Pope Francis says relax & have an espresso

Sure, all the wind-kissed faces on E.Passyunk of late have been imparting to me "Oh, it's too cold for gelato" such and such. A single tear rolls down a cheek as eyes glance up toward our list of flavors. I'll then witness the tundra clad patrons sneak a peek or three at our Cadillac of an espresso machine. The Victoria Arduino Venus Century is literally one in a hundred and deserves to be gawked at. Have you heard the Pope has the first in the edition? It must be a mighty fine day when you are granted the hat of the papacy. So along with being the head of church and monarchy affair, he gets to use this puppy, in fact. So please, don't fret, South Philly - the shots are a-flowin' and the temperature in CapoYunk is fine (a warm 22°C [72°F]) Cheers!

Snowdown Time

It's snowing in Philly y'all! Know what that means? Parking throwdown! Parking in certain neighborhoods is insane! Almost 3rd world. I live in the Art Museum Area and parking is ridiculous. After 5:30 at night? Good luck my friend. Dinner parties at Casa Reitano always contain some conversation of how sorry they were late, but they drove around for 30 minutes and managed to find a space 7 blocks away. Good times.

So back to the snow. You throw snow in and parking is extra special. A Snowdown! The most special part of Philly for parking is South Philly. South Philly is home of some incredible things. It has the Italian Market, the sports arenas, great restaurants, a high concentration of hipsters, young families and families that have lived there for generations. Has anyone seen the show Parking Wars? It is based in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Parking Authority is probably the most hated group in Philadelphia. The meter maids are horrific. In fact, the state pays more disability to PPA employees in Philadelphia than it does for all the police officers and fire fighters in the entire STATE! If that does not illustrate what we deal with here, nothing does. If you own a business and try to get a delivery when you are located on a small colonial street, your vendors hate you. They struggle to park, run in your order and BAM! Surprise! A ticket waiting for them. Most drivers have to pay their own tickets. We try to stand outside and guard their truck for them. You can park legally somewhere and as you are running back to your car with, according to your watch or phone, one minute to spare on the meter, and there is the monster, writing your ticket and placing it on your windshield. I could go on and on and tell story after story.

Curious enough, the PPA does not apply their talents to South Philly. In South Philly, they double park, park down the center of Broad Street, park on the sidewalks and reserve their parking spot with pieces of garbage, pails, chairs, laundry baskets, you name it. I am always tempted to move them as I walk past. It is infuriating. Why are they PPAfree? No tickets on any windshields. Why? NOT FAIR! What is their secret and will they please share? Do they sprinkle some sort of repellent, similar to tiger urine or copper flashing?

Sarah sent this first thing this morning. She is brilliant and funny enough, lives in South Philadelphia, so this hits home.

Enjoy!

New and Exciting Things at the Yunk!

We get a lot of seasoned Capogiro patrons down here on Passyunk Ave, more than a few of them having been introduced to gelato while spending time in Italy. They seem to know our gelato inside and out, and for these customers especially we're proud to introduce something new, and something they definitely haven't had since that last trip to Rome.
I present you, most treasured foodies, with....gelato spaghetti:Do not adjust your dial. What you're seeing is a blackberry sorbetto 'meatball' nestled in two scoops of fior di latte gelato that has been pushed through a special press, topped off with mixed berry preserves and shaved white chocolate 'parmasean'.
Making its debut at CapoYunk this Saturday, gelato spaghetti is as customizable as anything else you're used to getting here. You choose two flavors- one for the spaghetti itself, and another flavor for the meatball. But that's not all! You get your choice of gravy too: red (berry preserves made with local strawberries, raspberries, currants and wineberries), or brown (house-made hot fudge). In addition to its awesome presentation, it may just be the best sundae you ever tasted. I know you're curious. Possibly a bit skeptical, but that's okay. Have we ever steered you wrong?
And hey, while I'm on the subject of mouth watering toppings, starting this Saturday we'll also begin offering those mixed berry preserves and hot fudge on any of our three sizes of cups! We know you've been asking for them. Panna is complimentary, as usual.

We'll see you this weekend!!
-Maggie

We're baaaaaaaaaaaaack

We could talk about the flash mobs, Free Energy being signed to DFA, or about the decline of print media. We could expound on the consumer confusion of the overturn of American health care. Or we could get down to the nitty gritty...


THE PASSYUNK SCOOP SHOP IS OPEN!



We dusted off all the family portraits, polished Victoria-- the espresso machine, straightened our bowties.
We're smoothing our hands and smiling ear to ear.
It's great to see you South Philadelphia!
You've been missed.

And we're gearing up for a great summer.

Are you also having the perfect Spring day??

Toro, my English Bulldog, wants to know. What did you cook yesterday? Did you sit in the park? Did you have gelato? How do you prefer your espresso? I have to say, as he noses around the kitchen waiting for something to be dropped, it was pretty much the perfect day, weather-wise, which means as far as I'm concerned, it was the perfect day. 20th Street was hopping all through the afternoon, ran some errands, and at day's end I'm sipping on the perfect Manhattan (DON'T SHAKE IT!) while the boy toils in the kitchen making artichokes with pancetta, Toulouse sausage, radishes with salt and butter and pork loin marinated in Dijon, honey, parsley and sherry vinegar and smoked over hickory. I'll rent him out to you if you want dinner made, sometime. Just let a girl know. (Incidentally, radishes are about to hit their most perfect - slice em up with a little salted butter and I'm telling you, it's one of the greatest, most simple starters you can conjure.)
I spent my day off Sunday painting our backyard. Yes, painting the backyard. For those of you not familiar with the South Philly Row Home, that involves the three cinderblock walls and the back of our house, which previously resembled something of a prison yard. Now with a coat of white paint, life has been brought to the lifeless, and I'm so itching to bombard our little space with plants. Most of which I will kill, but c'est la vie.
My question to you is, how do you usher in Spring? Plants? Parties? Walk around the city? The BBC dance that Steph, Kamala and Dan do around the Big Kitchen?? Capogiro? I heard so many people today say they were "finally ready" to bring the gelato back into their daily routine.
What's your "it's Spring" celebration involve??