Yesterday afternoon, Melanie and I continued our tradition of ruining our appetites for dinner by eating dessert first. We quested to Rita’s Café in Brookline, and immediately upon entering the shop, we knew one thing: we would be coming back.
When we walked into the quaint coffee shop, we were kindly greeted by a man who spoke limited English. It didn’t matter. He fully understood that we wanted gelato and he was quick to get that gelato to us. After looking into the display case and pondering one scoop or two, Melanie and I both made our orders. Melanie ordered one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of raspberry, and I got one scoop of chocolate and one of vanilla. We both tried to get one scoop, split into two flavors, but this was lost in translation. But it didn’t matter—as we soon discovered the gelato was delicious and two scoops a piece was perfect. He took our orders, and we waited at the counter for gelato, but then, he directed us to take a seat. We followed his kind orders, and we found a table in the charming and nicely decorated shop. This place even has an exposed brick interior wall. We soon saw him bringing out gelato to us in glass polka-dotted bowls complete with real, metal spoons, and we knew that Rita’s was one classy establishment.
We dug into the gelato with enthusiasm and with the best spoon yet. It was ¾ of a normal spoon size and metal, whereas all of the other spoons to date were cheap and disposable plastic ones. Melanie’s raspberry tasted like sorbet, rather than a true gelato. It had a strong flavor and an intense raspberry color, and she was pleased with her order. The gelato was light and almost fluffy, but she did long for a more creamy consistency. We both ordered a scoop of chocolate, and both of us were very pleased. Melanie aptly described the flavor as “an intense fudgesicle.” While no chocolate gelato will probably ever compare to the dark chocolate heaven we ate at Piattinis, if someone wanted a true and original chocolate, I would direct them to Rita’s. Both of us ate ever last bite of the chocolate gelato in our dish. My vanilla gelato was just average. It tasted just like ice cream. It was creamy and had a vanilla flavor, but it did not have the flavor intensity or lightness that I so enjoyed at GiGis.
After we had eaten to our heart’s content, it was time to pay. Paying for this gelato further confirmed to us what a delightful spot Rita’s Café really is. Two scoops cost just $3.50 a person. While paying, another employee asked Melanie and I if we would like a sample of a new milkshake they were making. The recipe was still in the experimental stage, and he wanted our feedback. We obviously accepted the offer, and we slurped down our chocolate, peanut butter, and banana milkshake offering him all of our thoughts (less peanut butter, more milk, use smooth peanut butter rather than crunchy). Good thing Melanie and I are so opinionated! He really took our comments to heart and after thanking them profusely for the gelato and the bonus milkshake, we got on our way.
Now, no post about Rita’s Café would be complete without this piece of information. Rita’s does not make their gelato onsite; rather, they buy it from Sapori di Napoli (that place in the Northend that was closed last week when we tried to go there). Learning this made Melanie and I very excited to go to Sapori di Napoli in the near future, and we have promised not to repeat any flavors on that quest. Even though we cannot score Rita’s on their gelato making ability, the shop gets perfect scores for its ambiance and the experience as a whole. We both want to go back and get lunch or dinner from this café and then order some gelato for dessert.
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