No worries, there are blueberries!

Did you know that...

- We are currently at the peak of blueberry harvest season.

- These little berries are loaded with antioxidants that are believed to help prevent detrimental health conditions such as cancer and heart disease.

- They can be used to make natural blue dye for clothes and other textiles.

- For a limited time you can enjoy blueberry gelato and sorbetto at your local Capogiro!

Make sure you get it while it's still in season and be sure to check in for other seasonal flavor announcements!

Wedding Season!!

If you have lots of friends and family in their twenty-somethings, then you've probably gotten a few wedding invites so far this summer. Sometimes choosing a wedding gift can be difficult if the couple doesn't have a very extensive registry. What you can do is order our gelato online at capogirogelato.com and get 6 pints mailed to the newlyweds at their place of residence! You may also pick up some pints at any of our four locations across Philadelphia to bring to the rehearsal dinner or reception. Try marrying gelato with some wedding cake this season! 

We also have beautiful gelato cakes made to order from our 20th Street location.  Try to contact them at least a week in advance so they can be sure to have your chosen flavor ingredients on hand. 

Feel free to email us at info@capogirogelato.com for more information on 6 pint online orders, catering orders, and our beautiful gelato cakes!

Warning! Philadelphia Heat Approaching!

We're been very lucky so far with some mild 70-80 degree days. Unfortunately summer is now upon us and with July comes some uncomfortable heat and humidity
. Here's some advice for keeping cool this season:

1. Dress smart! Don't do yourself the injustice of overdressing. Find the middle ground where you don't have to sacrifice comfort for style. Go to a second hand store and find some nice threads that look great and feel great in humid Philadelphia weather.

2. Hydrate! You lose a lot more water when it's hot out so you need to compensate by drinking more water. Feelin hot? Grab a drink! And not an alcoholic one. Those will further dehydrate you.

3. AC! But not too much air conditioning. Even the lightest heat wave will feel like a scorcher if you don't let your body adjust to the season. I reserve my AC consumption for sleep time.

4. Enjoy some cold treats to beat the heat! Stop by one of our four locations to enjoy some delicious cold gelato. You won't regret it!

Make sure that you know your body's limit in the hot city sun. Overexposure and overexertion can lead to serious health problems. Enjoy the beautiful weather but always make sure that safety is your first priority.

Capo Fun Guide!

Looking for some ways to enjoy the next few days? Here's a few ideas.

Thursday, June 26th:

- USA vs. Germany World Cup Match

You can catch the game at 12 pm.

- The Awesome Fest Outdoor Movie Series at Clark Park

This is the first day of the series. It will be every Thursday 8-10 until August 14th. 

Friday, June 27th:

- NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center

At 7 pm you can catch the kickoff for this coming NHL season.

Saturday, June 28th:

- NHL Draft at the Wells Fargo Center

Same as yesterday. This time it's at 10 am.

- University City Summer Series behind The Walnut Street Free Library

Free summer monthly concerts starting at 6 pm.

-Alex

Don't forget to look up!

Since the excessive snow storms and chilly weather have finally left us alone, I decided that I want to walk to work every day. It's a few miles round trip and can be a bit unwanted at times but I always pick different routes to maintain my interest. I mostly enjoy my walk past The Hale Building between Sansom and Chestnut on Juniper St. If you're familiar with The Divine Lorraine up on Fairmont and Broad then you might recognize the same architectural prowess of the late Willis G. Hale (hence "Hale" building). I don't claim to know much in the field of Philadelphia architecture. I just enjoy the old Philly relics that have survived for over a century.

 

Next time you're feeling down about the long trek ahead, just keep your head on a swivel  and try to enjoy the view. Oh, and come enjoy some of our fine gelato and other desserts!

-Alex

I Want Candy...

I hope that song is stuck in your head all day...

We have a new candy supplier, and I'm in love with our new products. They're delicious, simple, go great with some coffee or espresso, and I can't lie, I love that the prices are reasonable. I'm a single mom, and am always looking for a deal on just about anything, especially something that grants me a moments escape from my nephew screaming in my ear and my daughter asking me 15 times in a row why I can't just download Jumamji... there's not enough seeders kid! How do you know about this already, anyway?! 

So..chocolate. It's my vice. Every mom needs one, and that's mine. I'll start off with talking about B.T. McElrath's chocolate bites. Perfect little squares of dark chocolate with your option of two flavors, Salted Butter Caramel, or Salty Dog which is just dark chocolate with a perfect amount of sea salt sprinkled on them. Perfection.

Next up is Jcoco. They're like the Tom's Shoes of chocolate. Unique flavors like cayenne and orange with white chocolate, or black figs and pistachio set in dark chocolate wrapped in beautiful, vibrant packaging draw you in, the melt in your mouth, soft chocolate taste makes you want more. For every truffle bar sold, this company will give a healthy meal to someone who otherwise wouldn't get one. At $3 a pop, how can you turn this down?

We have plenty of other new things like gum, and fancy mints from Italy, too! On your next visit, I'm telling you, treat yourself to any of our new products, and you won't be disappointed.

Til next week ya'll!

Ciao, Philly Beer Week!

I guess I'll have to wait a whole year until I can have beer again! Or maybe just beer gelato.  But luckily Philly is a big beer city and we have multiple beer weeks and beer festivals still upcoming!

We Capogirians do hope that you had a chance to come in and try our delicious beer flavors this past week. The espresso infused milk stout flavor was particularly enjoyable. Let's take a final moment to salute the wonderful beer flavors that are going back into hibernation....for now!

Do you have avocado sorbetto today?

I never like to say “no” to customers, so when confronted with this question by the die-hard fans (groupies?) of our creamiest, greenest, most elusive sorbetto, I'd rather offer them all the yeses I've got.

Yes, avocado is a fruit.

Yes, avocado is great on toast.

Yes, avocados only ripen after they're picked.

Yes, avocado sorbetto is naturally that lovely shade of green.

Yes, avocados have more potassium per gram than bananas.

Yes, you can sprout your own avocado tree from a regular avocado pit.

But today I have the best yes of all: Yes, today at 20^th street we do have avocado sorbetto!

- Gloria

Beer Week!!!!!! and more Strawberry!!!

In honor of Beer Week we have rolled out three of Lancaster Brewing Company's beers in your favorite beer dessert form.

If you haven't made yourself sick of strawberries eating our amazing gelato and sorbetto made with sweet, fresh strawberries then try this wheat lager style strawberry flavored brew as your tasty dessert.

We have their traditional English sweet stout known simply as 'Milk Stout'.

And last but definitely not least another milk stout infused with ESPRESSO! This just sounds too awesome.  Beer, gelato, and espresso all rolled into one.

Please drink safely and enjoy the rest of beer week.

Strawberry Day

As the shiny new manager of Capo 20th, I recently found out that I get to take part in this blog. I thought about what to write to you guys all week, really, I looked forward to this. This is it, it's Wednesday, it's my go at the ol' blog. I was at a blank all day, then I realized it's STRAWBERRY DAY. This is a perfect day to start this!

For weeks customers have been coming in, spotting Cactus Pear's vibrant pink color, hoping it was strawberry, and I've had to tell them "Sorry ya'll, a little bit longer!" Not today. Today, I got to greet people rushing in from the rain with a sample of our perfectly textured Strawberry Tequilla Sorbet, and Strawberries and Cream Gelato. It most definitely made this dreary day a little brighter.

For some people, summer starts when they get to go to their first baseball game of the season, others, it's their Memorial Day weekend down the shore. Personally, I look forward to the flavors of summer. Sweet berries mixed with bright, tart lemon is classic. Refreshing and light cucumber, or watermelon is a must. Summer is pretty much the best. If you're like me, and need a good kick in the taste buds to remind you warmer days are ahead, get in here for some of this sweet strawberry action before it's back to pumpkin everything, and Facebook statuses about shoveling snow.

Happy Memorial Day!!

It was a great memorial day with all of my fellow Philadelphians that decided not to hit the beach this year for the holiday. Each cup of cold gelato we served helped to make everyone a little bit more tolerant of the fresh spring heat. Despite being plenty comfortable in our cafe's air conditioned habitat , I still missed the good ole' Jersey shore. My ears were left longing for its stagnant salt water companion. My toes craved the pinch of a crab's claw. My eyes yearned for its sandy souvenir.

Coulda' been in my car

With my towel and guitar

All backed up on the highway for hours

With that being said

You should stay here instead

And enjoy the gelato that's ours

From everyone here at Capogiro, we hope you had a safe and happy holiday!

-Alex

Cold brew is the only way to fly!

     Let me paint you a picture, its a hot summer morning. As you walk out your front door to greet the day, the sun beats down on your back. Your head is cloudy and your arms feel like noodles. One thing is clear, its coffee time. Only the purest of brown elixirs can cure this summer slump that you've seemed to succumb to. You walk into a nearby coffee shop and the words "One Iced coffee please" slip out of your mouth so effortlessly, the Barista is in awe. He hands you a cup of their finest Iced coffee. Bliss. You float out the door and swoon at the thought of your first sip. The straw reaches your mouth, its almost time. You take a sip and then, Bam! You fall to the ground. The coffee is terrible. Clearly a batch of danky derelict drip passed off as true iced coffee. Blasphemy!
     Sadly this happens to more and more people every day. Don't trust a Capfauxgiro! Come in to Capogiro anytime for a cup of the most delicious cold brewed iced coffee you have ever tried! Its coffee time!

"This is rumor control."

Listen, just to get out ahead of things--we're okay for limes. Maybe you've heard there's something of a lime shortage going on? It's true, geopolitics are potentially getting in between you and your citrusy adult beverages, just as we're getting into what most civilized, cultured, and respectable people consider gin-drinking season. Stephen Colbert (or is it Stephen Colbert? You can never tell with that guy) took notice, though if he'd asked me I could have gotten him up to speed a couple of weeks ago:

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive

But really--we're okay. At Capogiro, anyway. I was reading news a couple of weeks ago and got worried, so I emailed Dan and said "DAN. WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO ABOUT LIMES MAN, BECAUSE GIN AND TONICS," because I'll sleep easier at night if I know that I can at least poach a lime or three from work for my gin and tonics if I can't find any at the store. But Dan pretty much said "S'cool brah. I know a guy" or something along those lines. Sooooo I guess everything's okay for us, limewise? I mean, I've learned that if Dan says anything resembling "It'll be fine," things really will be fine. Ultimately. Even if I have to make a little magic happen myself. Incidentally here's what it looked like the last time Dan and I got together for a quick meeting: Really.

Sometimes you gotta have a little faith, right?

Listen, I know that this:

is maybe not the MOST appealing piece of fruit you've ever seen. You're looking at it and maybe thinking, "How can a fruit be simultaneously both that ugly and that boring-looking?" And you're pretty right, really.

But it's a mamey sapote, and they're another one on that list of fruits and flavors that you'll only ever find with us. Most often we use them to make sorbetto, but given how creamy they are, they actually make a rippin' good vegan frappe, if you're of a mind.

 And who doesn't love walking around with a frappe? The weather's really starting to turn, the trees are finally--FINALLY--starting to turn green in earnest, and we're all waiting with bated breath to hear about strawberries. So you comin' in this weekend? Maybe to stock up on pints for after Easter dinner, if that's your thing? We'll be here!

 

I Saw the Sign

The A-frame sign: a primitive platform for marketing and ideas, a purveyor of witticisms, a beacon of welcome. Maybe they're even pre-social media? Well before I get on my social commentary high horse, I will say that a few of our staff members are really masters of this antiquated art.  People are literally coming in from the streets just to comment on our street signs and they're the talk of the neighborhood.  

Tori is a barista and a-frame sign extraordinaire at Capogiro 13th St. Here are a few of her creations:

Kate is 20th St's Assistant manager and A-frame sign powerhouse: 

So if you are one whose commute through life is brightened just a tiny bit by these signs, next time come in, chat with the artist and try some new spring gelato flavors. 

We will bring you fancy cheese, because we think you're pretty okay.

Hey so. Everyone's hip to what CSA stands for, right? And what a CSA, like, stands for? Well okay, quick primer--CSA stands for community-supported agriculture, and what they're all about is getting eaters (like you) more closely in touch with the farmers and producers who...produce food. So we're pretty excited to let you know that we've paired up with Yellow Springs Farm--we're going to be their West Philadelphia pick-up location for their cheese CSA distribution.

And see, Yellow Springs is all about the goats. Small ruminants are awesome! Also endearing. LOOGIT THIS LIL DUDE (?)!! 

And you know who loves goats? Kids! (That one works on a couple of levels, if you think about it.) Grab up your small fry and go on up to the farm to feed a goat or three.

But you're wondering about the cheese maybe--you can find sign-up forms on the website (here, another link for you) and then select...well, you can for sure choose to pick your cheese up here if you like, but maybe there's somewhere else in town that works better for you. You can also run by the store here and pick up a sign-up form to mail in, if you like. Grab some gelato while you're at it, obvi.

And listen, if you've never had really, really good cheese from goats' milk--not just chevre, I'm saying--you really have to give it a shot. So there's that!

In other local food news, we'll be at the Manayunk spring StrEAT Food Festival next weekend! Which means we're getting well into eating-gelato-outside season, and it's bloody well about time.


(close enough)

Is winter REALLY over yet?

Is it safe to call Winter 2014 over yet? Oh spring, how I burn and pine for you... I mean REAL you. With flowers and pollen and birds. Anyways, I think were just about there. 

It's been a pretty tough couple months at Capogiro Rittenhouse.  Supressing the memory of some weather from the poles vortexing it's way to the northeast United State in early January is impossible for us. Remember when we were closed for nearly three weeks due to exploding pipes?

Well, were in good shape now and gearing up for happier days.  We whipped up our first seasonal batch of italian granita in earl grey vanilla bean and it's delicious with bourbon butterscotch gelato.  

Turnabout being fair play and all that.

Ok so remember last week in this space wherein I tried to argue the case that we don't really want to be those incredibly over-bearing, snobbish coffee wonks and try instead to just be the professional folk who make your coffee?

Well, wouldn't you know it someone's taken up the flag and put together a video about what it can be like for us on OUR side of the counter:




"I'm a writer!" Oh man. And while we wouldn't invite you to exit the premises because you've ordered a pumpkin spice latte, it does pay to read our menu quickly to make sure that you'll be getting the drink you actually want.

So here's our assurance to you: if you're looking for simply a classic, well-prepared cappuccino, we'll make it for you. And we won't get snooty about how ordering a cappuccino after 11 in the morning or so really just isn't done. It's cool--you want to drink coffee, and we want to make coffee. It's kinda what we do.

We do try not to be those people

So I have been making espresso (on and off) for...kind of a long time. If you want to know exactly how long, you'll have to come see me and ask me across the bar so that we can have a chat for a minute while I'm putting together your cappuccino. But suffice it to say that I've been doing it for long enough that I don't know what "wave" we're currently on, or even what "wave" I started on myself however many moons ago. Or what the whole "wave" thing really means, all in all.

Mostly what I know about coffee is that there are a couple of things I've become pretty curmudgeonly about. For one, the behemoth to whom every American espresso cafe owes its existence is now essentially a trans-national mega-conglomerate which has effectively removed any possible soul, craft, technique, or skill from the espresso experience at their cafes. Really, you're going to transition all of your stores to fully automatic espresso machines, huh? Awesome. Oh, and the freeze-dried latte thing? Really? Two thumbs on that one!

I also get pretty bummed that it's so hard to find a simple cup of decent drip varietal coffee. I actually get on this soapbox pretty frequently--certainly any time I'm training someone. But really, I grew up as a wee-lil espresso nugget abusing my kidneys with coffees from actual places like Ethiopia and Sumatra. Then we reached a point sometime between the second? third? (I really don't know) espresso wave where it all became about competition blends or whatever. Which is great! I'm all for an actual reflection of craft and technique in my food and drinks (see above). But do we really have to make it a competition? And moreover I'm kind of a big believer in terroir, and I really like nerding out about how Mexican beans tend to make for a fruity and acidic cup given the volcanic soil. That sort of stuff. (If anyone has a line on a good Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, lemme know, hey?)

So then there's this, which I actually found to be a pretty good (and funny) breakdown on the whole cooler-than-you coffee world we've somehow found ourselves in. I especially like the "hipster Ariel"--"the whole coffee thing was so much cooler before you showed up."

(Quick parenthetical for my favorite coffee joke--how did the hipster burn his tongue? Drank his coffee before it was cool.)

Listen, we make some pretty good espresso at your local Capogiro. We take it seriously...but man, there's a limit to that. I mean, we've all seen this one, right? (The only strong language is in the title, I swear):



I actually do encourage my crew from time to time to watch this video. Because alas, we do pretty regularly watch the latte we just made...die on the bar. And get sad.

So by all means don't drink swill-coffee. This town has a ton of great (ahem, independent) espresso cafes where you can get a drink made well by someone who's actually paying attention. But really man. Competition blends? When did it come to that? When did food have to get so...competitive? I don't get it, really.

Of course, I've been making coffee since before it was cool. You probably haven't heard of the place where I first learned how.

Gross: relative.

So in the interest of preparing yourself for this week's post, you should take a look at this article, wherein the author (British) tries to do one of those funny posts about how weird other cultures' food can be and, as frequently happens, ends up being somewhat belittling and mocking. 

Granted I'm one of those people who's willing to eat a little more broadly than some others, but just because the thought of eating some of the more adventurous bits of an animal squicks you out doesn't mean that someone else is wrong for thinking that those bits they're delicious. To be honest, what's really more unappealing when you know more about the respective food chains of the two countries: the all-American pink-in-plastic boneless, skinless chicken breast in the cooler at your local mega-mart, or cibreo, the Italian pasta sauce that combines cocks' combs, wattles, livers, and un-laid eggs?

The American dish is the tail end of a food chain that seems to strive to keep the eater from knowing what the actual process is that brought that anonymous glob of protein to her plate. The Italian dish is the product of a focus on using as much of the animal as possible, and it just seems more honest. We Americans are still eating the combs, wattles, livers, and all from the the chickens who provided the breasts. The difference is that it's being sold to us as nuggets, salad, and whatever else is the result of mechanically recovering meat.

And in the long run, WHY mechanically recover meat, anyway? Yes, there are going to be leftover bits after you've removed the breasts and the thighs and all, no matter how adept you are at carving. But that's why you make stock, right?

S'anyway. I don't think it's fair to disparage what other cultures think is delicious, even if you find it off-putting yourself. There's the whole discussion about Asian cultures where dog is a fairly common protein source, and most of us object to that. But ultimately that's arbitrary--if you ask a vegetarian, they would probably tell you that it makes no sense at all to favor one animal over another for your diet because of sentimental attachment. (And you don't have to ask a vegan in the first place, because they're going to tell you anyway.)

Does all this mean that I'm champing at the bit to try my first roasted cow eyeball? It does not. At all. We're all always going to have our culinary limits. But try to remember that gross is in the eye of the beholder, and when the conventionally-produced chicken industry on the Delmarva Peninsula creates so much guano that it's killing the Chesapeake Bay, gross really is pretty relative.

Admit it, you've been wondering.

So we're heading up to St. Patrick's Day (happens every year, don't you know) and you can tell we're on top of the dates because the Irish Potato gelato has made its way back into our cases. And you sample it and you like it and you get that it's got cream cheese and coconut and cinnamon and all. But you still don't actually know what an Irish potato is. It's okay, you're totally not alone. I didn't know either until I got here! But an Irish potato is, quixotically, neither especially Irish or (usually) inclusive of any potato. But it is very, very Philadelphia. When they haven't been gelatoed, they look like this:

And you have to admit that they really do look an awful lot like potatoes, what with the pine nut "eyes." And cocoa powder is a whole lot more appealing than the usual gray dirt you usually have to scrub off your potatoes. So all in all they really might be altogether superior to your bog-standard Idaho baker, but probably not really as tasty covered in sour cream and bacon. That's just me, though. If coconut and sour cream sounds like a winning thing to you, then hey. You do that.

So come on in; we should have Irish potato in rotation for the next couple of weeks at least. And after that...who knows? Maybe it won't actually snow any more this year and then we really can start convincing ourselves that this winter will eventually become spring. Because...it will, right? It can't stay cold forever, can it? Let's listen to something vaguely tropical.

CapoBiscotti!!!

Capo-Biscotti, so hot right now.

Pistacchio Spice, Chocolate Hazelnut, and Almond Anise

Coming in three different delicious fashions, capo-biscotti makes the perfect accessory to any hot drink.  We bake them ourselves, and ever since it hit the shelves, we’ve been having trouble keeping the jars on the counter full.

What else is hot?  Certainly not the weather, but we have been selling quite a lot of steaming hot chocolate and warmed-up croissants.  Dont be afraid to ask any of the baristas to heat up croissants, cookies, cakes, or sandwiches!!  They are all so gooey and delicious heated up!

-tori styner

Good news? I guess?

So the Sriracha factory near Los Angeles got the okay to keep producing for the time being, which I'm sure is a relief to...literally dozens of people, I guess. I just can't get that up in arms about it.

For one thing, it's just hot sauce. And it's not even my favored hot sauce--that'd be Tapatio, which I'm struggling to find on the east coast. Don't get me wrong--sriracha's fine. I like it on eggs, unless they're scrambled or an omelette, in which case it's ketchup for me. But there are definitely a few people who go nutsy for it in particular, and I guess I just can't get on board. It's not like there aren't alternatives. If nothing else, there's always  Sambal Oelek from the same people which...I mean, to me it strikes me as being pretty much the same sauce, just without the garlic. Which, sure, you could make a point that without garlic it's a completely different thing. But then again if you're that devoted do sriracha you're maybe one of those people who are just looking for "Asian ketchup," and frankly it's a little lame of you to be so reductionist.

I guess really I just think that an all-purpose condiment--"It's great on everything mewmew!!!"--kind of defeats the purpose of eating a different meal every day. Sure, sriracha's okay on pizza, but if you put it on your pizza and your steak and your eggs AND your potatoes AND whatever else...really everything's just going to taste like sriracha. To be honest, that's basically the same thing as being a picky fourteen year old who won't eat anything that doesn't have ranch dressing on it. (Ranch dressing is also fine, provided you're not putting it on bloody well everything, which, as I make it further into this post, I think is maybe the central point I'm trying to get at here.)

So for sure, sauce up your stuff a bit! But not every time. And not on everything. And maybe not with only one condiment ever. It still strikes me as weird that people put sriracha on tacos. Would you put buffalo hot sauce in your pho? You...would? ...Really? Man. I'm not sure I can actually help you then. Good luck though!

A little bit my own personal nightmare

So if you're wondering what you could get me for my birthday in 2016, I'd be perfectly satisfied with you flying me (and also procuring tickets to a few events, naturally) to the Summer Olympics in Brazil. I do like me some Olympics! Either season is fine. But then there's the whole thing about the sponsors and their branding.

At the summer games in London a couple of years ago, there was quite the hullabaloo over who would be allowed to serve french fries (chips, chap, given that we are talking about the Brits). Which is to say that BY GOLLY AND BY BEGORRAH, ONLY McDONALD'S WILL BE SELLING FRIES (chips) IN THIS HERE OLYMPIC VILLAGE. The sacred cow of brand identity must be fed, I guess. I don't really get it, but I really like that there was a particularly British exception made: restaurants could serve fries (chips) ONLY IF they were served alongside fish. Serving fries (not chips) to go with a lovely piece of fried fish would understandably be an affront to British sensibilities. 

But then I read this week that there's the same sort of malarkey going on around coffee at the Sochi games, and (maybe predictably) McDonald's is at the center of the wee little poo-storm. It seems that since McDonald's has been an Olympic sponsor for going on 259 years, they also have the exclusive rights to sell coffee drinks in the Olympic village. (Do the most highly tuned athletes walking the earth actually eat McDonald's? One has doubts.) BUT, special snowflakes that they are, the NBC media folk apparently installed their own Starbucks in their media center. 

Which is all well and good; multi-billion dollar transnational companies fighting over logos on cups doesn't actually interest me that much. But what gives me pause: can you imagine being trapped in a world where your only food choices are...multi-billion dollar transnational companies? A world where whatever you might drink or eat has been put through the commodities wringer and had ever bit of both soul and profit margin extracted from it? And you're maybe stuck drinking bottled water because the local tap is a bit suspect? Honestly, it all kind of terrifies me a bit, particularly when I look into a potential future where independent businesses have all become extinct. 

So, y'know. When you're out and about this weekend and you need a weebit of caffeine...maybe DON'T patronize the big green monster. There's a ton of great, locally owned places to get espresso (and maybe even some gelato, obvi) in this town. Do that instead. 

Blackout!

POWER OUT!

Myself and barista Matt Sick had a very interesting night at Capogiro on Sunday.  The weather was actually pretty nice (and by that I mean not blizzarding) and the store pretty busy when all of the sudden PSSSHOOOOOOOOMMMMMM.  Lights out.  For the entire block.  Capogiro 13, El Vez, RAW, and Zio’s pizza all lost power during prime time dinner service, with their restaurants full of people midway through meals, dessert, and coffee.  Duross & Langel, Springboard Media, and Doggie Style also lost power but their customers weren’t in the middle of a meal. (probably)

After talking with Peco and realizing that the power outage would last all night, we had to close early, around six.  But before we closed, we got a mad rush of people who still wanted gelato.  Capogiro customers are truly dedicated, gelato-loving people.  I’ve seen them come in for gelato in below freezing weather, during blizzards, during tornado warnings, and on Christmas eve.  And now I’ve seen Capogio customers coming in for gelato when the store was pitch black and the gelato rapidly melting.  THAT’S HOW GOOD IT IS.  People will eat it in the dark!!!  They will use their smartphones flashlight feature to see the labels and order.  We’re so fortunate to have a product that good!

Thank you to all our very understanding blackout customers, and apologies to all who came expecting capogiro later that night and were disappointed.  Today we are back open for business!!  (with full lighting)

-Tori Styner

So we've made it through another one

Admittedly, and I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, I've been the one clamoring for us to get some real winter weather. We can all agree that the last couple of winters have been lame, right? I mean, if I wanted endless months of 40 degrees and rainy, I would have stayed in Seattle. But am I ready to admit to having wearied of all the snow we've gotten this year? I am not! The secret is to have a legit pair of snow boots, a lesson I learned my first winter in northern Vermont.

I'll say, though, that I do kind of wish for the studded tire equivalent of boots. It's not so much tromping through the snow that's a bother as it is the constant risk of falling and busting one's ass because the neighbors are too lazy to shovel and salt their bit of the sidewalk. West Philly's proving to be super hit-and-miss with this. For whatever reason, the folks who manage the old West Philadelphia High School grounds...guys. Listen. If you plow all the fresh snow off of a sidewalk but don't salt--particularly when that bit doesn't get any direct sunlight this time of year--you end up with a block-long skating rink. It was a rough shuffle getting to the store this morning, is what I'm saying.

Took this picture walking home late at night after closing the store...what, two storms ago? Maybe three? Can't remember, but:

My Los Angeles crowd all recoiled in horror, but the consensus among my east coast friends was that seasons are awesome, and one of my friends currently in San Francisco (originally from Delaware, though) noted that she'd greatly prefer feet of snow to a years-long drought, which I thought was a really solid point. California agriculture could be in some real trouble, you know! So today's probably the day to come in and get avocado on...pretty much everything. 

We're going to make it through this winter! Promise. We'll be back to the days of 102% humidity and air quality warnings before you know it. And what the Left Coast crowd doesn't want to tell you? They secretly all hate palm trees. 

Surprising Gifts of the Cold Season

Everyone on the Northeast coast is well aware that the ground is as frozen as the air, and we are all over the weather, but we do have to thank our winter season for some of our favorite fruits!  It may be cold, but there is a lot of fruit still in season that we incorporate into our gelato and sorbetto every morning.  Here are five fruits and veggies  that you may be surprised to learn are in season right now:

KALE

This vitamin A and C rich nutrient is in season right now.  Originating in Europe as one of the most common green vegetables, Kale has found a hefty place in the American diet, and grows exceptionally well in the winter.

MANDARINS/CLEMENTINES/BLOOD ORANGES

Packed with all the vitamin C you need to ward off sickness, these citrus are among many that thrive in the winter.  Capogiro makes a particularly potent Mandarino sorbetto that has been very popular this year.

PERSIMMONS

Another fruit containing a good amount of vitamin C and A, this is a less common, but super delicious fruit of the winter.  For those who have never seen or tasted one, come on in and get a sample of our Persimmon Sorbetto, you are guaranteed to fall in love with a strange new fruit.

KIWIS

High in vitamin C and potassium, kiwis are an excellent tart treat to keep you thinking of summer, even though their growing season is actually in the winter. If you don’t like the taste of kiwis, you can actually use them as a meat tenderizer. If you do like kiwis, you will love our kiwi sorbetto.

GRAPEFRUIT

Grapefruit campari is one of the best sorbetto that Capogiro makes, and its way more prominent in the winter.  Yet another nutrient rich fruit, particularly in vitamin C.  Stop in and give it a sample.

Most of these foods will not only make your tastebuds sing, but help you fight winter chills and colds with all of their nutrients!!

-Tori Styner

Weird food politics at the Olympics? Weird!

Olympics! I'm a big fan. BIG fan! I'm not a jingoist or anything, but I really do like the idea of people competitively representing their countries in wholesome, meaningful ways that don't involve uranium, be it enriched or depleted.

But then, you know. There always seems to be SOME kind of weirdness going on behind the scenes and away from the usual competition. It's probably because of all the money involved and the predictable chicanery of how all that money gets slipped into various pockets (but never the athletes'. Heavens no! They must remain pure and unbesmirched by such lowly concerns as compensation and, like, their livelihoods, much like America's own "student athletes!")

And there's for sure some larger, weirder weirdness afoot in Russia. The accommodations sure seem...lacking, especially for the media. And c'mon man, lay off the dogs! Granted a bunch of strays running around isn't always as charming as it may sound--ask my aunt about all the satos on Vieques sometime--but there's probably SOMETHING better to do with all of them than a mass slaughter.

But now things are getting snippy about Greek yogurt bound for the American delegation. On one hand you have a country--its senators even, which seems excessive and maybe misguided, but whatever--arguing that their athletes are dependent on this one particular product because it's been part of their training regimen this whole time, and I can attest myself that protein after a burly workout can be an even better pain reliever than, you know, pain relievers. On the other hand, you have a country who sure does love its bureaucracy and is noting that the proper forms have not been filled out. Maybe we could get the Brits to help out? They always seem so confident of their talents at navigating through red tape.

But on the other other hand...maybe not? Maybe the American athletes could find a local alternative for their yogurting needs? EVERYwhere has its own particular ways of making and serving yogurt. And at this point, everyone knows that the manufacturing process for Greek yogurt is crazy-wasteful and rough on the environment, right? Right, of course you knew that.

So yeah, I guess I'm on the side of...well, no one's side really. I just sort of think that if you're going to fly halfway around the world you should probably make it a point to try the local food instead of insisting on exploding the carbon footprint of an already dubious product just because you're a picky eater and have to have THIS ONE THING because...what. Do they really not have yogurt around the Black Sea? Color me skeptical.

You know us, and you know how important local foods are to us. Which is why we're so lucky that Pequea Valley is so close and so good. Product shot!!

So yeah. Eat local! And here's hoping the Canadians get the collective grin knocked off their cheerfully and politely cocky...enh. Who am I kidding? They're all so nice, even when they're pummeling you in the neutral zone. Hockey reference!

Tea Crazy

It seems like the snow and cold will never end!!  Good thing we have a wide selection of teas to keep you warm and to keep the colds off!  Many people think of Capogiro as their primary spot for gelato and LaColombe coffee, but did you know we have a selection of 15 different teas??

We proudly serve Two Leaves and a Bud organic tea, and it is one of the best bagged varieties out there.  Their bags are made of a fine mesh and are pyramid shape.  They look just beautiful steeping.

Two Leaves and a Bud Tea Menu

BLACK TEA:
 Darjeeling

 Earl Grey

 Assam

 Mountain High Chai

GREEN TEA

 Jasmine Petal

 Orange Sencha

 Tropical Green Goji

 Tamayokucha

 Gen Mai Cha

WHITE TEA

 Acai White Tea

HERBAL TEA

 Peppermint

 PomiBerry

 Alpine Berry

 African Sunset

 Chamomile

Next time you are in, take a look!!

-Tori Styner

One more reason why I'm cheering for the Seahawks on Sunday

Because I for sure am. Obviously having lived in Seattle for five years, I'm a fan of all (well, now both) of the pro teams there. The only pro football games I've ever gotten to go to were at Seahawk Stadium Qwest Field Centurylink Field, and trust me that it's exactly as loud as you've heard. The noise on the away teams' third downs is like a physical force in your gut, and it's awesome. Granted this was when the Seahawks were relatively crappy, and you could actually get a seat in the stadium! $100+ for literally the last row in the house, but have you checked Eagles tickets lately? Insanity. Also the reaction to Richard Sherman's post-game interview the other week was ugly, and if you've written him off as...well, as embodying any of the insults people have hurled at him lately, you for sure need to learn more about him.

But then there's this story out of New York about a bunch of Broncos players eating everything in sight at a Manhattan sushi restaurant and then getting shirty that the restaurant didn't offer steak. And then required the restaurant staff to...go find steak. And cook it for them. That's pretty lame. Actually, that's amazingly lame. And entitled. And demonstrates a really ugly level of self-regard.

Listen, when you're deciding on a restaurant to eat at, you should...be ready to eat the food that restaurant's offering. Go to a Mexican place because you want tacos al pastor. If you want pho you should go to a pho restaurant. (Luckily since we have Washington Avenue, you can have yourself a pretty good restaurant crawl and have tacos AND pho in the space of an hour or so, though you might find yourself waddling by the end.)

I remember going to a relatively high-end restaurant with a friend a few years ago. He was considering a shrimp dish that looked amazing, but at the time he was a picky eater and wasn't going to entertain shrimp. And he asked for it to be made with chicken breast instead. I was pretty mortified. The restaurant totally accommodated him and more power to them for it, but I made the argument to my friend that the chef had absolutely designed the dish with shrimp in mind, not the generally useless (at least I have little use for it) damp rag of protein that is the chicken breast. Eat the food the chef has in mind! It's kind of the point of the whole thing.

Anyway, now we know what kind of people the Broncos are--or at least a certain subset of them, since I'm not actually so vitriolic a sports fan as to paint the whole team with the whole broad brush. But I'm still looking forward to Beast Mode Beast Mode-ing all over some fools' heads this Sunday. Go Hawks!

Fun with knives

See, I don't get to cook much in my own house, though let's not worry too much about why. (Ok, one big reason is that my roommates are vegans, which, I mean. I do like meat a bit.) But I also enjoy cooking recreationally sort of a lot and get kind of bummed out that I don't get to do it more often.

So I'm one of those guys who takes his knives on vacation. Does that seem weird to you? I'm really asking--it seems like the most normal thing in the world to me, but maybe there are people out there who would find it disquieting that I travel with a selection of large, very sharp knives. But man, one of my favorite moments from my last vacation was...just making a salad the first evening. Looked roughly like this:

Ok actually it looked exactly like that, although large gin and tonics always look larger than they really are in pictures. And if you truly want to nerd out, that's a Wusthof 8 inch heavy chef's knife, which works well for those of us who tend toward "paws" more than "hands."

Where it really gets wonky is when I need to fly with my knives. Of course I don't think it's a good idea to have the airplane cabin full of folks with large knives (or any knives for that matter, really). And I don't think it's likely that I'm going to feel a sudden, forceful urge to chiffonade some basil at 30,000 feet. But if you're flying me down to Los Angeles to cook Thanksgiving dinner for you and your ragamuffin orphan-bachelor friends, I'm seriously not going to rely on your on-sale-at-Target-for-$6.99 weird semi-serrated "chef's knife." I'm bringing my own. (Alright fine, sometimes me traveling with my knives is out of sheer snobbery. But do you know how frustrating it is to chop down fifteen pounds of potato with what's effectively an over-sized butter knife?) So sure, I'll cheerfully check a bag with my knife roll in it, aware of all the attendant headaches that's going to cause. It's worth it. 

But then I read this NYTimes quickie travel piece by Alton Brown where he points out that some of his kitchen equipment was prima facie dangerous, a threat to the safety and well-being of everyone on board the plane, a clear and present danger embodied by...an omelette pan. 

An omelette pan.

To be fair, this apparently went down a few months after the September 11th attacks, and maybe everyone had their danger meters a little skewed. But (and I think Mr. Brown is probably with me on this) I really just can't quite...I mean, how are you going to threaten someone with an omelette pan? Am I under-appreciating the chances of someone having two too many Mrs. Ts bloody marys and toddling around the cabin, whapping people in the head like Little Bunny Foo Foo with...an omelette pan?

Having written all of that, it's actually only now that I've figured out my subconscious reason for it: I could use a vacation. And as much as I love seasons (and I do), my friend in LA pointed out yesterday that it was so cold there that he had to put on a sweater. It was in the low 60s. 

Biscotti and other news

Hello, hello, everyone! Apologies for any inconvenience at 13th and 20th street locations this past week, we’ve had a bout of bad luck!! But bad things come in threes, so with the pipe break at Capo20, and the of the panini and gelato case's having their hiccups at Capo13, we figure we’ve used up all the bad luck that 2014 has to offer.

Now for some good news in the form of biscotti:

 

Capogiro 13 is now serving our very own, homemade, cappuccino-ready biscotti!!

We now have these flavors:

Chocolate Dipped Candied Ginger Biscotti

Pistacchio Spice Biscotti

Only 2 bucks each!!!

-Tori Styner

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

You know how sometimes you close your eyes and when you open them, seconds later, five years have passed?

Me too.

Dear Capogiro,

Remember that time the van exploded outside of 13th Street?


Or the day we got our event license a mere moments before L&I closed, the day before PIFA's massive, wildly successful Street Fair?

That time National Geographic said we were the BEST ice cream in the WORLD!?

How about when everyone who worked Meatopia except me almost dropped dead from injury or heat exhaustion, yet we somehow came out of it as the most popular kids at the party?

The triumphant reopening of 13th Street after the gelato case caught fire?

I realize these things probably sound like bad things, but for near disasters, they ended up being some of my favorite moments. I could go on like this for pages, as I could go on with the names of the people I have come to know and love in my time here. But for now, I'll say that tomorrow is my last day. And tonight I am awash in memories and nostalgia and excitement and, above all, so, so grateful.

You guys have been my insides and my laughs and my tears and my saviors and my heros. Y'all have taught me everything - how to be better than I ever thought I could, and how to drive laps around the city in the middle of August over and over and over again to make sure everyone had what they needed in order to rockstar the hell out of a crazy Friday night.

Steph - for all the recipes, all the support, and all the pizza -
I'll sure never forget it.

I love you guys. Be good. Stay cool.

(Cool, get it? 'Cause gelato?)