Gelato Bar, pays homage to authentic gelato bars found in Italy, forged with the American small town sensibility of building of a neighborhood meeting place to make a winning addition to the community.
Opened in 2010, Gelato Bar is located in the center of Hillhurst Avenue, in the midst of bustling shops and restaurants. The store is decorated with splashed brightly striped walls of yellow, blue and green with a charming setting of scattered tables and chairs where one can wander in for a coffee or snack, read the International Herald Tribune, New York Times or play a game of chess with a neighbor.
The focal point is the magnificent Milanese gelato case, displaying billowing colored clouds of gelato. The gelato is treated with great care; managers regularly monitor refrigeration to ensure that the product is served at optimum temperature, making Gelato Bar a superior source for the Italian confection. Each of the 24 daily selections of gelato and sorbetto flavors are hand-decorated with eye-catching garnishes of fresh fruits, nuts and spices. Along with Italian classics Nocciola, Straciatella and Pistachio, Also featured daily are sugar-free gelato and fat-free sorbetto as well as an original frozen Greek yogurt – in featured flavors – made with real yogurt and without powders or mixes.
The artisanal product is custom made by Allessandro Fontana, an expert gelato maker from Venice, who taught the owners the nuances of the best Italian gelato. Gelato Bar’s frozen confections are made daily in small batches; each flavor contains 65-70% pure product (i.e. pistachio, chocolate, fruits) as compared to most other varieties, which often contain only 30% product. Gelato deceivingly has a much lower fat content than conventional American ice creams and due to its lower temperature, richer flavors can be achieved.
Gelato Bar also features a stunning coffee bar similar to the ones found in Europe, where customers can stand and order from an expansive list of beverages, gourmet teas, Italian sodas, expertly brewed pour-over coffees, espresso made with specially roasted coffees by Forty Ninth Parallel Roasters, a boutique roaster from Vancouver, British Columbia. Forty Ninth Parallel specializes in direct from origin, fair trade and organically grown beans and is committed to offering only the freshest, highest quality coffee.
Every batch of green coffee is carefully roasted by Master Roaster Michael Piccolo to bring out its preeminent qualities. Pour-over brewing methods are Gelato Bar’s specialty, using the critically acclaimed Hario Buono V60 kettle, ridged glass filters, and precision controlled water temperature for optimal bean extraction. Gelato Bar’s baristas are expertly trained by Nik Krankl, 2nd place winner of the National Barista Championship. The team expertly prepares espressos with a state-of-the-art brewing system from La Marzocco, made in Florence, Italy. The beverage menu also includes an expansive list of Italian sodas, gourmet teas and affogato.
GelatoBar LA is handpicking the best baked goods from local suppliers. Rotating selections of savory and sweet snacks are selected from their favorite local bake shops – Cake Monkey and La Brea Bakery.
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