People Love our bagel bags.

Zuppa!

Soup is back, everybody! Steph has already started making batches of deliciousness for us, and that means that autumn is on the horizon. So far, we have some timeless vegetarian classics like Black Lentil, Cream of Potato, Yellow Lentil, and Cream of Tomato, just to get you started, and others will appear in our stores shortly (I can't wait for Potato Corn Chowder with BACON). In the meantime, here are some fun facts about soup:

Soup was first discovered about 60,000 years ago when a chicken lost a knife fight with a llama and was subsequently tossed into a molten geyser. The llama was a strict vegan but watched with smug satisfaction as the cave people started chowing down on his enemy.

Morbidly enough, the first 'wedding soup' was the result of a cannibal who hated his in-laws so much that he served them for a ceremonial nuptial supper. When asked what his secret was, he replied, "it's all relatives."

In post-industrial Britain, 'orphan taunting' was a popular sport amongst the aristocracy. The elite would stand around eating countless bowls of soup, whereas adorable little street urchins would be mocked and publicly humiliated if they asked for more. The famous combination of soup AND sandwich was invented by these rich fancypants who sought to take their bullying to a next level.

Dr. Campbell invented the first condensed soup because he was going to ride on the Hindenburg airship and didn't want to have to pay extra for checked baggage. Luckily for him, Campbell was detained at customs for questioning in an unrelated drug smuggling operation and never ended up boarding the vessel.

It is widely rumored that cold soups such as gazpacho are just as good as hot soups. This is a vicious lie and was created by General Electric in order to sell more refrigerators.

Seasons Schmeasons!

After over 2 decades in Philadelphia, I've finally come to the conclusion that I just don't have a favorite season. It's not that I don't like them, I sort of like them all, actually... for different reasons. But there's not one part of the year that I like more than all the rest. What took me 25 years to discover, is that it's the transition periods, the times between the true hearts of the seasons, that I love.
Cozy feelings of fall to winter, hopeful sunny mornings from winter into spring, gently warmer spring to summer, and  summer to glorious fall. Summer to fall is just plain wonderful. If you don't let your mind wander far enough into the chilly weather mindset, fall is perfect. Absolutely nothing compares.

Evenings begin to get cooler. The smell of the air changes. Time outside can be t-shirt or cardigan time. Or both! Nights around the fire pit aren't mosquito-ridden. Leaf piles begin to appear. You can play in (most of) those leaf piles. Teenagers aren't quiiiite as scantily clad. Pleasantly brisk mornings, and the piping cup of coffee that is so satisfying on those brisk mornings. Layers of clothing - often starring flannel - start to come out. APPLES happen! Delicious, amazing, crisp, juicy, pure, fresh, APPLES.

My top three? The things that make leaving the warm days of summer behind worth it?
1. The bea-U-tiful colors of changing leaves!
2. It's appropriate to bake pies again.
3. Sweet Potato Pecan Praline Gelato.

I just can't wait.
Neither can my boyfriend, obviously. See below. What a cutie.

CapoYunk!!!!

People really love us here in south Philly. If being here practically every day for the last 6 months has taught me anything it is that. Here at Yunk' we can't even classify certain people as 'regulars', to do so would be silly seeing as I see the same hundreds of faces day in and day out. Around these parts EVERYONE is a regular. Heck, right now as I type we have our weeks knitting circle chatting it up over lattes and gelato right above my head! (our office is in the basement :3)

A few months ago MANY of our customers began questioning me on what day we would be closing this year. I tried my hardest to be as informative as possible, but to be honest I had no idea! Slowly the curious questions turned to forceful demands (in the sweetest way possible), "PLEASE! We love you guys, don't close!" If I had a nickle for every time this summer a customer insisted to me that they, "Love gelato in the winter too." I would probably have a fortress made of nickels. Maybe a Bentley made of nickles too.

I promised everyone I would let them know of any developments in this matter ASAP. I mentioned this blog many times so everyone knew that they could check for updates as much as they wanted (I imagine many of them sitting up late at night, refreshing the blog over and over, bloodshot eyes, waiting....waiting) Well folks get ready, because this is the first update in our schedule for this season I have received!

AS OF RIGHT NOW: We will remain open as long as you guys keep getting pumped for gelato! That's right! You guys keep your enthusiasm as high as it has been and hey, who knows? We could be open forever! Everyone should keep this in mind especially considering how South Philly has missed out on some of our AWESOME winter flavors the past two years.

SO KEEP UP THE EXCITEMENT AND WE'LL KEEP SLINGIN' THAT CREAM!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Gelato will save the world.

--When Chocolate Peanut Butter starts his guitar solo, Jimmy Page gets his lighter out.

--When you eat Chocolate Peanut Butter too fast, you don't get brain freeze. You get brain ASPLODE.


--Chooch tells Roy Halladay to pitch around Chocolate Peanut Butter. (And Ruben Amaro Jr. keeps calling us wanting to know what we'd want in trade.)

--Hurricane Irene thought about pummeling Philly, saw Chocolate Peanut Butter giving her his cool glare, and left to go beat up Ben and Jerry's instead.

--We can't make Chocolate Peanut Butter and Black Raspberry on the same day because we spend too much time shooing away unicorns and wood nymphs.



--DeSean Jackson held himself out of training camp because he'd heard a rumor we weren't going to make Chocolate Peanut Butter anymore and needed a few days to collect himself.

--Chocolate Peanut Butter is dismayed at our addiction to fossil fuels, but he's confident we'll get our act together.

--Chocolate Peanut Butter doesn't melt.

--Last week's earthquake? Too much peanut butter, not enough chocolate. Our collective shui got all unfenged.

--Chocolate Peanut Butter is always happy to change a diaper.

--In the outtakes of Anthony Bourdain's "elBulli" episode, you can just make out Tony whispering reverently to Ferran Adria, "Yeah, but have you had the Chocolate Peanut Butter?"

--Chocolate Peanut Butter doesn't have any job references on his resume because he's always been "The Boss."

--I tried to pack a pint full of only Chocolate Peanut Butter a few minutes ago. Got worried when I saw the fabric of reality warping in on itself from the sheer mass of awesome.

--Chocolate Peanut Butter thinks you should wear a bike helmet.

--The next deeper dream in Inception past the snow fort? Chocolate Peanut Butter, and no one wants to wake up.



--Chocolate Peanut butter always cleans the oatmeal pot.

--You ask Chocolate Peanut Butter, he'll tell you you're gonna be okay.



--Chocolate Peanut Butter thinks your hair looks great.

Hug a Barista

Meet Zach and Joe (left and right, respectively). They have been working with Capogiro for years. They're both at 20th near full-time, so you're bound to have seen their shining faces at one time or another. Don't tell anyone, but I think they may be two of my favorite people in the whole world. Shh.. In any case, I thought to let you get to know them a little better.

Joe. Joe is an art geek, film student and pun connoisseur. He is also very politically active. When he's not slinging gelato or finger painting, Joe spends his time trying to get citizenship and job placement for Canadian geese. When he's not at Capogiro, you can often find Joe at your local mall, picketing Chik Fil-A stores to open on Sundays. He is deathly afraid of the dog with the Jerry Garcia mask in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Often referred to as the Guy with Glasses (Yelp.com), Joe would like you to know that he is not, in fact, trying actively to look like a hipster. His words of wisdom to us all are, "Don't squat in spurs."

Zach. This little bugger has been working on and off for Capogiro since the tender age of 16. A self-proclaimed ladies man, Zach occasionally attends classes at Rutgers and one day hopes to be a smarmy hotel manager in the Caribbean or somewhere equally exotic where people wear swimsuits most of the time. Zach loathes having to wear hats, but owns more pairs of shoes than Imelda Marcos. He recently returned from a road trip through several National Parks, and would like all women in Philadelphia to know that he's, "really muscular and loves to make out." While I can't post his dreams on this family-friendly blog, I can say that Zach's greatest fears include ugly children, jail, male pattern baldness, being dirty, and the wrath of John.

To Our Regulars...

Lights of our lives!

We see you on the daily. In the morning, around lunchtime, after dinner, and sometimes even riiiight before bed.

If you're at Capogiro more than once a week, or better yet, more than once a day, you've earned that coveted title and you should be proud of it! We want to shout out - radio dj style - to all of the familiar faces that help make our day.

We appreciate your patience, your smiles, your quirks and your quick wits. We love that many of you know and greet us by our names. We we love meeting your kids, your spouses, your friends, and your 'special friends'.
We love being the first people you talk to in the morning, the ones who relieve you from the office with toasty panini in the afternoon, the ones who chat with you on an iced coffee break, and the ones who help you satisfy that sweet tooth (I mean, calcium and vitamin D craving obviously) before or after dinner. Or both. No shame in having dessert first OR twice. You're a rock star.

Linda, Sam, Charlie, Charlotte, Tim, Sarah, Chris, Jordan, Michael, Susan, Brian, Julie, Bob, Kiwi Lady, Elliott, John, and so many more... you're awesome! We love you! And above all else, thank you! We wouldn't be here without folks like you :)

Free Panna.

If I've heard it once then I have heard it fifty-billion times, "What the heck is Panna??" Seeing as I come from a background of people who are completely ignorant of all things Italian I can understand the confusion.

All of our stores, in one fashion or another, advertise 'Free Panna'. I suppose the combined mystery of a foreign word accompanied by 'Free' will tend to make many a Gent or Lady quite the curious cat. I have spent years explaining what exactly panna is (I feel like I'm being a little dramatic since it takes about three seconds to explain)so for a change I would like to list some things that 'panna' is not:

-water

-sprinkles

-chocolate

-a candy

-any type of clothes

-a relative

-a slang word

-offensive

-a cone

-gelato

-a spaceship

-Facebook

-a drink

-me

I really needed to write that down, because I'm pretty sure on one occasion or another at least one person may have thought that 'panna' was one or more of those things. If you still are unsure of what exactly 'panna' is, take a look at this:

Stay dry and creamy this weekend!

Yesterday was nuts

Right?! So crazy. Rittenhouse was teeming with people all day Tuesday, tourists mostly. By the overwhelmed looks on their faces and the brand new Drexel and Penn t-shirts, it was pretty obvious that the kiddies are arriving for their first year of college. In droves. Just imagine that you're a parent of one of these students, already scared for them to be leaving home, driving them into a big city filled with miscreants and near-do-wells, starting to unload the car when huh? An earthquake! (See Dawne's post below). Suddenly your head explodes and you turn into a zombie.

This is the only thing that I can think that led to the hordes of bewildered people in and around the Square last night. If you looked outside, you saw tons of parents slowly stumbling from one block to the next, whilst their children looked equal parts scared and annoyed by them. We welcomed the parent-tourist-zombies and their young into Capogiro, and introduced them to a wondrous new treat (I've never explained what gelato is more than I did last night), and they loved our urban chic-ness and stainless steel "spaceship" cafe. They were adorable. For a Tuesday night, we were slammed. We were slinging gelato like mad people. There were so many maps of Philadelphia strewn across our tables. We were giving directions and suggestions for people for hours. Crazy!

Then came the grad students. After the parents went back to their hotel rooms and the students went to go cry or drink it off in their new dorms, the older ones came. They were pretty awesome. It's really nice to get a new perspective of Philadelphia from folks who just moved here. Makes it seem shinier somehow. We had the grad students pouring in until just about closing time, when we finally pulled in the tables and breathed out the chaos of the day. Welcome back, y'all.

Shake Shake Shake....

Nope, not a frappe... I'm talking about Philadelphia!

It's not every Tuesday that an earthquake is felt along the East Coast. Heck, it's not even every decade. While all Capogiro stores are on ground level, we were still acutely aware of our lights, tables, and computer monitors rocking, and a gentle yet sort of alarming rumbling. What caused it? A 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia! How COOL?!

Social media was INcredible today. The speed at which quake-related tweets, check-in's, and Facebook posts appeared was insane. Excitement, disbelief, and a wee bit of fear sum the mood well. Sarah and I were sitting in the office for a moment when the quake was felt, and at first, we brushed the rumbling off as a big truck passing on the street above. As things continued to rumble, Sarah's eyes grew larger and she suggested (with some urgency) that we leave the office lest we be buried alive in it.

Little to no damage occurred in our area, though the folks in Virginia (such as our Dear Kristin's parents!) felt a longer, more feather-ruffling shake. Upon learning that we had just experienced an earthquake - especially one of a respectable magnitude - I must admit I was more excited than concerned. I majored in geology in college, and could only imagine and envy the excitement an East coast quake would have sparked in classes.

Anyways, we hope you're all well. Plenty of folks celebrated their work-free afternoons with us :) Aftershocks or not, we're here for ya :)