Local Wine Company Blog

Gelatto is one of my favorite things to eat, especially on a warm summer night. And Georgia has plenty of those hot, sticky, humid summer nights that require slow movement, slow talking and of course gelato as a primer. So what is gelato? And where did it come from? Gelato is milk and sugar combined with additional flavors like fruits or chocolate or nuts. Gelato typically has less than 55% air so that it has a dense and luxurious texture. Gelato made without milk, but in the same process, is sorbetto (sorbet). But I love the fat and therefore go for gelato 9 out 10 times when given the choice. Surprisingly the butterfat (milk fat) content for gelato is only 5-8% whereas traditional North American ice cream runs in the range of 10-18% (god bless Ben and Jerry’s). This higher percentage of butterfat is due in large part to the increased amount of cream used in N.A. ice cream.

So where did gelato come from? If you dig a little bit in the past history has two interesting anecdotes. The Chinese not only created paper and gun powder, but they created the first ice cream machine using rock salt in the agitation process to harden the shaved ice or granita that they were making over 2000 years ago. It is reported that Marco Polo brought not only pasta back to Italy but ice cream as well. Though there is good evidence that ice cream was being made and eaten by Roman emporers centuries before Marco Polo went on his global tour. Sorbetto was most likely introduced to southern Italy via the Arabs who also brought with them sugarcane. The Arabs had a long history of using mountain ice combined with sugar and fruit to make Sharbat (sorbet).

And today we have the Italians to thank for the beautiful advances in this dulce that we now can enjoy nearly everywhere. But not all gelatos are made equal. As with all great food you have to start with excellent base products in order for the finished product to be truly amazing. At Oh Gelatohhh they only use real fruit and traditional Italian techniques in making their gelato. And they hold true to standard Italian classics like Ricotta and Fig, Straciatella, Gianduja and Dulce de Leche.

I sat outside on a bench at City Market Ellis Square in downtown Savannah and enjoyed my delicious serving of Ricotta and Fig gelato. It dripped slowly down my hands as I tried to savor the experience for as long as possible. Tropical storm Fay was still brewing to the south and had already thrown thunder heads up to Georgia as a precursor to the coming rains and the sky was pastel pink, purple and blue on the tips of these giants thunder clouds that stretched across the horizon. Thankfully the clouds were accompanied by a cool breeze and I sat listening to music at Ellis Square and enjoyed a fantastic gelato.

The moral of my tale: search out the best gelato that you can. Sit outside on a hot summer nightand. Let it run down your fingers like you were a little child. Return to a simpler time in life (for at least five minutes) and enjoy the gift of milk, sugar and fruit. Oh ya, and if you are in Savannah stop in at Oh Gelatohhh.

It’s been 10 years since I’ve walked through the gardens in Boston. And I must admit that I forgot how beautiful the city is in the summertime. The verdant, ripe and rich landscape is adoringly accented by the twisting and curving streets of Boston and the aroma of fresh blossoms and honeysuckle seem to fill every park and garden. I was duly impressed with the change in the restaurants as well. It seems that Bean Town is growing up and has begun to offer extremely good food and wine at regular and more affordable prices. Every major city in America has their own version of Newbury Street where the typical suspects and styles of ABC town can be found mixed in amongst the interesting and boutique. Walk just a bit off towards downtown and you’ll find the latest incarnation of chef Kerrin Oringer, James Beard best NE award winner, KO Prime. As the name sounds this is a steak house. I am such a fan of the modern steak house, out with the old and in with the clean and new. It’s like spring cleaning across the steak halls of America wiping away the heavy wood paneled, dark and smoky restaurants, and in with the crisp, light and balanced steak houses of the 21st century. The menu is balanced between heavy and light, meat and sea. What a delight to have sashimi, so light and refreshing and then to finish with hangar steak and bone marrow.

Service is the least talked about aspect to dining, and in my opinion, one of the most important elements to creating an excellent dinner. When I go out to eat I am not only looking for excellent food, excitement in the ingredients, caringly prepared and executed but also attentive service. Americans have become all to immune to the young PDQ waiters who are simply there to get a pay check and who don’t really care about doing their job well. I still tip well even when service is bad (old habit of having spent time in the trenches and feeling obliged) much to my own chagrin. So I am asking where is the pride in simply doing a job well? If you don’t know your product or the basics of how and when to get food and beverages to a table then what good are you to the restaurant and the chef that has labored over her food.

This being said I am so happy to say that all of the restaurants I visited in Boston all had stupendous service. And KO Prime was dynamite from top to bottom. I had an especially interesting conversation about organic beverage options that they are trying to use as much as possible at the restaurant. Even down to organically sourced spirits. When you are in Boston stop in for dinner or at least a quiet drink at the bar.

From the creators of Town Hall and Salt House in San Francisco comes their third restaurant, Anchor and Hope. Just opened in April, 2008. As you can imagine the theme is seafood and the decor exotic/shabby chique.  Large black sea-creature fish are painted on the wall above the bar as you walk in the restaurant demanding attention and screaming to all that it is about the seafood. Open and airy, recycled and used timbers adorn the tall vaulted roof and back wall with exposed brick feels comfortable and hip at the same time. The space used to be an auto repair garage and still retains the large openess of a single workspace. It reminded me of a shabby chique decor that ran into Japanese anime on its way to the Bay Area. Very unique, simple and well done (whether you like the screaming painted fish or not).

The wine list is a thoughtful blend of domestic (mostly Californian wine) and a surprising array of Mediterranean styled wines like Vermentino of Sardenia, Northern Spanish Albarino or Viognier from the Var in Provence, France. Perhaps not enough white wine selections as I would like to see since it is a seafood driven restaurant. Some of the dishes that we ate were simple and well executed, but perhaps lacked pizzazz. But the fish stew was magical. Monk fish, mussels, clams, chorizo and a spicy broth all sopped up with crunchy fresh sourdough bread. That was dynamite. If you are a fan of Doug Washington and partners Mitchell and Steve Rosenthal’s Salt House or Town Hall then you must stop by for a visit at Anchor and Hope.
Ask for the “Fries with Eyes.” It is a killer little surprise.