Leap This!

Hokay, it's Leap Day! For those of you who don't know, Leap Year was created to make sure that the Gregorian calendar matched up nicely with the astrological and seasonal year. In order to justify the calendar, and extra day was added every so often in order for things to make sense. Yes, because adding an extra day all willy-nilly makes perfect sense. In any case, here are a few things that you may not know about leap year.

In the British Isles, it is a time-honored tradition that women can only propose to men during a Leap Year, some say only on Leap Day. This spawned many silly jokes and comics about men hiding up trees so that they could not be easily wooed by saucy women.

In Ireland, a woman who was intent on pursuing a man in a Leap Year was required to wear a red skirt so that he could see her coming across the moors and thus have ample time to escape.

Leap Years (in most of the world, anyway), occur only when the year is evenly divided by 4. I am really bad at math, but I will assume that is why 2012 is looking leapy.

Leap Frog is a wonderful schoolyard game that has absolutely nothing to do with Leap Year.

"Leap Year (2010)", starring the abhorrent Amy Adams, is probably the worst movie ever. I would rather carve my eyes out with a spork than ever be subjected to that repulsive dribble ever again.

In Greece, it is a bad omen to be married during a Leap Year. This means that every four years, the Greek bachelorette party industry is crippled, and all of the male exotic dancers are forced to take part time jobs as cheesy lounge singers.

A person born on February 29 is called a "leapling" or a "leaper". This is not to be confused with a "leper", which is something else entirely, and should generally be avoided.

Our favorite "leapling" is Capogiro district manager Sarah, who is celebrating her 7th official birthday today. So accomplished at such a young age!! "Leaplings" generally observe their birthdays on Feb 28th or March 1st, so that they can still have cake and presents and not be socially ostracized and ridiculed by other children. Apparently in East Timor, this is not allowed and Sarah would actually not be able to drive a car or vote until she was 72. Crazy!

Biscotti!

They go great with any coffee drink or even alone. I love the original almond flavored ones dipped in chocolate. At capo we sell the almond and chocolate swirl singles or 8oz bags of a variety of flavors. The nut flavors are my favorites but every now and then I like the cherry ones as well.



Biscotti translates to biscuit in English so they are more properly known as "biscotti di Prago,"
Prago being the city they originate from. The rarely used (in the US) singular form is actually biscotto.

Biscotti are twice baked, cut after the first bake so that they become dry and hard giving them a longer shelf life in a time before more modern preservatives. The oldest documented recipe dates back before the 8th century. And all this time later they haven't changed a whole lot.

Next time you stop in for a coffee, latte, cappuccino, or just about anything else give one a try. You might just find yourself hooked!

Capowich!! Grab it Baby!

So how much fun is this? There is this awesome place called The Quick Fixx. It is located at 1511 South Street and they sell delicious stuff. They deliver. Did you hear that? They freaking deliver. I love when really good places deliver. Busy people love delivery.

A few months back the owners contacted us and wanted to sell our novelties. We were just starting to play with these. We are crazy busy and we just started to do our own baking.

Damn...they sell alot of these. We are thrilled!! We just tripped out their freezer. Looks good, no?

So, The Quick Fixx is selling our chocolate chip with fior di latte cookies, our peanut butter cookies with scuro, brownie and fior di latte bars coating in dark chocolate and our version of King Cones. Our King Cones are Italian style with nocciola and dark chocolate.

You should stop by or get something delivered!! They have this build your own option, which for a control freak like me, is awesome!

It's raining

It's raining here in South Philly.. Last week I turned the big 'ol ambiguous 23. So like any grown teenager who was romantically involved with The Smiths and Sartre, I've been a moody wretch. Of course browsing through Forbes Top 30 Under 30 AGAIN has been a major bummer. Now, I know I'm still young...but the thirst to pat myself on the back each day is insatiable. I mean, I have a great job and it can be totally fun and/or total chaos - that's great.

Today I received a picture of this postcard from my dad:

This is a postcard of the Ephrata cloister in Pennsylvania. Kinda spooky.. I gave this to my incredibly talented 25-year-old wayward friend Mark a year ago with my parent's address on it. He told me he was going to "head west for awhile." I haven't seen him since.

The message was shortly phrased but nevertheless sweet.

Holy crap, just found this postcard. I'm in Junction, TX. It's raining. There are horses. I really need to send you more songs... been slacking on the distro.

Are you still in Philly? Sincerely, Mark.

Immediately, I listened to some of his old lo-fi songs (last.fm/MarkHenkel)

I don't care about the pat on the back I've been craving. I just want to write, draw something, compose anything. I am so drunk off meager life experiences.

Stupidly happy right now,

Jessica

The Future is NOW!

Google has done it again! This time with a new application for their Android software: sunglasses. That's right, in the next year we'll be seeing a pair of smart goggles that will have a functioning HUD (heads up display), 4g and possibly web browsing capabilities. Much of the information on the project is still unknown but it has been stated that the user will be able to control a mouse by the movement of their head. It is also speculated that the goggles will look a lot like a pair of Oakley Thumps:

Information suggests that the glasses will also be able to capture live video feed of what the user is seeing and sport GPS navigation.When I heard about this a lot of things popped into my head, mainly concerning consumerism, privacy and fashion (those are some ugly sunglasses). I am still very-much undecided on how I feel about technology like this beginning to be mass-marketed. Whatever happens you can be sure that in the next few years people will be tweeting about their favorite gelato flavors via a pair of sunglasses.

P.S.- I hope they work like the glasses from 'They Live!'

Is it my birthday?!

Wow, my day started off super crazy, but now it's awesome! So many good things happening today. First off, I met the kindest police officer EVER this morning (don't worry, I didn't get arrested). My roommate thought that her car was stolen, and called the police. The kind police officer was at our house within a half hour, and he hunted it down. Turns out, it wasn't stolen, but wrongfully towed by some jerkfaces in West Philly. Apparently private towing companies can take your car whenever they want, because there is no way to prove that you parked where you said you did. This is stupid. The upside though, is that she can now get her car back, along with the awesome collection of DMX CD's we feared were lost forever.

After already thinking it was a fairly successful morning, I left the house only to discover that it was springtime! Really, complete with chirping birds and budding daffodils, it is amazing outside today! I actually basked in the sun for a change.

After the bask, I walked in to work to discover... PEANUT GELATO ON A WEDNESDAY!!!!! Usually we save this amazing flavor for our weekend crowds, so naturally my face lit up when I saw my favorite flavor staring up at me. Then, what's this? BURNT SUGAR TOO?!!! YEAAAAAHHH!!! In case you folks don't know, Peanut and Burnt Sugar are meant to be together just like Angelina and Brad. For an exceptional cup, include a bit of a delicious sorbetto to round things out. Might I recommend Bosc Pear? So delicious.

Gelato Haiku

Capo. Slow tonight.
Sean and Adrienne write blog.
Do you like haikus?

What is Coquito?
A Plethora of flavors
It's not just egg nog.

A tasty frozen treat
Gelato so creamy good
don't stop until full.

Oh! I want bourbon
I hate to disappoint you
Vanilla has none.

What's nutella like?
You know the chocolatey spread?
Yeah. - It tastes like that.

I'll have Vanilla.
We do not have that today.
What's the closest thing?

Espresso to go.
Are you sure you want to go?
I'm in a hurry.

I'm comfortable with my inner nerd.

I don't know about you guys, but I know where I'm going on my next day off. The National Constitution Center is hosting an exhibit on Bruce Springsteen, soooo...

Listen, I'm not enough of a nerdlinger (or a pedant) to jump up on my soapbox and explain in excruciating detail all the things that our Constitution and Bruce Springsteen have in common with one another. (I mean...I could do that. If you asked.) Let's just leave it at this: the Constitution Center is actually a pretty good time, if you haven't gone. I mean yes, I am the kind of guy who will on occasion sit at home on a Friday night and watch PBS. But still--next time you have friends in from out of town, you should go. And Springsteen...I mean, c'mon. Do I really have to make the case?

And see? Now you have plans for the weekend. Besides coming to see us for a cioccolato calda with sea salt.



Curveball! I've posted plenty of Springsteen videos.

Check!

I'm pumped! I get to cross one thing off my bucket list this weekend - Be In Same Room With "Twilight" Actor. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to see an off-Broadway play in NYC this weekend that stars one Elizabeth Reaser who plays vamp mom Esme in the "Twilight" saga. So excited! It will be difficult for me to not yell out "Team Edward!!" when she walks on stage, but I'll try to contain myself. Judge me all you want, people, but "Twilight" is the bomb. She was also in "Grey's Anatomy" for a while, but hospital dramas depress me. Give me cheesy teen angst any day of the week.

In Capogiro news, Valentine's Day was a total hit! We were super busy last night, and although I find Valentine's Day to be insufferably horrible, even I couldn't hold back feeling the love. Soooo many couples! There was a little too much PDA going on in front of the case at one point, but hey, at least people were happy. Thanks for coming out all you gelato-loving cuties!

Hey, what's a "Twilight" actor's favorite flavor?

Blood Orange of course! Yuk, yuk, yuk...

Capogiro? Or Italy?

The following post is from the wonderful, spectaucular Dawne Ballard during her trip around the world:

Ciao from Italia! It is our last day in Italy (we're finishing this part of our trip in Rome) and we figured an update on our gelato consumption was in order. There is gelato all over the place! You really and truly can't walk more than 2 or 3 blocks without spotting one. We didn't opt for gelato in Venice, but in Siena, we got a cup from a big, bright, shiny place on the circle in the center of town. Delicious! Though the Amarena, along with the young man who served us were a disappointment.
In Rome, on the suggestion of a superb source (our friend Ellen G.) we headed to Old Bridge, a teeeny gelateria resting just outside the walls of the Vatican. Pistacchio with Ricotta was yummy, as were Amaretto and a Ricotta with the candied fruits from Pannetone. Tasty but not tantalizing.
Last night, after visiting the Cripta dei Cappuccini (so cool, though SO unusual, you NEED to google it seriously) we headed to Grom, another tastefully shiny place, which happens to look suspiciously similar to Capogiro. Grom certainly beat out the competitors for texture, flavor, and the general experience. A bright, insanely clean, and friendly atmosphere made for an enjoyable dessert date.

So, the question that stuck in the back of our minds: Did anything compare? To what we grew up on (so what if it was in our 20's!) back home in Philly? Nope. Not at all.
What we've come out of this realizing is that we were purely and simply spoiled by Capogiro. Philadelphia, please take it from us, we don't even know how good we have it! Capogiro really is the cream of the crop, made fresh daily, and made with care. You've got what has been named arguably the BEST in the world... right at your doorstep. Dig in!

Don't help me, I'm drowning!

The Affogato (Italian: Drowned) has got to be a best-kept secret. Though sounding cryptic, it's the deliciously awesome combo of a scoop of gelato with a shot of La Colombe's Nizza poured over. I am surprised if not saddened that I don't get to make more of these in a day. Seriously, it's the best of both worlds.

xo Jessica

What Philadelphia sounds like these days.

So a couple of years ago, right before I moved back east from Seattle, I blew through for an extra-long weekend to catch up with my crew in Delaware and then actually spend a couple of days with my friend in South Philly. Oh, and to hang out with my mom in Cape May, of course. Don't even think I got to see my Maryland crowd. It was, sorta predictably, a whirlwind of a trip. They always are when you're trying to see everyone you haven't seen in too many years, right? If you've lived on the other side of the continent from most of your favorite people, you know what I'm talking about.

ANYHOO...(I actually ramble more when I'm scrambling, but I'm going to play it off like I'm an excellent stream of consciousness writer. Ha!) So my friend Sarah (not that Sarah) and I spent a couple of hours with our laptops passing back and forth some of our favorite CDs. From me, she got a ton of, well...funk and hip hop and stuff with horns. She gave me Andrew Bird, Blitzen Trapper, and Dr. Dog. No time to actually listen to the stuff then, so I tossed it all into a ginormous playlist and told myself I'd listen to it on the flight back west. What's the first song that pops out of my iPod? This:



I'll be honest, I was kind of a wreck on the flight back. Not necessarily because I was hungover (though holy crap I sure was, predictably). No, if the truth be told my last few months in Seattle were pretty miserable. Hated my inescapable job, hated being on the West Coast, was totally over living in such a tiny little town way out in the middle of nowhere. So imagine that I was at 30,000 feet, tucked behind my sunglasses and with my hat pulled low. Didn't want to leave my friends and family behind, wasn't at all sure how I was going to pull off moving back east financially, and WOW did I not want to go back to my soul-crushing, button-pushing job. Yes ma'am, I'd like a bloody mary, please. If I tip you, will you come back promptly so I can get another?

That's the best thing about music though, right? Here I am, in a totally singular situation that is wholly my own to experience on a plane alone, and my friend, who I hadn't seen in a couple years, passes me new music with which I'm totally unfamiliar...and it instantly starts speaking to me. I backed out of the playlist on my iPod and switched to listening to the whole album instead. It was honestly the first time in forever that I'd heard new (to me) music that was SO GOOD. (The Raconteurs "Consolers of the Lonely" was another unexpectedly amazing find from the trip, but that's a different kettle of gelato right there.)

And. AND! They just released a new album. Had NO idea it was on the way! Read that yesterday morning and--a rarity for me--went straight to iTunes to buy it. Not that I don't buy music--I do! regularly!--but I'm not really the guy that follows hype. To me, the newest, coolest thing is usually derivative and super-lame. But this...



So good. SO GOOD. Throwback. Real music--with instruments! And intelligently crafted lyrics. AND...Dr. Dog is straight Philly. STRAIGHT PHILLY. They're just gilding the lily at this point. I mean, y'all coulda been from Brooklyn and I still would have thought you were great. But you're from Philly? You come see me. I buy you gelato.

Chai, what a teas

I'm getting on this tea train because I'm pretty sure that our Masala Chai gelato is my new favorite. Made with our special blend of milk and spices, it's savory and sweet at the same time (just like me!). Fun fact; did you know that chai tea, the national staple of Indian merchants and factory workers, is traditionally served with milk because of all of the British tea-drinking fancypants who were a'colonizing India throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Pip, pip! In any case, it makes for some swell gelato. Come on by and grab yourself a cup tonight.

Masala Chai paired with Nocciola = Awesomesauce

Tea is more than just dry leaves.

After water, Tea is the most consumed beverage on Earth. Today we can go to almost any store and buy tea and hardly think anything of it, but throughout history tea was much more of a commodity. It has blazed trade routes across continents and vast oceans. It has been the cause of wars and the link between empires. Tea helped to shape a the world into what it is today.

The history of tea is long but being a cafe I think for now it would be more interesting to tell you a little about the different kinds of teas. First of all, all tea (except herbal teas of course) comes from the same plant. Camellia sinensis is the species but there are 3 origin specific varietal bushes, the China bush, Assam bush, and Java bush. Beyond this there are a variety of ways to prepare tea leaves.

Black tea (or in the east Red Tea) is very well known to the western world. Black tea has the most caffeine of any tea. What most people don't know about black tea is in China when westerners first started trading for tea Black tea was to the Chinese their "junk" tea, or export quality. Black tea is fully oxidized (not fermented as many believe). Being exposed to the air and allowed to dry. These teas are still more popular in the western world where the British had their trade empire. The British drink their tea with milk because when they made contact with the Chinese emperor he drank his tea with milk so they assumed this was the proper Chinese preparation of tea. What they did not know was that at the time the Chinese emperor was actually Mongolian. Traditionally the Chinese never drink their tea with milk.
At Capo we serve Earl Grey, Assam, Mountain High Chai, and Darjeeling.

Oolong tea is partially oxidized and considered to have medicinal value to it. Oolong is the most complicated tea to prepare as it must be carefully selected and prepared for every step of it's oxidation process and oxidation must be stopped at precisely the right time.
We do not currently have any Oolong teas at Capogiro.

Green tea is gaining popularity in the West for it's antioxidant properties. It has about half the caffeine of black tea. Green tea is more often served in whole leaf form where as black teas are often crushed or in brick form. When steeping you can watch the balls unfurl into very natural looking soft green leaves. Green tea must be hand picked daily so the leaves can be hand selected for proper ripeness. Oxidation must be avoided in green tea and so it must be dried quickly.
We serve Jasmine, Tamayokucha (a very strong plain green tea), Gen Mai Cha (green tea combined with toasty, nutty, roasted green rice), and Tropical Goji Berry.

White tea used to be the most treasured form of tea and until recently there were certain varieties that were strictly reserved for the imperial family such as Silver Needle. White tea should consist only of the most tender, unopened budsets of a few particular varietal bushes. It is very slightly oxidized. These have less caffeine in them than a green tea but only slightly. White tea is my favorite personally and I prefer it totally unadulterated. No sweeteners and certainly no milk.
We serve two kinds Acai White Tea (with Acai berries to give it a brighter sweeter flavor), and White Peony (the more traditional variety with a floral scent not to be confused with white pony though we do love ponies I don't think I'd like them very much in my tea).



The rest of our tea option are herbal and so technically are not really teas as they are not made with Camellia sinensis but are herbal infusions. We have Chamomile known for centuries for it's soothing, calming effect, Alpine Berry with hibiscus, apple peel, rose hips, blackberry leaves, orange peel, and an assortment of berry flavors, African Sunset a rooibas (redbush) herbal tea with lemongrass and lemon peel great for a sore throat with some honey added, and Pomi-berry with chamomile, lemon balm, lavender, apple, linden flowers, lemongrass, hibiscus, strawberries, raspberries, and other natural berry flavors.

So when you next order a tea don't think you are ordering "just" tea. You are getting a handcrafted beverage perfected over hundreds of years that has helped shape the modern world into what it is today. Try them all and try to really experience the subtleties of every cup.

Just Give Me Gianduia

Valentine's Day is in one week and one day. What do I want? Not flowers, not cupcakes, not candy. I want gianduia. See above. A perfect mix of chocolate and hazelnut. Creamy, smooth and delicate. My first gelato in Capri was a combination of Hazelnut and Gianduia. Perfection. We sell singles at all our cafes positioned carefully in front of the register. You're welcome.

John, you listening?

Ready to Eat

I don't know about you, but this warm weather can make a girl dream..

xo Jessica

Every blog is consitutionally mandated to write about the Super Bowl this week, isn't it?

Resident Capogiro sports nerd checking in. We all know this weekend marks the annual celebration of the nation's favorite holiday. (Wait. Am I allowed to say Super Bowl out loud? Will the Ginger Hammer swoop down to defenestrate Capogiro in toto if I don't refer to it as The Big Game? Guess we'll be finding out. Next week in this space: begging for donations to cover legal fees!)

Big plans this weekend? Myself, I tend to roughly alternate big swinging Super Bowl parties one year and staying in the next. Big parties...they're a good time, sure. It's important to shop around among your invites, weigh the pros and cons of each one. Are the hosts known to be legitimately good cooks, or are they going to rely on store-bought seven layer bean dip and chalky hummus? Is it BYO or will there be a fancy keg and fully-stocked bar? How many children (i.e. under 23) will be there? Dog-friendly? What kind of competition for a couch seat do you anticipate? Getting shunted off to a folding seat in a corner between the keg bucket and the pile of dirty dishes is unacceptable. And crucially...what kind of television are we talking about? I'm not saying that an 80-inch plasma with 5.1 surround sound is altogether a necessity. But 27 people crowding around a decrepit 19-inch tube circa 1986? I'm not coming. I don't care if you're making poutine with braised oxtail gravy.

(Obligatory food porn.)



And while an elaborate shindig definitely has its upsides, the harsh reality is that it's nearly impossible to actually pay attention to the game. And this year is likely to be a real-live GAME. No love lost between the Giants and the Patriots. (I'd do a quick breakdown of the game itself, but I know I likely lost half of the audience when they saw "Super Bowl" in the title. And I lost the other half--the vegetarians--at the picture of the poutine. CARRYING ON.) So for my part, I'd like to pay attention to the game itself this time around. I don't care about the commercials, really. I mean, there's the occasional excellent movie preview mixed in, but by and large it's the same lite "beer" ads over and over every year. I miss the Bud Bowl. And Madge can hop around in an LED-lit poodle skirt and french kiss a honey badger wearing a feather boa as far as I'm concerned. She's...not really aging as gracefully as some might suggest.

It's the last football game for months. It's the beginning of the long personal nightmare that is college basketball season (interminable, cynical, and insipid). It's the ugly dregs of winter, those weeks that leave you you with that horrible feeling you get when you take a drink of your coffee only to discover it's the cup you left on your desk yesterday. It seems like baseball season will NEVER start. So this year, I'm going to relish the last game at home. Wallow. Revel. Probably with General Tso's chicken and a cavalcade of crab rangoons. A cavalcade, I said! An excess of fried cream cheese and fake krab meat!

And I'll be asleep by the third quarter kickoff, I'm sure. Enjoy the game, everyone!

Winter, you are confused..

As we all know, it's completely gorgeous out. Folks are strewn across Rittenhouse park in t-shirts and light jackets. On the bus this morning, no one knew what to wear. Several people looked really confused as to why they were wearing winter coats, yet still refused to unzip them. This kind of totally-not-winter weather has everyone out in droves. I feel like taking a car ride with the windows down and blasting some John Mayer. Yup, it's that nice that I don't even care about your musical judging of that last statement. Capo20 has been full of happy sunny people all afternoon, and we're hoping the good vibes spill out into the evening. We still are acknowledging that it's officially February though, even if Mother Nature is not, so there are cute hearts in our gelato and it's officially HOT CHOCOLATE MONTH!! I would expand upon that, but I'm pretty sure Steph has a sweet graphic to share with you all, and I don't want to steal her thunder. In any case, you all must stop by to check out our new hot chocolate offerings (did someone say hot chocolate with orange zest? Sea salt?! Spicy hot chocolate?!!) In other news, tomorrow is Groundhog Day, one of those weird traditions you kooky Pennsylvanians have. I'm guessing that this guy will see his shadow and that winter will be a long one. But hey, with a winter like this, bring it on!!