KDay's Rankings

Sorry for the delay with this posting, but Mel and I are law students and sometimes we actually have to do work. But the gelato quest is complete and below you will find my rankings for the best gelato in Boston.

1. Angelato

2. BonBon

3. Rita's

4. GiGi

5. Sapori di Napoli

6. Piattini

7. Caffe Paradiso

8. Athan's Bakery

Athan's is ranked low because of flavor issues while Caffe Paradiso and Piattini are near the bottom mostly because of cost. Angelato wins out because the flavors were spectacular and the price was perfect. Stay tuned for Mel's rankings--I think we differ on a few. And with that, KDay's gelato quest is complete. Despite gelato being healthier than ice cream, this quest was still extremely caloric and delicious.

Eating Dessert First!

Hello “QUESTING: boston” Readers! I was so pleased to be a “guest quester,” due in part to the fame it is sure to bring, but also (mostly) because I knew even if the gelato disappointed, the company definitely would not.

After deciding that yes, even with my Type A personality, I could eat dessert before dinner, I set out with Kday and Melanie to Sapori di Napoli, but, as Kaitlyn mentioned, it was closed. Fortunately, we were in the North End, where there is no shortage of gelato!

We headed across the street to Napoli Pasty, where we were able to select from many brightly-colored flavors! I debated trying one of the fruity selections, but after Kaitlyn chose turtle, I decided to select a flavor that also included chocolate so that I would not have “gelato-envy.” The scoops got progressively bigger as the scooper-man filled our cups, so Melanie, having selected last, ended up with a huge scoop!

My oreo gelato had a good ratio of oreo chunks to cream and the little plastic spoon moved well through the gelato. (I was told by the expert questers that this is a sign of authentic gelato.) There were a few ice chunks in my gelato, but for $2.50, this was a flaw with which I could definitely deal.

The most impressive thing about this gelato experience was definitely the enormous chunk of salty fudge that comprised about 75% of Melanie’s scoop. As we chatted about bar passage rates (there’s no way we are going to be part of the 9% of “Passachusetts” bar takers that fail, right?) we attempted to tackle the salty fudge chunk, but alas, even between the three of us we could not finish it.

Thank you, Kaitlyn and Melanie for allowing me to crash the gelato quest – I hope I can score an invitation to join you on your third quest!

Napoli Pastry: Questing on the Fly

On Friday afternoon, Mel and I, along with our second guest-quester Sarah, set out for Sapori di Napoli. This was our final stop on the gelato quest. For you avid readers, you will remember that Mel and I tried once before to sample the delicious gelato at Sapori di Napoli, but we found that it was being renovated until October 18th. As Friday was November 5th, you can just imagine our surprise (and disappointment) when we arrived at Sapori di Napoli to find the exact same sign on the door. So we did what any dedicated quester would do: we improvised. We walked across the street to Napoli Pastry (as this hand-written sign told us to do) and tried the gelato there.

Looking across the street, we saw a delightful sign that made us think that the gelato at Napoli Pastry would still be a delicious. Once we were inside, the flavor selection did not disappoint. After staring into the display case for awhile and learning that you could not get more than one flavor in each scoop, we made our selections. I chose turtle, Sarah chose oreo, and Mel tried moose tracks. Despite being limited to one flavor, each scoop cost only $2.50, so we were pleased and ready to again, ruin our dinners by eating dessert first.

My turtle gelato was a bit soupy texture-wise, but flavor-wise, it was spot on. The caramel flavoring was decadent without being overly sweet and the cashew pieces in the gelato were a perfect salty compliment to the dessert. Sarah, our guest quester, will write about her experience with the oreo gelato. Spoiler alert--it was delicious! Mel's moose tracks gelato was a bit confusing. For our first few bites, all three of us greatly enjoyed Mel's choice. The vanilla base of the gelato was very flavorful and the chocolate swirls and peanut butter-chocolate pieces were delicious. However, half way through Mel's gelato scoop, we found one, huge chocolate piece that quite literally, was the size of 1/3 of Mel's cup (see below). This discovery basically meant that there was no gelato in the cup and it was mostly just a scoop of salty, fudgy chocolate. While the chocolate fudge chunk was tasty at first, it ultimately overshadowed the gelato altogether. Not to mention that it just didn't look very appetizing.

We were a bit disappointed to be unable to try Sapori di Napoli, but luckily, Napoli Pastry is owned by the same people, so it was an acceptable substitute. With this last minute substitute, the gelato quest is complete. Some 5000 calories and 8 stops later, our second quest is done. After Sarah's post, be sure to come back to learn which gelato shop in Boston was our favorite.

Bon Bon: Hidden Gem

After a questing hiatus (during which we had some very involved halloween costumes to make), we're back! This Tuesday, kDay and I ventured out once again in search of the best gelato in the Hub. On Mass Ave., between Berklee School of Music, the Boston Symphony, and the massive Christian Science Center, is Bon Bon. The first thing we saw was the display case which was easily the most impressive yet:

A real pumpkin! Half a coconut! A slice of apple pie! A cup of coffee beans! Real Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

No fake fruit here, folks. This is some serious commitment.

We tasted a few flavors (yes, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch tasted exactly like the cereal, yes it reminded me of Saturday mornings circa 1990, and no we did not get a whole cup of it) and settled on 6 flavors between the two of us to cram into our cups.

Each cup looked small, but the friendly Bon Bon employee packed those puppies with so much gelato that neither of us finished our servings. (Dinner was totally ruined, obviously).  kDay chose chocolate peanut butter (with real Reese's Pieces, shown above in the upper left hand corner), coconut, and fudge brownie (lower left hand corner). I chose mint straciatella (upper center), vanilla (lower right), and chocolate (upper right).

We retreated to a very retro sitting area to eat our gelato. It had twirly bar stools made of red, glittery plastic that I would have liked a lot in 1990 (and, let's be honest, really liked on Tuesday). Once we sat down, we realized we were in crazy town.

Why hello, seventeen thousand Sesame Street stuffed animals and all the colored M&Ms you could ever want. It's nice to meet you.

Even though the decor was pretty strange (see below), the gelato was surprisingly delicious. kDay's fudge brownie was the clear loser of the day, only because the gelato was not so fudgy. Despite the pieces of real brownie, it wasn't a properly chocolatey experience to justify such a chocolatey name. The chocolate peanut butter was everything kDay had hoped it would be, in addition to having Reese's Pieces in it (no, we're not gelato purists). In kDay's cup, however, the come-from-behind winner was the coconut. It had the texture that Angelato's educational materials raved about and just the right amount of coconut mixed in.

The vanilla was shockingly yellow, which was a little suspicious but it tasted delicious. Strong vanilla flavor and a great texture give Bon Bon's vanilla the edge over Gigi's vanilla for me, although kDay is resolutely still giving Gigi the win. The chocolate should have been called cocoa - it tasted just like cocoa powder with sugar (delicious but unexpected) and I spent some time puzzling over whether I liked it. I've decided that chocolate gelato comes in three types - the Piattini type (death by gooey fudge), the Standard type (exemplified by Rita's and tasting like chocolate ice cream), and the Bon Bon type (darker, cocoa flavored). I have decided that I can take or leave the standard type but really like the more unique chocolatey flavors. kDay seemed to dislike the cocoa flavor which meant more for me. The last flavor in my cup, the mint straciatella, was perfectly executed. Not too much mint and lots of crunchy chocolate bits made it really tasty and unique - every other straciatella we've seen has had a white/vanilla base.

I just have to come back to the decor though. Big Bird, meet your new neighbor, the hooded skull-in-a-dome. You better lean away so that he can't eat you. Just lie right down on that bear. Push Elmo into the corner. Look natural though, Big Bird. LOOK NATURAL.

Despite the wacky decor, I was pleasantly surprised. Who would have known that some of the best gelato in the city was in a Sesame Street themed acid trip of a store across from the home of Christian Science? Who knew that there was a place you could sit on sparkly stools as a grownup? Who knew they were still making Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

This place definitely gets a big thumbs up from us. It's right off of the Hynes Convention Center T stop, so you don't have to go all the way into the North End. And they've got a pretty sweet view!