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Hazelnut (pictured) and pistachio gelato starts with nuts from Italy's Piemonte region (Jamie R. Liu)
Baltimore-based Pitango Gelato officially opens its first D.C.-area location today. Located across from the P Street Whole Foods, it is a welcome addition to the neighborhood. And Virginians, don't fret, as another Pitango will be opening soon in Reston Town Center.
It all started with Pitango Gelato owner Noah Dan. During his childhood, he would take frequent trips from his home country of Israel to Italy. And every day during these trips, he would head to the local gelateria for a treat of gelato. As he grew older, the former software programmer and his family noticed that the gelato of his childhood was no longer the same. Too many gelaterias were going for convenience and low prices, using pre-made mixes to make gelato.
For his grandmother's 80th birthday, he decided that he would make crema, a simple custard-flavored gelato, for her. It was then that he realized that the key to great gelato was to get the basics right. For several years, he dreamed of opening a gelateria, spending three years trying to figure out how to get the right ingredients and scale up his processes.
Dan explained that the most important aspect differentiating Pitango is the milk he uses. Deciding that most milk is overly processed, he embarked on a search that took him through southern Virginia to New Jersey to find the best possible milk. When he visited a Mennonite farmer in Pennsylvania, he knew that he had found the raw milk that he could turn into the best gelato. (Yes, he does pasteurize it.) So he built a dairy on Spring Wood Organic Farm in Lancaster County, which provides him with milk from organic, grass-fed cows and fresh eggs from free-range chickens.
Dan then combs local farms to find organic fruits for his sorbetti and gelati. He admits that despite his best efforts, the best pistachios and hazelnuts would have to come from Italy. He doesn't use artificial colors, flavors, or stabilizers.
The gelati are contained in separate covered, liquid-cooled chambers, rather than the typical presentation in trays exposed to the air. This helps prevent mingling of flavors and scents. It is also more energy-efficient; an open freezer case tends to shed cold more quickly. And since gelato has a higher melting point, this reduces melting and the formation of ice crystals during refreezing.
Rather than start with the same base for each gelato, each is formulated specifically for its ingredients. For instance, hazelnut gelato reduces the amount of cream used due to the high fat content of hazelnuts. It is this type of dedication that shows in the flavor and texture of his gelato. The astonishingly smooth pistachio gelato perfectly mimics the sweet, clean, rounded flavors of pistachios. The mojito sorbetto is fantastic and chock full of mint. For heat seekers, the spicy chocolate comes on strong with milk chocolate and ends with a surprisingly warm peppery picante. And despite the richness of gelato, it has less fat and fewer calories, which makes it easier to enjoy.
For days when it's too cold for gelato, Pitango offers espresso, cappuccino and lattes. Or if you're looking to super charge your gelato, you can ask for an affogato - chocolate or hazelnut gelato with a shot of espresso poured on top. But lucky for us Pitango happens to have arrived just in time for a delicious summer.
Pitango Gelato
1451 P Street NW
(202) 332-8877
Metro: Dupont Circle
Hours (subject to change):
Weekdays: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Weekends: 11 a.m. to midnight
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Cool. Also funny how Mr. Yogato expands to Bmore just as this Bmore-based shop comes to DC. Hopefully a stifling hot summer starts them out on the right financial foot.
Especially as the new Baltimore Mr. Yogato location is just down the street from the original Pitango in Fells Point. (And the new Pitango is like 3 blocks from the original Mr. Yogato.)
I know DCist has a penchant for over-priced eats, but do we really need 8 graphs and 12 photos of a frackin' ice cream stand?
Oh, if you would like, I would be happy to make you my signature Omelet du Fromage. Each meal is lovingly prepared from a recipe developed by my great grandmother after she escaped to France from a Cossack stronghold . Each meal is prepared using only the roundest of eggs. Each slice of fromage has been painstakingly wrapped individually to preserve its flavor and iridescent pumpkin color. The dish is lightly seasoned with a blend of salts from the famed Morton salt mines of Ohio and Louisiana.
$22
I'll take two, please. And don't skimp on the cossack.
"do we really need 8 graphs and 12 photos of a frackin' ice cream stand?"
Welcome to the intertubes - space is cheap. BYO snark.
Mmmmm. That Mojito flavor is good... I got to taste a little when I walked by and saw an open door. I mean, who doesn't stop for ice cream? Let us know when they do a Gelatopocalypse...
I'm curious if the prices are the same in the Baltimore location.
$4.85 for a small gelato?
I'm still heading to Rita's before any of this.
And, I'd still prefer a $1 cone at McDonalds.
They should have opened in Columbia Heights. Then, at least you could get a small gelato AND a brick thrown at your head for $4.85.
I'll do you one better, I'm sticking a "Lil Hugs" in the freezer
Frozen Lil Hugs are great! Because after you've thrown it at some white guy's head, it later melts, destroy all evidence of assault!
Next week: how to kill a man with a Jello Pudding Pop®
For realz, $4.85 better include an ending happier than brain freeze. Either way, don't forget to give your change to the guy across the street with his change cup on the fishing line.
and this mentality is why quality of food in america (in general) sucks relative to europe. the loss of appreciation for artisanal trades, the increasing focus on the bottom line, and a complete lack of palette.
"And despite the richness of gelato, it has less fat and fewer calories, which makes it easier to enjoy." Less fat than what? Gelato from this joint has less fat than gelato at other establishments? Or gelato in general has less fat than what, regular ice cream? I'd like me some gelato, but heart palps scare me. Not that that would really stop me, though the price might.
Oops... less fat and calories than ice cream.
groovy. thanks Jamie.
I went to this place yesterday. The gelato was really really good, although I'm not sure it was good enough to make me want to pay that much on a regular basis.
Full review on">http://graduallygreener.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/gradually-greener-gelato-review-pitango/>on my blog!
Whoops. Too early in the morning to write a link correctly... This should work...
I am very happy that there are more places like this, but can't some of these yogurt places at least ATTEMPT to provide something for people who can't digest milk?? Many times, those stupid lactaid pills don't work for us and we just can't eat anything with milk in it. So we are relegated to the ice cream ghetto and outvoted in social situations because everyone else can eat milk products, leaving us to have to say ridiculous things like - "I sure hope there's a sorbet on the menu! Or a cookie that I can eat!" To which friends will reply, 'I'm sure there is,' and there is usually nothing non-milk, and if there is, it is always lemon or mango-flavored.
I end up having to go to health food coops for non-dairy and vegan ice cream on my own time because non of these businesses offers anything non-dairy - I don't care if it's in fine print on the menu - just something.
Please help us!!!
I don't know if you're referring to Pitango or froyo places with respect to not having lactose-free options. Pitango has eight different sorbetto flavors, which are lactose-free. And it's more than lemon or mango. The mojito is excellent, and I didn't get to try the concord grape but it looks wonderful.
cool! That is exciting, I am definitely going to drop by then. Thanks so much!
FYI - Dolci Gelati at the zoo has much better gelato and it is also cheaper. i just found out they sell their pints at Whole Foods and other markets in the area....an entire pint for 4.99?? There is no compitition if you ask me!