You're not a cowboy. Should you be wearing a cowboy hat?

Cowboy hats are definitely one of those sartorially polarizing accessories, like scarves (I'm totally anti-scarf. If you need a scarf, it's because your jacket is defective) or suspenders. But cowboy hats...how do you know? How do you know if you should wear a cowboy hat? Where's the threshold?

I could sorta see myself wearing this...from the neck up. I have no idea what else to wear with it. I mean, I've got some great jeans, but my boots are all wrong, and while my kitchen clogs and I are professionally inseparable, they're a fashion disaster under the best of circumstances (you cannot quantify how little I care about how my clogs look, because my feet love them). And WHERE would I wear it? Where would it look more out of place--somewhere on Passyunk? At a Phillies game? Kenzo? I've ridden a horse before. I was...9, I think. Thereabouts. It was probably not a real "horse" and I was almost certainly not actually "riding" it, if you see what I'm getting at. My punk lil butt managed not to irritate her badly enough to bite me, so that's a success. Yeah, no. Pretty sure I'm not ever going to be able to pull off wearing a cowboy hat. I don't like country or even rockabilly, so...hey, my Phillies hat does just fine. It's coming up to three years old, and is almost broken in.

Bad Wolf

As summer approaches, I look back at the time since last summer. It has been unseasonably warm, we have lost and gained some great employees, we were named Number 1 Ice Cream in THE WORLD by National Geographic, the Cybermen started global warming, famous people have come into the shops and we have gotten a lot closer as a happy gelato family. This spring and summer a lot of great things are happening. Danny Meyer's Shake Shack is opening up catty corner to us. (I sense some burger/gelato trades in the works...) Rhubarb Sorbetto is coming back to us to prove that it was not sent to Earth by Davros and his evil Daleks minions to kill us all. (only the leaves are murderous) Another exciting fruit coming later in the summer is the blueberry! A favorite of Tardis lovers everything. Try the Blueberry Thyme Sorbetto.  Get it? Blue and thyme? Time Lords love that joke. Lastly, make sure you mark the entire month of June on your calender for a good time to come into Capogiro. STRAWBERRIESSSSSS! Everyone loves strawberries. (unless you're allergic, which I apologize for gloating about them if you are)

Try these companions favorite strawberry combos:
Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 like Strawberry Yogurt with Fior di Latte
Rose Tyler likes Fragola(strawberry) con Panna with Cioccolato Scuro
Jack Harkness looooves Fragola con Tequila (with tequila on the side)

So come and try all of our seasonal spring and summer flavors before it's too late...

By Caitlin

No dark matter?

Astronomers this week announced their findings in a study on the gravitational relationships of stars and huge clouds of dust in the area surround our solar system.  Their goal was to figure out about how much dark matter there is floating around in our neighborhood.  What they found was not what was expected.  Nothing.  Not one little bit of dark matter anywhere near us (I use those words relatively because the study covered and bubble around earth stretching about 13,000 light-years from us). 

But at capo we know the real truth.  We've secretly been funneling all the dark matter we can get our hands on into the Cioccolato Scuro.  That is the real secret behind it's super rich, fudgy, tasty, uber darkness.  Yes, we're aware it could totally destabilize the gravitational fields of the solar system and galaxy.... but isn't it totally worth it for what is arguably the worlds best ice cream?!?

Herbal lore

A guide on the medicinal properties of a few of my favorite ingredients and proving the (*cough* source-less) source of my awesome immune system and great hair.

Rosemary; Rosemary-Honey-Goat's Milk,

• to chew it will "keep thy teeth from all evils."
• to smell it regularly would "keep thee youngly."
• to wear a crown of it ails "the stuffing of the head that commeth through the coldness of the brain."

Cardamom; Orange Cardamom

• to chew would "cast 'way the foulest odour."
• to drink in tea "soothes the turbulence of thee minds."

Basil; Sweet Basil!

• to apply to hair as an oil causes blood to "give feast to worn'd and age'd lock."

Mint; Local Mint, Mint Stracciatella, Pineapple Mint, Mint Julep

• to ingest would treat "the giddiness of indigestion."
• to apply oil to the temples ails the "feel of minnows gnawing."
• to tie to the wrist would prevent "an evil casting the hex of fatigue and infection."

Officially a Philadelphian.

Okok...I've been living in Philly for a little over two years now. TWO YEARS! Constantly blown away by how fast the time has flown by, especially since I joined the CapoFamily pretty much as soon as I got here. And then my poor, busted up, hard-won, well-traveled Washington driver's license expired and, since I'm in desperate need of a passport for some impending travel this summer, I began dreading the process of trading in that license for a Pennsylvania version.

I say dreading for two very real reason: getting my Washington license was a nightmare. It took almost fifteen hours--FIFTEEN!--of sitting in a grungy (heh) Seattle DMV on three separate occasions. I had to take the driving test again. What am I, 15?! So there was that experience informing my mood. And (I'll tread delicately here) we at Capogiro are intimately familiar with the various...steps...that the very...detail-oriented...local government has in place to assure that local citizens and merchants are...diligently conforming to what must be...essential regulations. (Treading very delicately.)

I was braced for hours of sitting in a dingy plastic chair experiencing my butt going increasingly numb, is what I'm saying. I mean, c'mon. It's the DMV (ok, DOL) in an old school East Coast city. I was expecting to wait in innumerable lines getting boxes checked and Ts dotted and Is crossed. BUT NO. No, I tell you! It took half an hour! HALF AN HOUR! I'm sorry, I'm shouting. But I couldn't believe it! I still can't. I had no idea this city could ever move so quickly and efficiently. And friendily! (Might have created a new word there. Moving on!)

So, Philadelphia: thank you for making getting a driver's license quick, easy, and honestly entirely painless. Now I just have to wrap my head around the fact that I share state residency with Yinzers and Scrantonians and sundry Pennsyltuckians. I mean, this is Philly, right? Yo, I coulda sworn we were our own city-state.

Video time!



Yay Philadelphia in the spring. Yay for awesome bosses getting much-needed vacations. Yay marshmallow gelato. Yay things! (Yay being in a goofily good mood, too!)

Gooseberries!

So delicious. Gooseberry is one of my favorites of all time. Similar in species to a currant, the gooseberry is a unique little ribe with a tart and bold flavor. Native to Europe and parts of Asia, the gooseberry is often cultivated to include in deserts and teas, or in our scrumptious sorbetto. Gooseberries are a strange and magical fruit, and have mesmerized humans for a millennium. Even Pliny the Elder wrote about them growing upon the ruins of ancient castles. They should not be confused with Goosebumps however, which are a series of young adult paranormal somewhat scary fantasy books.

The amazingly delicious Hazelnut!!!

Nocciola is one of the most classic and delicious of our gelato flavors. Also known as a Filburt or Cob Nut, hazelnuts are rich in Protein, Thiamine, and Vitamin B it makes a spectacular gelato and you can find it at any Capo location almost every day! We also love to mix it with chocolate and have three different chocolate and hazelnut flavors so you can find your perfect match. Nutella is one of everyone's all-time favorites, if you haven't had real Nutella then you are simply missing out. We make an awesome Bacio with our own house-made candied hazelnuts blended in. And finally Gianduja which is our own blend of hazelnut and milk chocolate.

Humans have been roasting and eating hazelnuts since the Mesolithic Era. That goes back almost 10,000 year! Clearly they are amazingly tasty to have kept our interest for ten milenia. They are edible both roasted and raw. Historians believe they were roasted to allow young children to digest them better and also to preserve them. They were frequently brought with mariners on long trips because they would remain edible for quite some time after roasted.

The worlds top producer of hazelnuts is Turkey by an absolute landslide! They produce about 75% of the worlds hazelnuts. In North America Oregon is the winner for top producer with around 18,000 tonnes a year. (Washington state only produces about 91 tonnes a year.)

Hazelnuts are generally harvested in Autumn when they naturally fall from their branches. It is fairly uncommon for harvesters to use mechanical nut-shakers to remove them from their trees. Harvesting is done rather slowly with a dragged trailer that collects and separated nuts from other fallen debris such as leaves and branches.

Recently Italian researchers have taken interest in the branches and leaves gathered with harvested nuts for use in cancer treatment. They contain taxanes which are used in chemotherapy treatments. Generally the shells, leaves, and branches are considered waste materials and simply discarded so the presence of these chemicals makes them interesting to doctors and researchers looking for more sources of treatment.

All in all hazelnuts are a superfood loaded with nutrients, vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and other chemicals which are highly desirable in a regular diet.

What more can you ask for from a delicious cup of gelato?!

Travels Down South

Hi folks! It's been an awesome week for me, but I'm glad to be back in Philadelphia. I spent the past few days back home in Richmond, VA, spending time with some of my dearest friends and catching up. In case you big city people are wondering what us small town kids like to do for fun, I've compiled a brief photo journal of my trip. People in Virginia like to...

Play music. I spent several hours of my trip singing and playing the guitar. I was fortunate enough to be playing the wedding of two of my closest friends. Although their song choices were a bit cliche, it was an honor to be a part of their ceremony.

Ride horses. The wedding took place at one of my pals' English riding school, and there were horses everywhere. Behind the scenes, horses could be spotted pouring champagne and eating bits of fruit off the buffet. These two horses were implemented in the ceremony itself, and the brides rode off into the sunset. So sweet.

Hang with babies and get tattoos. Sadly, this baby did not get a tattoo. I did. I thought that his moms would not like it if I returned him with a Sailor Jerry tattoo on his foot. Notice his amazing armadillo stuffed animal. The kid doesn't go anywhere without it.

Amazingly, there is really good coffee in Virginia! If you're ever in Richmond, ask me where to go for a good cup of joe. Other than drink coffee and tattoo babies, I also enjoyed a couple amazing bonfires, a hootenanny, and a lovely walk by the river.

There is absolutely no good gelato in Richmond, however. Just for kicks, I tried a couple of samples at a new place in the trendy Carytown disctrict. Yeghh.. It's SO nice to be home in the land of serious artisanal gelato and tasty treats.

Better know a nut: PEANUT TIME.

It's totally true that I'm pretty obsessed with any gelato involving our peanut butter. But c'mon, have you ever really CONSIDERED a peanut?

>>Fine, let's be pedantic. A peanut is not technically a nut. It's a legume, so it's more closely related to soybeans, peas, and your run-of-the-mill green bean. (Green Bean's friends roll their eyes when she calls herself "Haricot Vert." SO affected.)

>>Peanuts are one of them fancy New World crops! Currently the best guess is that they're native to somewhere around Peru.


>>Much to Jimmy Carter's dismay, the US is only the THIRD leading producer of peanuts. We're being outstripped by China and India. Hey! That's OUR nut!

>>Peanut allergies are no laughing matter! Somewhere between one and two percent of the American population has a peanut allergy, which is kind of a lot of people. As always, at Capogiro we promise to call an ambulance to come treat your anaphylactic shock BEFORE we poke you with a stick. We've got big hearts like that.

>>Other names for the peanut: ground nuts, goober peas, pygmy nuts, and monkey nuts.

>>Occasionally your CapoCrew grows concerned that the kitchen staff may have added too much peanut butter to the gelato. Typically we remedy this by picking all the peanut butter out of the gelato and eating it.

Hey speaking of peanuts? Gonna eat some Sunday. At a Phillies game! With my mom. Hooray first game of the season with Mom! Beeteedubs, you're totally reading this bolg from time to time, right?

Looking like the first hot weekend of the year. Guessing the chances are good we'll see you, huh?

SanBitter!!

Of all the Italian bitter sodas, Sanbitter is our all-time favorite here at Capogiro 13th street. In this tiny, bright red, and mysterious bottle lays the secret to all your bitter days and drunken nights. This tiny bottle of joy encompasses many of the qualities similar to Campari and can be used as substitute for its alcoholic counterpart. It's a tang of citrus that is reminiscent of grapefruits. If you know people who hate bitter things, this would be the perfect thing to give them to ruin their night.

But fear not!

Our 40th street location, has real Campari.

~Nelson

Farewell, dude.

Thanks for all the tips n' tricks, Ezra.

Here's to hoping you keep it real in other pastures.

Love,

Jessica

It's so good I've already finished it.

Wouldja loogit that? That, friends and neighbors, is a Bacio and Thai Coconut Milk frappe. Seriously, in the time it took for the image to get from my phone to my computer via email I've finished it. It was GOOD. The best part about our frappes? They don't end in "-ccino." They don't contain any powdered milk or shelf-life-extending stabilizers or other assorted nonsense. They CAN, if you like, contain a shot of espresso for when you feel like your get up and go has got up and went. And since we're the cool kids out here on the west side...see those bottles peeking out over the frappe's left shoulder? Yeah...that's for the adults in the audience. We make frappes for big kids, we do. Jen's on the bar tonight, you should come say hi.

And it's definitely frappe weather. Have you looked outside? It is days like this when we're grateful for our floor-to-ceiling windows here at CapoPenn. And it's baseball season! BASEBALL. Takin' my mom to our first game of the year next Sunday. Go Phillies! Spring. Been done sprung.

Instagram, aka my newest obsession

For those of you who, like me, have been living under a rock for the past few months, I give you Instagram, a cool new social media app that allows users to upload photos and share/comment on them with other users. It's like Facebook for photos. This app was only available for iPhone/iPod users until yesterday, when it became available on Android phones. Ok fine, I guess we iPhone folks can share. In any case, one of the coolest features of Instagram is that you can add a hashtag to your photos (which actually mean something, unlike on Facebook where they just make you took like an idiot), and sort them by category. For example, when you search by #capogiro, you get lots of lovely photos from users like this:



Super fun, right?! You should all join and send me some of your photos. I promise if I don't look ugly in them, I will consider using them in this blog.

Bananas!!

Like the label says it is "Highly Underrated." I usually don't like banana flavored anything except for the fruits themselves but I make an exception for Banana Gelato and Bananas Foster. Pair either of those with some Scuro and you are right up in the sky floating on a cloud. Our Chocolate Banana is amazing as well but you really need to give the pure banana and pure chocolate a try and then you can mix them up yourself.

Cavendish Banana's (which is most of what you find in the US) are all genetically engineered clones. Natural, wild bananas actually have large, hard, marble-like seeds inside them making them very difficult to eat. They are usually also smaller and less sweet than what we are used to leaving less reward for the hard work of eating them.

I mentioned in my last post that banana's are the most radioactive fruit. They are actually also used as a unit, called a BED or banana equivalent dose, for measuring the amount of radiation a person has absorbed. It is arguably not a very good comparison because our bodies maintain homeostasis and you don't gain more radioactivity by eating more banana's. So radioactive though they may be don't be worried that they will start making you glow green.

I will leave you with this, my favorite scene from Beetlejuice: