Pitango Gelato

Posted by Edmund in Ice Cream & Gelato, Washington, DC | Comments Off

Address: 1451 P St NW., Washington, DC 20005.
Price: $5-$6.50 for 2-3 scoops.

The nation’s capital, as expected, has some of the best food you can get on the East Coast. Unfortunately, that doesn’t apply so much to ice cream. So it’s only rarely that I really hear about a gelato place around that I just have to try. Pitango Gelato would be that exception. It’s not surprising, though. Most importantly, it’s one of only 2 gelato joints that I’ve even heard of in DC, so it’s practically monopolizing that market. Just as importantly, though, it’s pretty centrally located right near Dupont Circle. Needless to say, I was pretty skeptical when I heard about this place—it’s not as though there’s much better gelato to compare it to, so obviously it’s got to be “one of the best.” Anyway, upon returning from a nice meal at a bistro, I decided to stop by just to see what all the fuss was about.

I have to say, for a brand I’ve never heard of (and yes, it is a chain, though a small one, so beware!), Pitango served rather good gelato, though it was not something particularly special. The one aspect that did, however, stand out was the texture. Unlike most gelato specialists, Pitango doesn’t focus on making its gelato super creamy or airy. Rather, the gelato comes extra thick and heavy (for a gelato that is), so the consistency is a nice compromise between that of a very light gelato and normal ice cream—i.e. it’s thick but not overdone. Moreover, it is on the very gooey side, but for the whole time that I ate it, it maintained its form without melting at all. To top it all off, every flavor tends to have its own special texture to suit its need—that is, the texture is modified just slightly for each flavor to give it more heaviness or more lightness, depending on how heavy the flavor itself is (i.e. dark choc is thicker, cinnamon lighter). Really, Pitango hit the texture and consistency right on the head.

Unfortunately, while the ice cream feels right, it doesn’t always taste right, and I suspect that this in large part has to do with the very fact that Pitango makes its ice cream so thick. I found that most of the flavors retained a bit too much iciness. That’s to say that they were so icy that the taste of the ice actually interfered with the taste of most, if not all, of the flavors in the gelato. At the same time, I’m sure it’s that iciness that allows the ice cream to maintain its texture. So there’s the classic ice cream trade-off for you: taste or consistency. In Pitango’s case, I think they overdid it in favor of the latter. Not surprisingly, the flavors are more or less masked on the first taste and only begin to really emerge in the aftertaste.

I do have to say that I did find some of the flavors to be nice, particularly the nut flavors (hazelnut was a particular treat). That’s partially because nutty flavors are so bold that they come through even if they’re covered up a bit. Other than those, though, I really didn’t find much of note. The chocolate was almost always a bit on the muddy side, mixing the unsatisfying iciness with an intensely bitter chocolate flavor that often gave you the sensation that it really didn’t taste like anything (the one exception—and it’s a big one—was the chocolate noir, which was great). The vanilla/creamy flavors were actually a lot smoother than the rest and not quite so icy, but they were typically overly sweet.

Nor did the selection really astound me. There were a good 25 flavors total maybe, but only about 15 of those were gelato (made with milk), while the rest were sorbets (made with water). And of those 15, nothing stood out as anything new—it was mostly a couple of chocolate, a couple of nuts, and then typical flavors like coffee.

All in all, then, don’t expect Pitango Gelato to floor you, as it offers a relatively uninspired selection and, at times, confused or bland flavors. That said, it really does have a great feel to it, and if you can get over the iciness, you’ll probably really enjoy a couple of the flavors, particularly the nuttier ones.

What I’ve tried:

1. Hazelnut: This is real hazelnut flavor. It’s rich and heavy, but the hazelnut comes through very well. The one problem is that it’s a bit icy, covering up the intensity of the nuttiness. But it does have a nice somewhat milky sweetness that combines with the intensity of the aftertaste for a true hazelnut experience. 4.2/5.0. Best flavor I had here.
2. Pistachio: awesome texture and intensity again. This time, though, I do have a bit of a problem with the flavor—it’s just a bit tangy, distracting from the true pistachio taste. And again, the iciness of the gelato, even more than in the hazelnut, covers up the pistachio at first, as does the sweet milkiness of this ice cream (oddly enough, it wasn’t a problem at all with the hazelnut). I will say, it’s still a good quality ice cream, but the flavor is just not a proper pistachio. On the positive side, there is a nice, slight roasted or smoky flavor in there. 3.5/5.0
3. Crema: This may sound odd, but it tastes a bit too much like actual cream, as it’s a bit too sweet. Tastes very milky, much more than the others, but otherwise, there’s not much flavor other than that sugary milkiness. It’s a bit much to handle after a while, though it is still a relatively good quality vanilla type ice cream. 2.4/5.0
4. Orange Dark Chocolate Sorbet (a sample): Muddy and confused. I really can’t tell what it’s supposed to taste like, because it’s just a bitter glop with just too intense of a flavor. The strong orange really clashes with the intensity of the dark chocolate, too. 1.0/5.0
5. Chocolate with Chocolate Chip (a sample): This is a milk chocolate flavor, but even so it just doesn’t have enough sweetness, and the chocolate tastes a bit muddy in general, just like with the orange dark choc. Very bland and one-dimensional, but it does get a couple more tenths for its intense chocolatiness. 1.5/5.0
6. Chocolate Noir (Dark Chocolate): Finally, the chocolate flavor they’ve been going for all along, but which has been constantly muddled in the other flavors. Note that this is also the best-selling flavor, and for good reason, too. It has the taste of real dark chocolate—bittersweet, with that nice bitter, long aftertaste that leaves you wanting more. And the texture is right on—it’s a bit heavier and richer than the others, which I think is fitting for such a strong bomb of a flavor. It only loses points for the iciness, which, unsurprisingly, really clouds the flavor in the beginning. 4.6+/5.0
7. Cinnamon: It looks like a weak flavor, since it looks just like another vanilla, without a strong coloring or anything. But the taste really is there, and the flavor is much more pronounced than most others. In this case, the flavor seems better integrated, largely due to the greater milkiness and sweetness of the ice cream, which seems to control for the iciness that clouds the other flavors and which allows for the flavor to appear stronger in comparison, since the actual texture of the gelato isn’t so imposing and heavy. It’s milky but also tastes of spice, and it has a great extra kick of herby sweetness. It’s satisfyingly light and creamier than the rest of the flavors, which I think suits the cinnamon very well. 4.0/5.0
8. Stracciatella: Decent, but only decent. It has a good sweetness and milkiness to it, but really every flavor does here. In comparison it’s bland. And the chocolate chips are way too bitter, to the point that it seems to be clashing with the gelato. 2.0/5.0

Taste/Flavors: 3.0/5.0
Texture/Consistency: 4.3/5.0
Selection: 2.0/5.0
Overall Score: 3.2/5.0