our hands on our very first Hansen's Sno Bliz. The texture of the 'sno' was definitely superior to many I have had in the city. As someone put it- it is like biting on to pieces of a cloud. That's how it feels. It is smooth and creamy, light and fluffy.

One thing I would like to share is the poor hygiene and sanitation of the place. The Count pointed out the fact that the ice was handled by a young man wearing no gloves and pushing the ice into the 'sno' machine. He was sweaty and itchy which resulted in him scratching himself all over and wiping off his sweat with his bare hands followed by handling the ice and pushing it in the machine. The counter was a mess and seemed like there was no real order. The staff had to run back and forth between the rooms to grab different flavors. I guess they are trying to change little but it seems that things would run more efficiently if small changes were made. I have been to other sno cone shops in the area which are cleaner and more sanitary. I guess people down here are so fond of their childhood memories of this place that they fail to notice these small details. If you don't care about hygiene then you will love Hansens.

Bubble Tea at Honeydeux (New Orleans, USA)

Ever since I moved down to New Orleans I kept questioning why there were no bubble tea places around.  After all, it is a frozen drink and seemed like it would be a  great hit down here. Well, I am happy to say that finally one has opened on Magazine street. Honeydeux serves bubble tea in a range of real fruit flavors along with an assortment of asian shaved ice and wraps.  

What to look for in a good bubble tea? Do they use real fruits? If so you know its good. This place even uses real taro roots (the purple drink on the bottom) which is ever so delicious. Most places use taro powder rather than the real thing. Next, you should look for a perfect proportion of tapioca balls which are average in size and not overly hard or soft but chewy. My personal favorites are the taro, coconut and honeydeux. I'll have to go back and try their asian shaved ice which is served with fruits and a scoop of ice-cream on top finished off with condensed milk. Anything with condensed milk makes me happy (in fact I may or may not eat spoonfuls at times for dessert...mmmm condensed milk). Ok. Back to my review.... as you can tell by the pink lipstick below I tried the taro and loved it. 

The prices are a bit on the steeper end but I'm thinking its the new trend down here. More competition would bring down prices; unfortunately for us, there aren't that many bubble tea places around and so you have to pay the higher price. In return however you do get real fruits as opposed to powder. 

The Creole Creamery (New Orleans, USA)

I've tried many ice cream shops in New Orleans and this one has made it to the top of my list. It has by far the best ice cream in town. 

As soon as you walk through the doors you take a trip back in time. It reminds me of many hollywood movies based in the South- it definitely has that old world charm. 

There are so many delicious and creative flavors to try and it's usually hard to choose just one.  However, over time and many flavor tests I find that I tend to gravitate to chocolate flavors. My personal favorites at the Creole Creamery are the entire chocolate section  (located on your left as soon as you walk in); more specifically, the chocwork-orange (a dark creamy chocolate ice cream with a hint of orange flavor), the butterscotch english toffee (soooo good) and lavender honey (who doesn't love lavender?)

What's your favorite flavor?