Ready to Eat

I don't know about you, but this warm weather can make a girl dream..

xo Jessica

It is Spring in Philly!

I don't think you understand what it is like for us in the city of brotherly love. Living on a roller coaster. I moved here in 1988 (yes, I am old) and I remember telling a friend, "It does not snow in Philly." I never owned a proper winter coat. I always had some cute leather or tweedy jacket with a thin lining that looked great, but would crumple at any poor weather. It was fine, with the exception of rain or high wind. I did not own a woolen hat, umbrella or winter boots, unless I loved the way it looked. Summarily, it was about fashion. I could dress the way I preferred with out letting those pesky matters of protecting one's skin or extremities get in the way.

It must have been 1995 or early 1996 when this crazy blizzard hit. The city shut down. Nothing moved or functioned. John and I put on goggles and mismatched ski gear and waded through the snow to this little Belgium place down the street. The owners could not get home to the burbs and decided to stay open and feed the neighbors. We drank Hoegaarden with 6 or 7 of our neighbors. Communed at the bar, we hunched over our bowls of mussels and crisp fries while teasing jazz played and we laughed. Occasionally we looked outside as the snow pushed the limbs of the cherry trees downward.

Since that blizzard 15 years ago, our weather has changed. Snow is common and I now have a proper down coat with all the appropriate accessories. It is snowing on my block right at this moment!! I am not huddled in a cafe eating frittes (that cafe closed, but I now have The Belgian Cafe to get my mussel/beer/fry fix), I am dancing under the cherry blossoms. It's SPRING!!! The cherry blossoms are piling in the streets. Hugh drifts of pink pushed up against steps and covering cars. It's lovely.

Philly is a beautiful place in the spring. My farmer told me the strawberries are starting to show fruit and rhubarb will be here next week. Pinch me. Winter is done.

Oh, It Feels So Good!

Yunk is open, my friends. So nice. So good. We are home. Sarahthebest texted me Saturday and said, "All of South Philly is coming in!!" It was awesome. We were going to wait until the warm weather was truly here to open, but John said, "NO MORE WINTER! That's it. We're done. Open Yunk. Now." Yes, m'lord. Right away, m'lord. So glad I listened this time.

My aunt was in the city with my cousin for the Flower Show. It is an incredible event, but I have a hard time with crowds of that size. Suddenly, I feel that I cannot breath. Honestly, the last time I was there I was pregnant. Was it hormones or was it the throngs of people and the scent of gardenias? Hard to say. It is a shame that I am so crazy. I miss the show each year, but my Aunt does not. She has not missed a show in years and years and years. We went to Jones for lunch and then she asked, "Is the store with the old photos open, yet?" You see, those old photos at the Yunk are old pictures of John's family and my family. I had forgotten that she had never been there. Off to Yunk....

She walked through the door and her entire face lit up. There she was, probably only 19 years old sitting on my father's, her brother's lap. My aunt's eyes scanned the room and she slowly walked forward into the cafe. Her mom, her father, and Uncle Bernie. Some long lost relatives that are truly hideous (I don't think they have teeth) made her laugh, then her eyes filled with tears. I quickly put a cup of Orange Cardamom sorbetto in her hands. She does not like to mix flavors.

It was Sunday and the rain was falling outside. A few couples and a family were sitting about and enjoying some gelato. Ezra was working and he said that the day was slow with the rain. That's what happens in a neighborhood joint. Rain or not, it was glorious to be open on East Passyunk Avenue. We missed it. Thanks for coming in South Philly!

Dry Cows

Tandy is awesome. She found out about the cows' accents and all sorts of weird stuff. Even though I laughed out loud, then shuddered at her gimp dungeon, I love how her mind works. Funny how she wrote about cows this week. Cows are on our minds as of late. I am sure it is inevitable with the approach of spring. We are all gearing up for the onslaught of work and itching for the new stuff to come in. We are planning our schedules and Dan mentions that we have a problem. Our awesome dairy herd is having problems. What!?!?! Well, it seems that when you are as picky as we are and our standards are as high as they are, you tend to limit your options. We love this milk. We love those cows. We love that farmer. It seems that he has a lot of dry cows. Dry cows? What are those you ask. Well, they are dairy cows who are not producing milk. It's normal for him and the girls, but scary for us. He only has around 50 bovines. This is a problem. He is on it! He promised. Mark is not only a dairy farmer, but a vet. These cows are loved. Look at him and the love!

Just as Dan and I were discussing this, Ian, our farmer's son, and an outstanding farmer in his own right, just stopped by. We talked about getting old and shared some old pics. We talked about how this winter will never end and how much we are looking forward to spring. He needs the ground to thaw and I need the warmth in order to save my sanity. Just ask my husband. I know I am nuts, it is part of my charm. Ian and his lovely girl Barbie just want to get the leeks out of the ground and start the work. This led to "Steph, what do you want me to grow for you? I have some really interesting green cardamom leaves that I want you to try." Oh man, are you in trouble!! I will take those leaves and get to work! They look waxy and tough. Ian assures me that the flavor is easy to extract. Okay! It looks purdy. see?

What about wild fennel??? The purple kind? Absolutely!! Ian just needs the seeds. I have got connections. I got yer back. I told him that it is great for sausage and Marc Vetri will take some. He does not know it yet. I will let him know. What about Camomille? Hmmmm? Oh, so many ideas. Ian wants to know if want lemongrass. Yes, please.

People, spring is HERE! I know it. It has to be. Let's all join hands and will it to happen. We need the warmth, we need the grass to grow, we need the cows to begin producing, we need onion grass for the cows (the love it!), we need the happiness. WE NEED GELATO! I love the winter flavors, but I want something new. I want some wild fennel with...with...with....chocolate? Ricotta? Is that too savory? I am going to make my own Ricotta. Yup. Close your eyes, can you taste it?

The Lovely Return of Spring's Glorious Flavors

Just arrived Springtime flavors, in order of appearance above: Caribbean Sunrise Papaya sorbetto (with hints of ginger), Thai Iced Tea gelato, and Kiwi sorbetto.

Come in here and get a sample, now! No, seriously, on your walk to work tomorrow, stop by one of our locations (chances are you walk by at least one of them a day), and ask the smiling barista that greets you to sample a taste of Spring. Go ahead, TREAT YOURSELF. You deserve it!!

And I guess I should mention that because our flavors change daily, just because a flavor IS in season, doesn't mean it will be at each location every day. We like to mix it up. That said, check our Daily Flavor List if your in search for a particular flavor at a particular location.

Spring, we LOVE you.

The Last of Winter Cooking

There are certain things that I make only in the winter. The long time spent on the stove, warming the kitchen and filling the house with delicious smells that last all day long are something for the cold weather. I always find myself somehow panicked with the prospect of losing these foods until Fall. I also feel liberated. Dinner is ready with a handful of basil from the backyard and a pot of boiling water.

Even though this was the most glorious weekend, I had purchased short ribs for Sunday dinner a few days before. I had to use them! So, I braised all day Sunday. I had to escape midday for a few soccer games in the delicious warm sun and gentle breezes, but we returned to the dark sky and had a winter dinner. Short ribs with polenta, sauteed mushrooms, green beans with garlic and oil and Big Salad (every salad is Big Salad).

We finished dinner and had big bowls of Mint Stracciatella. It felt like a spring dinner with the light minty gelato punctuated by bittersweet chocolate. Okay, I am ready for the warm weather and all its exquisite offerings. The Seven Weeks of Want are over!!

IT'S SPRING! IT'S SPRING! SPRING IS HERE!

Yes, I was screaming! Get out! Get out there! Get outside now! It's beautiful and Philadelphia is ALIVE! Motorcycles, babies, the drive is jammed with people. I could barely weave through the strollers on my run. Holy crap we are the breeding type in Philly. Who knew? I mean, I subject my kids to the city, but I did not know I was in such company! Awesome.

So, what to do? Anything. Run the Rocky Steps!! I have yet to run, walk, drive past those steps without witnessing the Rocky run! It's glorious. Do the run, walk to Capo and get a gelato. That's the plan!

Get outside. NOW!

Yunk out da' Trunk!!

So, we're swabbing the decks and dusting off the cups @ Capo-Yunk. We're straightening the Reitano's family's pictures on the walls and solemnly shaking our heads when we gaze out the back window into what our baristi had made the loveliest lil' garden in all of South Philadelphia. It'll come back, babies! Swear! (They worked SO hard... lets not talk about that).

Some of you guys got a little loco over us closing for the season down there... There were angry phone calls and threatening notes shoved anonymously into our doorway.

"WHO THE !@##* CLOSES A GELATERIA?!"
(If we get more this year, we'll scan 'em and then post 'em on the blog.... maybe frame 'em. Oh Philly, you guys are crazy adorable, please don't ever stop)


Capoyunk 2010 will be sure to bring back the sticky, yummy, summery goodness that you got so ticked off at us for taking away. That reminds me of the summer I caught Cursive on the Curiosa tour... there was a super drunk guy "standing" beside me screaming; "JUST PLAY THE HITS. WE WANT THE HITS! GIVE US THE HITS!"

We will indeed bring you, our adoring fans, the hits. Movie night? Done. Free popcorn and all. Sweet, holy lattes, cappuccinos, affogatos and did I mention gelato and sorbetto out the yin-yang?! We're even gonna get Steph to whip Yunk up some of her new cookies, granola and jams just for the occasion. All because we ♥ you. Please don't yell at us anymore... we're sensitive.

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??

We Are So PUMPED For This Weather!!!

We are enjoying our fourth, maybe fifth cup of coffee and complaining that we need to take naps on the 50 lb. sacks of sugar. Kamala, Dan and I are laughing pretty hard. We have a huge case of the "f&*@ its". You know what I mean. We are talking about anything BUT work; people we hate on the train, chili dogs, coffee, the pending Philly soda tax (we approve), what makes us happy, gay political scandals, tattoos, and we all agree that children dressed as cheerleaders are creepy and that we could use another arm. Dan is freely and gleefully tapping his feet and doing beat box and Kamala is getting her poke on (they are building her her own booth for the tattoo shop!) I just made Dan cry by demanding he make more coffee. HE DRANK IT ALL! He's making coffee. Thank you Dan.

We really need to get back to work. The weather is turning and I think that we are about to explode. 60 degrees today in lovely Philadelphia. We are gonna be busy. After a gruesome winter, this is so sweet. The cafes are hopping, we have new products and it is warm out. WARM!!! We are busy. You want to know what it is like working for Capo? Kamala thinks it is functional chaos. Lately, with the weather changing, we have been unruly and jumpy. Kamala wants Dan to have a big party at his new house, Dan wants to yodel and I just want a nap.

Enjoy the weather, get out and take the dog for a walk. Better yet, take my dogs for a walk. Or just take them. Rittenhouse Square should be packed and we all need to shake that winter funk off! This is the dance we do when we need to shake off the funk...

HOLI! HOLI! HOLI!

This past week was the Festival of Colors in India celebrating Spring. During the festival, people smear color, called gulal, on each other's face and splash colored water, called rang. They dance and sing in the streets and have parties. Young and old, together, seamlessly. It makes me happy.

I want Holi. Can you imagine how much fun that would be? After this horrid snow and chilling cold. Look at those colors? The vibrant happy, almost violently happy colors. It makes me happy.

I want to throw pink water filled balloons out my window and have the person I peg look up and smile. I think I will just have to settle for Tiffin. Honestly, it is not really settling. Tiffin is delicious and I could eat Saag Paneer every day. I love ordering home delivery. The cutest guys show up wearing ties and freshly combed hair. It makes me happy.

Do you think they'd mind if I hit them with a pink water filled balloon?