A few years back this couple would come into our 13th Street cafe with their 4 year old. He was adorable. Big round eyes ringed with black lashes that complimented his perfectly puckered pink lips. You could eat him. He would plaster his dimpled hands and forehead onto the glass of the gelato case and point ferociously in the direction of the chocolates while bouncing on his toes. One of his parents would then say, "A large Cioccolato Scuro for him and a small Blackberry and Watermelon for me and a small Pistacchio and Nocciola, thanks." When I first witnessed this, our lovely conista did not inform them that a large usually contains 4 flavors. Conista just went to business and scooped four scoops into a large cup and handed it to Mom.
Our little cerub had already skipped down the cafe to the martini chairs and was sitting happily, twisting his legs back and forth while gripping the table and humming a little tune. I stood motionless, coffee becoming cold, as I watched Mom walk to her babe with his arms outstretched, awaiting to intercept the cup before it hit the table. Perhaps the large Scuro is for the table? The happy family sharing the rich dark and incredibly adult flavor. Nope. He immediately grasped the cup and spoon and dug in. I moved closer. He was shoveling in the scuro with gusto, as kids do, and chattering to his parents. His parents worked at their small cups, looking downward and nodding in agreement to the words of wonder coming from their scuro monster. I was mesmerized. The three were the picture of contentment.
Just then, our steadfast conista brushed behind me. I snapped out of it.
Me: "What the....does that tiny thing order a GRANDE of ONLY SCURO?!?!"
Conista: "Yup. They are in all the time."
Me: "Do they realize that he is eating more that 1/2 a pound of Scuro?!?! Just SCURO? It's so rich and dark and, and...adult? Just ONE flavor?" You see, we encourage mixing flavors. Gelato is incredibly dense and pairing flavors enhances the experience.
Conista: "We told them that the first time and maybe the second. They said that he is an incredibly picky eater and they were surprised and how he loved the bittersweet chocolate. It's healthy, so why not?"
Me: "Wow. That kid has great taste."
Kids love the Scuro. It is so dark and bittersweet that I am surprised when I see kids choosing that flavor. Sasha and Malia opted for Dulce de Leche! Our good friends have a Scuro Monster (Mister Gabe, who can nail a shot in the upper 90 from 20 yards out!) For his birthday, we arrived at their home with a 2.5 litre of Scuro. This is what arrived in my inbox recently, captioned "At Last! The Perfect Ending!"
I must say, kids are growing up fast these days. At least their palates are! I cannot imagine my parents sharing their precious dark chocolate. My dad would hoard Hersey Dark bars in his desk and would never share. Nope. When I see Gabe polishing off serious chocolate, I feel better about feeding my little guy sweetbreads and when he asked what they were, I simply responded, "Good aren't they? Taste like fried chicken." He was about 7 and he just pushed his hair back from his eyes and just nodded, eyes focused on the "chicken". Muhahahahaha!
There have been many misconceptions about ginger kids; that they have no hearts. that they hate fun, that they come from Atlantis, that they will consume your souls, blah, blah, blah. However, at Capo, we celebrate the diversity of all people, day walkers or not. Pictured here is my personal favorite ginger kid enjoying some lovely gelato. Her parents are super awesome (although oddly enough, not gingers themselves), and their three year-old daughter is one of our coolest customers. Here she is wondering where all of the scuro has gone, and probably plotting how she will smite the empty cup for it's treachery. 
Hey, you're cool with us, ginger nation. You are welcome in our joint any time, so come on down! Except you, Carrot Top. You're a weirdo. No gelato for you.
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