Capoyunk's Reeling!

Beautiful visuals aren't hard to come by at Capogiro. From the dense hues of our berry sorbetti, to the almost unearthly glisten cioccolato scuro seems to take on when it's drenched in espresso. It tastes so good because it looks so good because it tastes. so. good.

That essential complement of the senses has inspired this summer's theme for MOVIE NIGHTS at Capogiro on Passyunk Ave!
Every Monday night at 7PM we'll be showing nominated films from the Academy Awards' "Best Cinematography" category. We'll span a number or years and genres, but you know it's gonna be good. Did I mention it's BYO?

You could stake out a seat right at 7, pop a bottle of wine and call it a date night, or just stop in for a few minutes as usual, glancing up from your little blue cup every now and then to appreciate some fine cinematography. Really, everyone wins.

Check our Twitter or our Facebook for movie night updates and a schedule of upcoming films.

See you guys soon,
Maggie & the Capoyunk Crew

who is this old man and why is he snoring?

Hey, Philly. It's gross and wet out there. Folks keep coming in and grabbing napkins to wipe off their soggy faces (re: last week's post). We are all sick of the rain, but we must stay proactive. In that spirit, I have compiled a brief list of things to do on a rainy day. Here goes:

Come to Capogiro. In addition to our incredible gelato, we also have wireless internet and a well-stocked supply of espresso and coffee. You can hang for hours, getting amped up on caffeine and chowing down some panini while you wait for that Justin Bieber album to finish downloading. Hooray!

Learn about latte art. Seriously, some of the baristi here are freakin' Picassos with some steamed milk. I saw Caitlin make a latte that looked like an alien was attacking a dachshund with a pitchfork. Wicked.

Hang out with vampires. They hate sunlight, so rainy days are the only times they can make it to the bank without bursting into a ball of fire. Or for some vampires, uh, sparkle.

Fake your own death. Go to McDonalds Playland and pretend like you're drowning in the ball pit. Make a ruckus! (This works even better if you are already wearing water wings.)

Heads Up 7 Up.

Get free room service. Go to a fancy hotel and go directly to the elevator. Walk the lavish hallways and see if anyone who ordered room service decided not to finish their expensive bottle of wine. (This actually happens all the time, folks).

Act British. Make yourself a cup of Earl Grey Tea, dust off that old copy of Wuthering Heights, sit by the window and pretend that you're from Jolly Old. (Spit spot, alert the corgies!)

Watch the Goonies. Seriously, the Goonies is the best movie ever to watch in the rain. The characters in this movie are wet almost 99% of the time, whether its getting rained on, slipping through water slidey tunnels, or falling into a lagoon that houses One Eyed Willy's pirate ship filled with rich stuff. (Ok, I'll admit, I REALLY like the Goonies.)

Make mini-cones! Once in a while our delicious cones break, leaving baristi with the opportunity to have tons o' fun with the pieces.

Ah! A giant, RUN!

Capo Stardate 3021: A Lesson In Surprises

Granola And Yogurt gelato

Golden Fig sorbetto

So this is my 4th summer at Capogiro gelato, and what have I learned, you ask? (Aside from the fact that the "c" in Dulce De Leche is pronounced as an "s" sound, not a "ch" sound, because the phrase is Spanish, not Itailian?) Well, as I learned today, one of the best reasons to work at Capogiro is that everyday is a surprise, and I don't mean that in a Hallmark card kind of way. (Nothing against Hallmark. Ok, maybe a little against Hallmark.) But to be honest with you, there's rarely a day that goes by that I don't rediscover my love for our gelato. Take today for example, we had Granola And Yogurt gelato. Simple, you may think. Not though, not at all. The flavors of this gelato were so complex: sweet, then tangy, then sweet again, followed by that whole mouth feel that you get when you eat Chinese food, but sans MSG, of course. Damn, my silly words can't describe the flavors, but just trust me, it was amazing. I had a little cup of it with the Fig sorbetto and let me tell you, I was flying.

If I can work here five days a week and still be surprised, just imagine what you'll discover! Until then...

Philadelphia Distilling! Urban gardens! Oh my!

I'm lucky enough to have spent the last few days meeting with some really amazing people.
On Wednesday, I met Kenny Owens - a student at University City High School who's an intern for the Urban Nutrition Initiative, a program designed to educate and empower teen interns to explore and identify solutions to the problem of urban American health disparities. Kenny approached our baristi at our Penn stores, offering their mint and basil for us to use in our gelato. "YES!" we cried. Fresh herbs supplied by local students? Please, are you kidding? Absolutely. Kenny practically beamed as he talked about his involvement in UNI, how he runs their stand at the Clark Park Farmers Market and has decided he wants to dedicate his life to being an entrepreneur supporting local agriculture. Not only does the Urban Nutrition Initiative get kids off the streets, into the gardens and involved in community outreach, it teaches cooking lessons at Sayre and University City High Schools as well as homeless shelters and recreation centers. As of this weekend, you'll be seeing Kenny's mint and basil in our gelati and sorbetti. I couldn't be prouder, or more excited.

If that's not cool enough, yesterday I met with Meredith, a representative from Philadelphia Distilling. We're going to start making sorbetti with their liquors! More specifically, we'll be making Blueberry & Bluecoat Gin, Cucumber & Penn 1681 Vodka and Cantaloupe with Vieux Carre Absinthe. Not only that, but Philadelphia Distilling will be at our Penn location doing an event with us on September 24. With Meredith behind our bar showcasing their amazing product, concocting gelato cocktails...you should probably put it on your calendar.
I hope your summer's almost as awesome as ours! If not...come hang out with us!

See y'all soon...

Napkins: A Study in Human Behavior

Folks hate being sticky. Nowadays, with advances in personal hygiene, there are a myriad of ways to avoid getting messy. The most common of all is the napkin. At Capogiro, we go through a lot of 'em. Our deliciously cold gelato has a tendency to begin to melt in room temperature, so patrons who do not wolf theirs down in a frenzied gulp may require a few napkins.

This being said, there is an interesting trend one can observe as a Capogiro barista; napkins and the people who love them. There are a few clear distinct types of napkin users that we see on the daily...

THE DEMOCRATIC NAPKINEERS: These are the folks who like to make sure that everyone else has a chance to get a napkin or two. They take a couple of napkins for themselves then kindly offer a couple to their friend. They care about the sticky-factor of others, and don't want to ever appear greedy. If need be, the Democratic Napkineers might get up mid-gelato-eating session and grab a couple more. Let them, they're lovely people.

THE HORDERS: These folks are worried that there will be an inevitable napkin shortage, and they tend to grab napkins by the handful. When in line, they send nervous glances to other patrons, silently warning them that things will get messy if they get at all sticky. Some even put some extra napkins in their bags, rationing for the End-of-All-Napkins Armageddon. It's OK, Horders, there will be enough napkins for everyone. This is America, a land bountiful with paper products.

THE REBELS: The Rebels don't need no stinkin' napkin. They're tough-as-nails types who, if messiness attacks, laugh it off with a bawdy guffaw. The Rebels leave a trail of tears and gelato in their wake, and they don't give a damn. They air-dry after their annual showers. They survived Thunderdome. They hate puppies. They're non-conformists. They live for danger. They're really sticky.

So good people, wherever you fall on the napkin spectrum, we don't judge you. There is a place for you here with us at Capogiro Gelato. Come get some napkins. We're just giving 'em away.

What Heaven Tastes Like

Today we have the XOXO Philly Cream Cheesecake flavor at 13th street, and while it alone is pretty tasty, some of my fellow baristi and I were trying to figure out what to pair it with to give it that extra umph. (This, of course, requires much sampling--strictly for educational purposes, of course.) When it hit us. Blueberry sorbetto!! But not just Blueberry sorbetto, Blueberry sorbetto with the XOXO Philly Cream Cheesecake ON A CONE!!

This. Is what. I've been dreaming. About... AMAZING!!

That's all, come try this y'all. It will not disappoint.

The Mann Center + Gelato!!

I love a good outdoor show. My brother Greg will see anything and I mean, ANYTHING. He once watched G.Love at Sassafrass on 3rd Street play an entire show will only two guitar strings. He said it was awful in an awesome way, but it was G.Love and he would not have missed it even if he knew that he only had two strings. When my brother pronounced that a show at the Mann is Zen and that going to every show possible was what you should do in the summer, I was like, "Okay. You must know." He was always asking me to take him to this show or that show at the Mann (I'm the older sister with a job when he was a student). "Come on, Steph. So what, Julio Inglesias could be awesome. All those older couples? It could be a scream. Let's go. You cannot turn me down!" It is a perfect summer concert setting, but Julio, please Greg. See? He enjoys all live shows. I have seen everything with him from Ice T to Courtney Love to Sonia Dada. All outdoors, all fantastic.

The Mann is one of those outdoor arenas that is perfectly covered, not a bad seat there, with the perfect breeze blowing over at just the right moments. It is a frenetic place with mellow music. It is usually not very hot and crowded and people are always moving. Somehow, it does not seem to bother me. I have seen Ray Charles there and David Byrne. I have seen Lyle Lovette at the Mann more than 3 times. John and I have been to at least 10 Lyle concerts. I think I saw the Cowboy Junkies there, but that may have been the Keswick. Not sure.

We now have our cute little cart at the Mann selling gelato to the mellow music lovers. Imagine, excellent music in a perfect setting now comes with gelato!! My brother is happy even though he lives in New York. "That's awesome. Does that mean you can get great seats to any show?" Always, the big sister.

Happy Fourth, Philly

As far as 4th of July is concerned, Philadelphia's pretty much the only place to be. No one else can really compete with our history - we've got a lock on that, no problem (sorry, Nation). I've been running around to all the stores over the last few days and I can honestly say that it's been a while since I felt such a buzz on the streets. While I feel like most of the locals have bugged out, or battened down, everyone else has flocked to our fair city to celebrate their independence as only Philly can.
I'm sayin, fireworks, guys, definitely. If it were me, I'd head to the Camden Aquarium - they're hosting an after hours event where you can wander around the aquarium then hang out on the waterfront to watch the sparks fly at Penn's Landing - how awesome is that?! I'm such a sucker for aquariums, I can't lie. I make it a point that whenever I travel I hit up any and every one that I can find...
If you're in the mood for the historic, but still food oriented (and feeling a little brave), check out the City Tavern Restaurant in Olde City. I'm from Northern Delaware, but have spent all my years coming to Philadelphia - have walked by this place many a time, but have to admit that until now I had no concept how deep their history runs. As in, it was the site of the very first Independence Day celebration! As in, THE celebration! Crazy! (Ok, it's possible I'm more interested in the "Seafood Melange" and Chicken Pot Pie than anything else, but still, when in Rome, right?)
And most importantly, Capo's gotten into the spirit! 20th street has a few "Red, White & Blue" gelato cakes for the occasion - raspberry, Thai Coconut Milk & blueberry! I just watched someone rush out, armed with his cake and on the way to his barbecue. Jealooouus! AND they have Chocolate Peanut Butter today, what more can you want?
If you happened to come see us last night, you may have noticed that all of our stores are outfitted with City Bandz! Yes guys, we've jumped on the bandwagon. Why, you may ask? Because they're silly and quirky and awesome, and so are we! So why not. I have to admit, I was a little behind the times with these things, but as I watch people's reactions to them I just get more and more of a kick out of it. Apparently kids (we have a sign reading 'ages 3-30') have gone crazy for these things, much like Oilies and Pogs were for those of us who grew up in the 80s, or later, Beanie Babies!
Craziness. But a lof of fun. The ones we've got are Philly themed - the LOVE statue, Independence Hall, Ben's kite...though I hear the rarest, most desired of them all is the unicorn, which sadly, we don't have...

But I might trade you a gelato for one!

Hope to see you around this weekend guys, it's gonna be a great one.

Glorious corn.

While some may have recently decried Western corn consumption (Michael Pollan, I'm looking at you), it's safe for me to say that corn has long been, and always shall be, a crucial part of my gastric existence. Growing up on the fertile plains of Wisconsin, each and every child knew that farmers wanted their crop "knee-high by the 4th of July" (how timely!), and the month of August was always a corn-ucopia of salt-buttery crunch feasts. During our high school years, my brother and some friends spawned a band, 1824 Techno, dedicated to eradicating an invading race of corn-based aliens via giant robots (this was during the height of the Aquabats' popularity, so cut 'em a break). Many a hot summer night during my teenage years were spent in the world-reknowned dollar movie theatres of the suburbs of Milwaukee, where not only were the tickets $2, but so were the oddly svelte bags of natural-butter-flavor-sauce soaked popped kernels at the concession stand.

I'll be honest, dear readers: through all the years, my adoration of the golden cob has yet to wane. Every late summer fills me with a hot anticipation for roasted corn salsa, delicious corn chowder, and, of course, the crown jewel of corn culinary delight: grilled ears with just a tingle of char beneath the flaxen stalks. Fortunately for all of you fans of a fermented libation, yours truly has taken up the reigns here at Capo Penn and rebirthed, like a mighty starch phoenix, the scrumptious rosemary garlic popcorn that our bartenders will gladly furnish you with your drink. The light herbal notes punch through the rich buttery backbone, and the salt dances lithely on your tongue. Right now, we are featuring a tart, fruity Dogfish Head Festina Peche and a smooth and dry Sixpoint Righteous Rye, both of which make a lovely happy hour accompaniment to our glorious corn.



The author (lower right) and family at the world's only corn palace.

A short, sweet Yunk Love note:

Dear Blogoria,
So, Cory & I (Dave the Rave) opened up the gelateria and were quickly joined by Mario - a fellow who's lived in the neighborhood for decades. We chatted about opera & big bands over coffee.

Important note: the Mexican Chocolate has a strong kick today, so all you spicy people out there... Carpe Diem!
Important combination: lemon & espresso sorbetti. Why? At first you taste the espresso followed buy a rush of refreshing lemon zip that mostly cleanse the pallate with the exception of the lingering coffee on your tongue. Quite the event in your mouth. Well worth the ride.

Lavender stracciatella (chocolate chip, baby!) has been a huge hit as well. Come get it while it's still available.

Closing note: A gentleman tried to pay for his gelato today with invisible money. Before things got out of hand, the woman next in line offered to pay since the gentleman apparently had no real money to exchange, as he was only 2 1/2 years old. Later, we were informed she was in fact his mother, and all was well. Crisis averted. Phew.

Its a fantastically ridiculously fantastic day. All doors & windows are open for the fresh air & breeze. Hope to see you all soon.

Love,
Dave & Corey (the story)

PS - a big way to go to Greg Bezanis for the awesome shot of the Avenue!