The Search for Ginger - Perchè no!

I have a passion for ginger root. I desire the spiciness, the sweet heat. At sushi restaurants, I will eat your leftover pickled ginger. My eyes light up at new ginger products especially ginger beers and ales and ice creams. I rushed to Boulder, CO once I heard about Bitter Bar's Ginger Overload. I rushed to Glacé for their Candied Ginger ice cream once I arrived in Kansas City for Christmas 2010 (they were out). I splurged at Boulder's Frasca for Fever Tree Ginger Ale ($4 for a little bottle).

I'm obsessed and particular. Typically, my search leads to disappointment. Bitter Bar nailed it by muddling ginger right there. Reed's Ginger Ale makes my favorite ginger beer and ale. I love ginger candy for capturing ginger's essence remarkably well. Manifesto makes the fiercest ginger candy I've met yet. Ginger ice cream regularly fails me. Typically it's tame, spicy heat nullified by cream, whitebread, non-daring for mass exploitation.

Fortunately my non-diagnosed ADD (yay, bright lights!) lead me to unexpected finds. By late Sunday evening, I had already eaten 14 gelato samples at the Firenze Gelato Festival. I was aimlessly wandering when randomly flashing bright lights caught me attention. Blue! Green! Red! Yellow! Welcome to Perchè no!

They had many selections including alcoholic gelato (negroni and another), sorbetti, granata, and 2 soy-based gelatos. I was close to abstaining until I spotted this:

The heavens opened and shined upon the ginger gelato. I thought of all the wonderful and strange flavors I had already tried and capitulated. One scoop of ginger gelato in a cup, please.

So, not only does the ginger gelato display feature ginger root, this €2 single scoop gets layered with a ginger reduction! Ahhhhh! The heat, the spice, the actual ginger root bits, the fragrant ginger syrup on top, I was in heaven. Perchè no! delivered where previous ice cream establishments failed.

Another image of the ginger backdropped by the sorbetti and negroni.

Reviews of this fine establishment.

Another entrance shot.

Lists the flavors at the festival. Somehow I did miss their booth and I'm very sad I did.

 Perché No!
Via dei Tavolini, 
19-red, 50122 
Firenze, Italy  
+39 055 239 8969 ‎

Firenze Gelato Festival

I stumbled bleary eyed from my plane, arriving in Pisa at 2:45am. Affordable travel options to my hostel did not exist, so I made the perfectly rational decision to stay awake until my morning Florence train. Rational? Ha! The sun began to rise, so I meandered outside the airport to find this sight:

That is how you deal with 7am. You drink enough red wine so it fits into your .5 Liter water bottle. I was emboldened to stay awake. Finally, I made it to Florence  around 9:45am. I charged into Florence and found tents, gelato signs and smiling people.Welcome to the Firenze Gelato Festival.

They weren't open yet, but also looked too generic for my taste, so I traipsed more. My morning was a tease of tempting gelatarias (not open or too touristy looking) and restaurants (again, not open). Finally, I landed here, the Piazza de' Pitti.

As I read the gelato signs and saw some product, I knew I found my Firenze gelato home. Still, they wouldn't open until noon. What to do? I was determined to be first in line, so I started waiting at 10:45am. Fortunately, they had shaded seating and I had Beyond the Pale by Mark Anthony, a Colorado fantasy author. Finally, it was showtime. €7 got you a rechargeable card and 5 samples. Each additional €5 gets you 5 more samples.

Arriving early also allowed me to plan my first visit. Unusual flavors, dark green soy cones, a temaki ice special, sushi ice (did not try)... the eclecticism appealed.

To the left, we have rice and wasabi gelatos flavored with freshly cut strawberry, black  sesame, red beans, spicy asian trail mix in the back. To the right, we have sesamo croccante (toasted? sesame) and pineapple ginger with the same accompaniments. The wasabi heat was subtle (thank goodness), nice rice texture (grew up on rice ice cream), some chewiness to it almost like sticky rice. You could smell the ginger. It was slightly sweet and the heat lingered a bit. The sesame was slightly gritty, such a nice dark taste. Oh, and that soy cone was so tasty.

Next was the Ricotta di Bufala from L'Ancora. I love water buffalo cheese and can't get enough in Colorado. The gelato was dense, but the taste light. It was there and gone. Ephemeral.

I want to capture this woman's voice just so I could hear her lilting Italian again. This is the Mandorla from Il Procopio. It features almond's nuttiness with what tastes like caramelized orange.

Next up we had Greek Feta and Cetriola (cucumber) from Il Re Gelato. The cream was inconsistent and chunky. The cucumber was a peculiar taste and didn't seem to fit. I wanted more feta taste and consistent texture.

Meet La Pera Al Pepe Rosa from De Coltelli. Everyone was ordering it, so I bowed to peer pressure. It was sorbet-like with a slight peppery smell. The taste was initially sweet then moved to a peppery finish. It's lightness was appropriate as I was onto my 8th sampling.

My notes only say "Grom - gritty with orange peel? Dried fruit". Delicious, though.

Day 2, Sunday, brought Ice Bau, the dog friendly gelato. With my limited Italian, I think it is rice based. It looks delectable, I've eaten gourmet dog food before, why not? The vanilla flavor came out true. Dogs, don't worry, you'll taste the vanilla. It had a granular look, good texture. Something was slightly off of the flavor. I only wish I could read Italian.

Darn attractive gelato carts, friendly proprietors and tempting flavors.

I was back to double fisting. From Cassia Vetus, we have Le Picce on the left (dried figs with walnuts and almonds with orange and lemon zest - flavor profile from tasting: fig then orange then nuts), and La Castagna Perella del Pratomagno (natural chestnut ice cream, so no air. Dense, grainy with chestnuts, so good). We need more chestnuts in Colorado.

Cavini, home of Funghi Porcini. Mushroom ice cream with a cracker. You could smell the mushroom up close. It was slightly sweet with a mushroom finish. It was nice, certainly edible by one that isn't a mushroom fanatic, but it was almost too much. I ate 3/4 of my container.

Le Dame finished my Firenze Gelato Festival two day expedition. This is the Persiano. From what I overheard, it features rose water, saffron, almonds (certainly persian, but unsure) and some other spices. Amazing spice and rose finish.

After €17, 14 large gelato samples, I was finished at the Firenze Gelato Festival. Cheers to Florence and it's delightful gelato culture. Hats off to their wonderful organization and card system. Each booth swiped your card and gave a receipt of how many samples you used there along with your remainder (genius!). If you visit Florence, look up these establishments and others and experiment with their offerings. Be aware of mass-produced, generic offerings, though. Look for the artisanal products. Your stomach and taste buds will thank you.

Welcome to Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy is home to renowned museums and artwork, gelato, simply prepared food, breathtaking views, and more. I visited Florence for several reasons. I love Italian food, heard of the artwork and statues, and RyanAir flew cheaply into Pisa which is a 50-70 minute train ride from Florence. The benefits of traveling blind is that you discover treasure in the most unlikely places.

The first surprise was the Firenze Gelato Festival. How did they know I was visiting? Apparently, Florence (Firenze) is gelato's birthplace. Over the 2 days I visited, I enjoyed 15 different full-sized flavor samples. Yes, I came back fatter. More on this later.

Delectable pasta with Chianti will also tempt you at small neighborhood cafes tucked near scenic gardens. Read more about Chianti wine here.

You try to balance between the gelato and pasta, but then discover their cheeses, specifically burrata. Osteria Marco meet Osteria Il Cantinone. You got served mainly due to their extremely generous portions.

Mmmmm. Second dessert - meat candy. I tried to decide between my travel budget, the Cinta Senese Prosciutto (€120/kilo), or the Spagnolo Pata Negra Prosciutto (€150/kilo). I asked for 25 grams of each. From the gentleman's demeanor I thought he was irritated at my small request. I got two slices of each free. Thank you! Thank you! This picture depicts the Cinta Senese which tasted of spiced fruit, olive oil and a slight peppery finish. The unpictured Spagnolo was more buttery, some spice finish, and the fat was slightly oily in a good way.

All this food meant much walking. Here are statues at Loggia dei Lanzi.

 A selection of Florence's random religious art. When walking their streets, look up often. You might find unexpected gems.

I fell in love with the Tuscan colors, primarily this yellow. It's a gorgeous city and it's fun to hear Italian.

Florence has many museums. I chose to visit the Museo Galileo. It's home to the vast scientific collections of the Medici and Lorraine family. The ingenuity of our predecessors is extraordinary. Go there to witness their creativity, engineering feats, and art of their scientific pursuits. Galileo is around the corner from the famous Uffizi Gallery. If you want to visit Uffizi, reserve your tickets and bypass their intimidating line.

They also have a rabid bike culture. You must look out for bicycles, scooters, and cars when crossing the street (do you see the man sleeping on his?). They also have a bicycle only paths. Thumbs up to you, Florence.

Besides being a nice view, click for an enlarged image to notice the innovative sunbathers. When surrounded by buildings blocking your sun time, concrete across the River Arno provides the solution.

There is much fashion to be found here also, including Ferragamo and it's accompanying museum.

My Florence visit was brief but busy. I walked a lot, dined a lot, ate too much gelato, and enjoyed their landscapes. I found it a great city to visit and would like to visit again. There are more museums to explore, many more side streets, and they have hills that tempt my hiking needs. I will leave you with a final video filmed on the Ponte Vecchio bridge.