Baldarotta’s opened their new Gelateria on Friday, and I went for the gelato. I ordered the gelato sampler ($6) and the gelato brioche ($6).
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
This adorable flight of gelato gave a taste of each of the eight gelato available in the Gelateria: Italian espresso, vanilla, dark chocolate, hazelnut, lemon, caramel, raspberry, and pistachio. The Italian espresso had a very strong coffee bitter with a nice creaminess and the faintest of sugar. The vanilla was a simple, rich vanilla bean flavored gelato.
The dark chocolate was insane, and I demand that you try it. It was so chocolatey, just intense cocoa flavor and little surprise chocolate chips (or chunks? or bits?) throughout the scoop. The hazelnut had a huge flavor, a full nuttiness with little hazelnut balls throughout the gelato. The lemon was bright and delicious with large pieces of cookie, reminiscent of lemon pie. The caramel was creamy, velvety, and sweet with chocolate covered caramels. The raspberry was tart and fruity, a very concentrated fresh raspberry flavor that I could tell came from actual raspberries and not from raspberry syrup or artificial flavoring. Lastly, the pistachio gelato was smooth and creamy with a subtle pistachio flavor and a bit of saltiness.
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
The gelato brioche is a Sicilian ice cream sandwich, and I am here for it. Baldarotta’s gelato brioche comes with two scoops of gelato and three toppings. When I ordered, I thought I could only pick one flavor and have two scoops, but what a dummy. Of course, the two scoops can be two different flavors, and it’s better that way for sure.
I chose dark chocolate and caramel for my gelato, and I chose pistachios, chocolate sprinkles, and chocolate sauce for my toppings. This combination was heaven, but if you want to make yours differently, the other topping choices are strawberries, raspberries, candied lemons, candied oranges, candied cherries, almonds, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, caramel sauce, raspberry sauce, maraschino cherries, and granola.
Check out the Gelateria menu.
Photo by Alyssa Buckley.
You can order in person at the Lincoln Square restaurant at the Gelateria, past the sandwich shop part of Baldarotta’s, and enjoy it at one of their many bistro tables. You can also order online for pick-up or delivery.
Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage
300 S Broadway Ave
Urbana
T-Sa 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Su noon to 3 p.m.
Top image by Alyssa Buckley.
