What’s that? It’s crazy to eat gelato in the dead of winter? Nonsense! Gelato is to be enjoyed at any time of the year, temperatures be damned. And if you find yourself in Ossining, how about a quick stop in at Ossining Pizzeria & Restaurant.
The restaurant looks like your everyday, run-of-the-mill pizzeria, but connected to it is a cafe and gelateria, with around 20 homemade gelato flavors.
So many to choose from — I’d say about half were fruit flavors — and the hazelnut (nocciola) was calling.
Here’s what I noticed as the server packed the gelato into the cup, and then after I tasted it: Unlike the other flavors in the display case, the hazelnut didn’t have the smooth, creaminess of say a Baci gelato at Via Vanti! or Frankie & Fanucci’s; it was firm and almost crumbly. I’m not sure how gelato is made, but I’m wondering if maybe this batch was over-frozen, or if it wasn’t as fresh as the others.
But the vivid and rich taste of hazelnut was top-notch. And as the gelato melted in my mouth, its texture smoothed out.
I chatted briefly with the server, who had a heavy Italian accent.
“Is this all homemade?” I asked.
“Yes. I make them all here,” she said.
“That’s a lot of work.”
(With a shrug) “I love.”
Ossining Pizzeria & Restaurant
181 Croton Ave.
Ossining, NY
914-762-1455
2 Comments
I love this place too. Hardly in the same league as Purple Monkey. I’ve had their hazelnut a few times and it’s been the typical cremy-gelato consistency. I agree … could be a freezer anomaly?
I’m sorry to say I have had numerous consistency inconsistencies with the gelato at Ossining Pizzeria, enough that I have stopped going. Many flavors seem overly sweet or one-dimensional. I like the place & the people AND fact that they make it there, but I have never been too wowed.