If it fits, I sits.

Like many other people living in a large metropolis, you may find yourself looking for a good hang out spot. Enter Capogiro 20th street. We have all the key factors to qualify as a good spot to chill. Some examples for you:

Fresh gelato every day. And sorbetto of course. We also have granita now if you feel like mixing it up. If you're double fisting a drink, get a cone! It's delicious and makes you feel young again.

An assortment of other non-gelato treats. Fresh baked goods like carrot cake, peanut butter brownies and cookies. All of our panini are made daily, and there's something to satisfy everyone.

La Colombe coffee served all the time. Start with a mug of Corsica. Then maybe bump it up to a double cappuccino or latte. Perhaps finish with an affogato. This is somewhat of an often thing or me.

Cozy seating indoors and outdoors. I like to sit at a table and stare at people sometimes. (This location is great for people watching.)

Free WiFi. I know 60% of your time is working on your thesis, or coding a game you're creating. But the other 40% is watching cat videos or people hurting themselves in silly ways. "Let's be honest." -VP

And most importantly, a great staff. We love hanging out too. Interacting with customers and developing relationships is the best perk for us. There is a reason we have so many great regulars.

If this somehow isn't enough to convince you how great it is here, then come on and prove me wrong. You will leave in a good mood. Just look how great we are!

Ugli fruit!!!

Ugli is back!! Yes it is pronounced the same as Ugly because well....

Look at those beautiful...uh... ugli fruits!!  Not your type?

Well they will be after you taste them sorbetto style.  Uglis are a hybrid between grapefruit, tangerine, and orange grown in Jamaica.  These wonderful fruits have a grapefruit/citrus like flavor and make an extremely refreshing flavor for the hot weather that is surely coming.

Philadelphia International Festival of Art is this Saturday!!

http://pifa.org/streetfair

Capogiro has all hands on deck for this event and we are so excited for it!!  If you’re in the area be sure to stop by and hang out with us and the uglis.

<3 Tori

I mean, why WOULDN'T we make tomato sorbetto?

Let's just all agree: tomatoes are fruit(s). They are! So are green beans, eggplants, and cucumbers! Look, I'm not a botanist, I just know it has something to do with ovaries. And there's only so much I know about ovaries. But if the internet says that tomatoes are fruit(s), then that's what I'm going with. The internet is never, ever wrong! So if they're fruit, then we should make sorbetto out of them, right? Well. We have. And we did! It's here right now! Today we actually whirled it together with orange, so it looks a little like this (actually it looks exactly like this since I just took the picture):

So maybe you're one of those less adventurous eaters and now you're giving me the side-eye. But c'mon, give it a shot. It's totally dessert; we wouldn't fake you out like that. It is a LITTLE savory, but it's mostly sweet and has an awesome, unexpected funk to it. (I like funk in most forms. Yes, I've spent some time touring with Phish, and you can work out all those implications for yourself. Multitudinous varieties of funk on Phish tour. But I'm digressing.)

So we'll keep coming up with flavors you're totally not going to find anywhere else. All you have to do is come eat 'em.

What is love?

It's been one of those days where I don't go outside and watch horrible movies on tv. I mean, I enjoy A Night At The Roxbury, but apparently it's not a good movie. I've been staring at my cat and wishing she was a kitten still, browsing Reddit in bed, and drinking absurd amounts of tea. I got all bummed out, but then went to investigate my fridge/freezer and I saw a sign. And it opened up my eyes. I have Amarena gelato and Golden Pineapple sorbetto that I totally forgot about. (I felt the need to capitalize the flavors.) My point is that if you're planning on staying in and relaxing you should be prepared. I lucked out, but you won't always be so fortunate. Come in tonight and stock up on gelato. Get it before the weekend, because it goes fast. I'll leave you with a before and after picture of my cat, Guenhwyvar. She has grown into a proper lady, but I miss her being tiny.

Bicycle Weather!

I used to ride my bike to work no matter what the weather.  This year was colder and icier than last year though and the few years before that I lived in SF so ice was never a concern.  So this winter I got in the habit of buying first tokens and then weekly passes and I let myself get spoiled and even after the ice was no longer an issue I continued to take the train.

But today was a new day.  I woke up and it was beautiful outside and despite having bought my weekly pass already I couldn't resist so I pumped up my tired and dug out my helmet and bike necessities with my dog Seamus following me closely as I tore my apartment to shreds looking for bike locks, tools, pump, etc.  and then embarked on a glorious ride in to work. Seamus was unhappy about my departure but I'm sure he was glad to have had the opportunity to lay out in the sun all day tanning his belly spots.

Lucky for me the perfect way to end a bike commute is to enjoy some coffee and gelato before getting to work.  If you agree then you should make us a stop on your commute or just walk or bike over when a craving hits you which I would assume is almost daily if not more.  I'll see you all soon whether it be here or on the streets.

Taste4Travel!!

Being in the food biz, you meet some pretty awesome people.  Chef Jacquie is pretty awesome.  She has a great company. She wanders about great food places and shows "noobs" and "knows" the local ropes.  She know her stuff.  I encourage you to check her out.  Taste 4 Travel gives you an insider view in an intimate setting.  It is good stuff.

She recently contacted me and asked if I could be a guest blogger.  As y'all know, I have no filter so this was an act of bravery.  I am allowed to talk about anything, really.  My virgin post went live this morning.  I hope I do not disappoint her.

Let me know what you think.

Ciao,
Stephanie

Work? No, today's gonna be a holiday

The inevitable, unforgiving rain of Philadelphia strikes again. But, Friday nights aren't forever and we shouldn't treat them as such. Monday and Tuesday, you really shone and we're all very proud of you. This Tuesday being my day off, I splurged in a most excellent bike ride - stopping here and there and remembering what Philly is all about. Taking a break to peruse some monthly reading matter, not to mention a refresher and a giggle on pop culture, I saw my favorite leading lady on the cover of Vanity Fair! Her Dolce Vita! The article contained candid photos of her trips to Rome of Audrey in all her simple-chic glory. Of course, I am no princess, but I couldn't help being engulfed in a similar feeling as her Roman Holiday. And, coincidentally enough, later that day I stopped by AIDS Thrift to find a VHS copy. 

The first thing she did with her newfound
freedom was to buy a pair of Roman sandals.
Then she went to the barber's for a pixie cut.
And then she bought herself a gelato.
Simple pleasures all, but as a princess
on the lam in 1953's Roman Holiday, an
unknown actress named Audrey Hepburn
made these pleasures indelible.

Gelato, too? I am so glad to hear you say it.

We're gittin' this show on the road again.

Judging by how many of you came out to see us in the cafe on Tuesday, you're all pretty clearly aware that this winter has finally--FINALLY--ended. MAN that took a minute, didn't it? It was super warm and nice on Tuesday and it seemed like everyone in West Philly had themselves a welcome, well-deserved sunshine freak-out.

But WE'RE excited because warm weather means that we can get our gelato out and about and go explore new neighborhoods where maybe you folk who don't find yourselves downtown often enough can get your hands on some of our wicked good frozen whatnots. And we've got two--two!--events this weekend!

First up on Saturday is the StrEAT Food Festival in Manayunk. Main Street flings its doors open! Or...welcomes you to sidle up to a food cart and/or truck or tent, as the case may be. There'll be tacos and Thai and shopping and live music. And it kicks off Manayunk's Restaurant week, so maybe you'll find something there that'll entice you to head back for some ripping good deals over the few days following? 11:00-5:00 all along the length of Main Street. Just look for the line of people waiting patiently at our big blue cart.

Then Sunday it's the Philly Farm and Food Fest in the Convention Center Annex from 11:00-4:00. We had a great time at this one last year and are for sure excited to do it again. The whole idea is that the Fest brings together all the regional farmers and food producers we can fit under one roof for your shopping delight. Lots and lots and lots of food of course, but also a variety of people who can share ways for us all to be living and eating and buying more sustainably and locally. It's right up our alley.

There's a caveat, though! Advance tickets are going fast, and you can only buy them through midnight tomorrow--meaning the window closes at 11:59 Friday night (because I always get a little confused when we start talking about midnight). Tickets will be available at the door but A> they're cheaper in advance and B> why take a chance on getting shut out? Plus if we know how many of you are coming we know exactly how many spoons to bring and we can count them out. Not really. That would be a fairly strange thing to obsess over.

Will there be more events for us this year? Will you have even MORE opportunities to see our shiny faces in new and fancy places? Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaybe. Could be. It's certainly not out of the question. But I'm feeling a little non-committal today, so I'm not tellin' for now. So come see us this weekend!

DEAR SPRING: I'm a little mad you took so long getting here, but I'm sure glad you finally did! Let's point our speakers out the window and play some Dead.

New & exciting things at Capo!

Within the past months you've most likely noticed a mass amount of baked goods staring at you by the register. These are there to satisfy you & make me hungry anytime I ring someone up. I could probably eat the vegan banana-date bread until my body shut down due to lack of bacon, but there's something else I want to talk about.

Capogiro caramel corn. I like to call it "crack jacks" because once I start eating it, I can't stop until the bag is finished. This is a newer item we've started making & it should not be passed up. It's great to share as a gourmet movie treat. Also, don't feel bad buying it for just yourself.

Make sure to look out for this next time you stop in. Since you probably don't know what it looks like, I've hired Samus to model with the caramel corn.

Just an added reminder, WE HAVE GRANITA! It's so exciting I went all caps. I have been experimenting with combinations & so far the coffee granita with burnt sugar gelato is the winner. Closely followed by lemon granita con panna. And we don't skimp with our whipped cream.

Now you have two reasons to stop by. Three if you count how nice it is outside. So do it.

Proud Adonis

Hey, CapoPenn

I was just reminiscing about your espresso machine and how it exploded milk all over me the last time I lent a hand over there. But that's alright - maybe it was just showboating its awesome power. Really though, the Adonis is a total 3-group Cerberus-like powerhouse. You can pretty much pound out beautiful(such as its name-sake) coffee drinks in no time sans a misstep in milk-steamery then kablooey. All's well after a shift when, fortunately enough, a bar is immediately adjacent to this machine. An americano with a dollop of apple brandy? How kind. See you at happy hour ; )

Love
Jessica of Yunk

Granita for everyone!

Granita season is officially here. For those of you unfamiliar with granita, it is Italian shaved ice. It is made by hand using water, sugar & various flavorings.

Traditional flavors include; lemon, orange, coffee, & almond. We will also be making seasonal flavors such as strawberry and blackberry. Our first flavors of the season will be lemon and espresso. These are vegan friendly and can be made into other delicious desserts.

If you want something creamier, try Granita con Panna. The granita of your choice with layers of rich whipped cream. Want to add gelato or sorbetto? We can do that too. A favorite combination of mine is espresso granita with Fior Di Latte or Thai Coconut Milk gelato.

The granita is being slowly frozen to allow the flavors to soak into every ice crystal for optimum satisfaction.

Come by this weekend to experience my favorite summer dessert. I will make sure to post more pictures to convince you of it's power.

The terrifying gelato-sinus interaction

So the other day we had Mexican chocolate gelato and mojito sorbetto and it was kinda cold out (STILL COLD OUT) and I was thinking that a wee cup of the two of them together might make me feel a little tropical and warm so I scooped myself some and was eating it at my desk and enjoying it immensely but I was gchatting with a friend and she told me a joke about saran wrap.

And I snorted.

And this started happening:
It was horrifying. It wouldn't stop! And I was laughing the whole time. The citrus and the spice and my poor poor nasal passages! I'm feeling much better now, though. And I harbor no ill will toward the gelato. I blame the saran wrap instead.

Some days I miss my busy-as-all-heck-when's-the-last-time-I-ate-oh-my-god-what-time-is-it?! shifts at CapoPenn. Well, I should say, I miss finishing my shift.  Having a full bar there meant taking a load off the moment I could, somewhat sadistically, pass said load to Jay. (miss ya, boss!)  If you don't already know, Penn has a beautiful bar, serving traditional cocktails, AND they'll let you get creative with the gelati and sorbetti of the day. Oh and there's beer and wine, too. My drink of choice was always something simple and more often than not involved Campari.  And it really was just ONE drink.  No Girls Gone Wild try-outs at work!  Now there's no bar here at 20th, but of course we have one of Capo's signature sorbetti, Grapefruit Campari, in heavy rotation. Eating the whole pan is probably not analogous to drinking a Campari and soda, but I'm not against trying it!  Oh, and yes that is a Campari ad with Penelope Cruz and a lot of cats.

CapoCrack! (AKA Caramel Popcorn)

SALTY SWEET AND CRUNCHY NEW PRODUCTS!!

Here’s a couple of adorable customers enjoying the beautiful weather this past weekend on Easter Sunday!  And what are the attractive looking products in front of them???

CAPO GRANOLA is back by popular demand!  We haven’t had it around for a while at 13th St, but I think it’s back to stay.  It is the same house-made granola that we use for our delicious Granola Coppas that are sold in the morning.  (pictured on the right)

CAPO CRACK (not the official name, its just what I call it) is a delicious salty, sweet mix of crunchy popcorn  heaven, mixed with flavored peanuts. Seriously, this stuff is AMAZING.

(pictured on the left)

BRITTANY SALTED CARAMEL LOLLIPOPS  well these aren’t new but I am amazed at how few customers notice them by the register.  I crave these salty sweet pops all the time, and they are so good to break up and sprinkle into coffee.  They are less than a dollar each folks, so give them a lick!!

Let's hope the weather stays beautiful!

<3 Tori