Lickety Licking addition to Leam

Having lived away from Leamington Spa for quite a few years, I now find myself back in the security of the town. And how it has changed! The place has become a mecca of independent shops and a mini-foodie heaven, with more cafes and restaurants than you could shake a stick at. 

One of the more recent additions in a fun American-style ice cream parlor, Lickety Lick. The Leamington branch, in an old shoe shop down in the old town, follows on the heels of a success story in Coventry.

From the window, the parlour declares itself as a place of fun, and if you don't have a sense of humour then this isn't the place for you (you old misery).

The exterior and interior gives more than a nod to the 1950s American diner. Complete with the town's first model of Elvis, as far as I'm aware.

The interior is bright and looked clean, but there appeared to be a touch of slowness on the table-clearing side of things and it was mid-week and so not particularly busy.

Lots of tasty teeth-destroying treats are on offer: scrumptious sounding sundaes (lotta oreo, all you need is cream, popstar), waffles, cookie ice cream sandwiches, as well as good selection of inventive milkshakes (ferrero rocher), ice cream floats, then coffees and teas.

Of course, I skipped the novelty and went for the ice cream. There's a nice choice of flavours (around 14) plus guest flavours which the staff said changed on a regular basis. I was encouraged to try flavours (always a good sign) and would recommend the lemon meringue from just a taste.

My final choice was one scoop each of two flavours: rich chocolate and cointreau and orange. The second was a guest flavour and tasted more orangey than boozy. An extra hit of liqueur would have brought it up to my expectation. The chocolate was tasty and indeed rich. Both scoops were definitely UK or US ice cream style.

The verdict

Lickety lick is certainly a place that should be on your ice cream list. Treat the kids or it could be good for teenager birthday parties.

I had:
Two scoops in a cup: rich chocolate with cointreau and orange. 
Price £2.75

No website, this is their Facebook page for opening times and latest guest flavours (I'll be back to try and marmalade one):
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lickety-Lick/467524130015280

Buon gelato at Bellamia, Florence

Enjoy a bel gelato at Bellamia, Florence.

Wandering around the market at San Lorenzo in Florence can be tiring work. Bellamia is an ideal place to stop and chill for a while.

I came across Bellamia during an hour spent eyeing up the bargain bags, belts and scarves at San Lorenzo. With more pretty signage than a family-run gelateria, I was a bit worried that style might beat substance but I was in for pleasant cold surprise.

Opting for fruity today, I got to try some more unusual flavours, something that Florentine gelato craftsmen excel in. On recommendation I went for the zabaione (Italian dessert made with eye yolk and sweet wine) with marscapone and fig. 

I loved both flavours equally. The zabaione was on the right side of boozy and tasted authentic. The fig ice cream was a gorgeous blend of mascarpone and small succulent bits of fruit.

Zabaione was the flavour of the day but there was actually a pleasing small number of really good flavoured gelati on offer. This covered the fruit end of the gelato spectrum to the chocolate end, with some creamy tastes in between.

Bellamia also serves good looking waffles and crepes if you need a more substantial sugar-hit.

Lots of cone and cup choices, also options to take your gelato away in 3 sizes of tubs. 

Impressive, friendly service too, as staff were happy to advise on flavours and sizes. Being asked if you've enjoyed it is always nice too.

Bellamia is a chain, so you will find these places in other Italian towns and cities, and hopefully they won't feel like a chain as this one didn't. Nice website too

The verdict

Bonus points for great service. Liked the signs and that the selection of flavours wasn't overwhelming.
I ordered:
Size: 2 scoops @ a bargainsome 2.00 euros (no extra charge for a cone)
Flavour(s): Mascarpone with fig, and zabaione

Gelato Marco, Trieste - yummmmm

Marco makes a top gelato - Gelato Marco, Trieste, Italy

Gelateria recommendations from locals are always welcome, which is why I was super excited when a client took me to a place in Trieste one Sunday afternoon where there was a veritable scrum of Italian families (not) queuing for their ice cream.

With lots of choice of great and traditional flavours I opted for a favourite and a surprise flavour seeing as my wonderful client was ordering.

And my final gelato? Pistacchio and nutella (and then with an extra gloop of Nutella). Absolutely delicious, a decent scoop of both flavours, at my ideal temperature. Interestingly, the Nutella was a happy accident (I'd asked for coffee).

Adding to the experience is your ability to walk your gelato across to the very special Trieste seafront and gaze out as the sun sets across the Adriatic as you eat.

 
For those of a nervous Nutella disposition look away right now.

The verdict

Tasty, tasty, very very tasty - grazie mille Marco
I ordered:
Size: 2 scoops @ no idea as I didn't pay
Flavour(s): Pistachio and nutella

To find out more Gelato Marco has a website, all in Italian but you'll get the picture.

Gelateria Zampolli, Trieste

Not bad gelato at all Zampolli - but for me you are the second-best in town.

Zampolli is situated on a main street, not far from the train station and close to the start of the main shopping area. The photo below masks the size of the place inside, it's much bigger than your typical gelateria - lots of room to laze about and eat an ice or drink a coffee. However, it was very quiet when I visited on a weekend day.

The people here spoke only a tiny bit of English, but if you don't speak Italian or haven't bothered to learn enough to buy a gelato, the international language of pointing will work.


However, they have a lovely, large selection of flavours. Today was a fruit day so I went straight for one of my new favourite combinations blackcurrant and vanilla. Yes, it was delicious and it hit the spot. So much so that I skipped lunch.

 

Zampolli has no website, so here's the lowdown:

Via Carlo Ghega 10, 34132 Trieste 

Open until 01:00 am 

The verdict

More expensive than your average gelateria and providing good gelato, however, Zampolli was eclipsed by another Trieste gelateria
I ordered:
Size: 2 scoops @ €2.60
Flavour(s): Blackcurrant sorbet and vanila gelato

 

Vivoli, Florence - One of the things in life worth living for

Vivoli, Florence - As one reviewer says; its gelato is one of the things in life worth living for ('la crema di Vivoli è una delle cose per cui vale la pena di vivere').

First point, Vivoli is a little hidden away, but then the back streets of Florence are an amazing place to amble of an evening, if it wasn't for the motorini you could imagine yourself to be back in renaissance times wandering through a warren of ancient lanes amongst palazzi and atmospheric churches. 

My approach was made at night, after a late meal and with a pure end of the week feeling. Travelling on your own can be fun, but I need to work on my ability to visit bars and pubs alone on a Friday evening (even with a book to hide behind). With a gelateria I'm on safer ground. 

Suddenly, as if by magic, I came across Vivoli. Down a back street, away from the crowds but still tucked away between Santa Croce and Il Bargello. A little peace of heaven and an important part of the time when I lived in Florence. 

I can't always have pistachio and coffee, so one of my other favourite things is to ask in a gelateria is what flavours they recommend. At which point they usually ask back 'fruit or chocolate?' At which point I sometimes reply 'both'. And the server was on the wrong side of grumpy so the both option was more fun. However, I didn't dare ask to try anything.

Cream of orange and chocolate orange were the flavours I ended up with. Both were delicious, with the orange having tiny bits of sharp tasting orange peel mixed into the gelato. Very gooey, I prefer a slightly colder gelato but perhaps this reflects how late I ate here.

The verdict

Not the most generous of portions, but then it is rich and very tasty indeed
I ordered: Size: 2 scoops @ € 2.00 Flavour(s): Orange and chocolate orange
Check out the Vivoli website if you want to know more. Although you may find that Vivoli need to fix their website first!

A gelato with a view - Gelateria Santa Trinita, Florence

I recommend the Gelateria Santa Trinita in Florence for a gorgeous setting, great service and most of all for incredible servings of gelato. 

My visit was post dinner, stuffed with pizza and enjoying a warm Spring evening wander around a city I know well. I was planning to visit my favorite gelateria in the whole wide world (more on that in a future post) when I walked across my favourite bridge in the world into the warm inviting lights of the Gelateria Santa Trinita. 

Gazing dreamily at the beautiful gelato selection on offer, I was approached by the server who was incredibly helpful and let me try a few of the flavours (all places should offer this, walk off if they don't). 

Finally, I plumped for my absolute favourite combination - pistachio and coffee. I can report that it was absolutely gorgeous in the city and country of gelato, you'd hope so. And the pistachio wasn't green, which I like! You can see the generous portions below.

They also have a poppyseed gelato (sesame nero), which I need to return to try.

The price was also fine, Florence is not all that expensive a place (especially for ice cream), unless of course you like shopping on Via de' Tornabuoni. 

Find out more via the Gelateria Santa Trinita's website.

The verdict

A bargain
I ordered:
Size: 2 scoops @ €1.90
Flavour(s): Cream of pistachio and coffee