By KATRINA MEDOFF
KATRINA@BOROMAG.COM
@KATRINAMEDOFF
@KATYA_M22
22 OCTOBER 2 0 1 7
Gelato & Co. (2902 23rd Ave., Astoria)
uses these family recipes for its gelato,
and a staff member even came over from
Italy to teach the employees how to make
the dessert.
The gelato is made fresh in the gelateria
every day using all Italian ingredients, except
for the milk. The equipment is from
Italy, too, and D’Ambrosio said that it was
the best of the best: it’s “the Ferrari of gelato
machines.”
Gelato & Co. also offers high-quality
coffee, espresso, gelato with coffee and
hot chocolate, and starting next month, it
will begin selling something that’s “quite
new in the United States”: Italian gelato
cake, which D’Ambrosio said is different
from ice cream cake.
D’Ambrosio said he has been dreaming
of opening a gelateria for 20 years, and
it was important to bring his own cultural
tradition to his new home here in Queens.
“I think it is important that we keep from
Italy the tradition of making gelato and
put it here in this store in Astoria,” he said.
“That’s the most important thing for us.”
The community has been “very, very
warm” so far, D’Ambrosio said. “What I
really love about Astoria is the melting
pot of different cultures. There is a big
Italian community, a big Greek community,
a lot of different communities from
Europe, but I can tell you that all of the
neighbors, including the American
people who were born and raised here,
are very warm.”
Get the
SCOOP
You can now get authentic
Italian gelato in Astoria
— and we really do mean
authentic.
A new gelato spot was
opened during Labor
Day Weekend by Italian
Francesco D’Ambrosio,
who moved to Astoria four
years ago, and his five
business partners in Italy,
some of whom come from
families who have been
making gelato in Sicily for
generations.
FOOD + DRINK
Gelato & Co.
opens in Astoria
