Margaret Kadifa

Gelato at Gelato Classico

With summer on the way, students begin to flock to the nearest ice cream shops, including three in downtown Palo Alto. These shops offer a variety of flavors--from classic chocolate to honey-lavender. The ice cream cones below the titles rate the quality of the ice cream out of a maximum of five stars.

Gelato Classico - 4 stars

435 Emerson Street

Gelato Classico’s ice cream has a signature texture--smooth and creamy--that is unmatched by the rest of University Avenue’s ice cream shops. It offers a wide variety of flavors: from a creamy cookies ice cream to my favorite, carmello chocolate crunch. Carmello chocolate crunch is a rich chocolate gelato swirled with caramel and mixed with crispy chocolate candies. The honey-lavender gelato, though an unusual flavor, is oddly refreshing, while the tiramisu and dark chocolate are both flavorful, yet not overpowering.

One of the fun things about Gelato Classico is that customers can mix flavors for no additional charge. This allows them to pick complimentary flavors (the dark chocolate and tiramisu go very well together) and have a variety of ice cream. A small ice cream can have a maximum of two different flavors, a medium can have three and a large can have four.

Though the ice cream is fantastic, Gelato Classico lacks the exterior design of other ice cream shops. There is limited seating, only two outdoor tables with two chairs each. The interior of the store is small enough that it is sometimes difficult to accommodate large parties. Many customers end up seated along the curb of the nearby parking lot.

Gelato Classico’s mixture of both unusual and classic flavors, makes it a great place to get ice cream to go.

Haagen Dazs - 4 stars

203 University Ave

Sandwiched between Sushi Tomo and Quality Cellular and near the Stanford Theater and Pizza My Heart, Haagen Dazs is easily accessible. Contrary to Gelato Classico, it has an abundance of outdoor seating--perfect for a summer afternoon.

In general, this ice cream store lives up to the Haagen Dazs high standard. The cookies and cream is rich with the perfect ratio of cookies to ice cream However, the chocolate ice cream had a bitter taste.

Haagen Dazs offers a typical array of toppings (sprinkles, nuts, gummy bears) and waffle cones and bowls. It has also embraced the recent cupcake fad by selling cupcakes made of ice cream. Flavors include cheesecake, chocolate malt and a mocha torte cupcakes. The dulce de leche ice cream cupcake ($3.50) is fantastic. The cupcake consists of a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream swirled with caramel in a chocolate wrapper topped with whipped cream and nuts. I do not usually enjoy nuts on my ice cream, but in this case, they add a nice, crunchy texture.

Haagen Dazs’ ample outdoor seating, along with its rich ice cream, offer enjoyable experience for any ice cream lover.

Michael’s Gelato and Cafe - 3 stars

440 University Ave

Located in the middle of University Avenue, right by Border’s Book Store, Michael’s Gelato is in the perfect location. The shop is the most aesthetically pleasing of any ice cream store in downtown. Large, open windows in the front beckon potential customers inside. There is an upstairs eating area with a balcony that has a stunning view of University Avenue, especially at night. One wall is decorated entirely in a landscape mural complimenting its Italian decor.

The service is friendly, with the owner thanking me profusely for my business and eagerly offering me samples. The only downside to the ambiance was a guitar player who supplied background music. Though the music was fine, it was too loud, making conversation nearly impossible on the bottom floor.

The ice cream in general was satisfactory, with the exception of the chocolate-orange which was delicious. It has a rich chocolate flavor with just a hint of orange. The strawberry has a crisp, fresh taste. However, the spumoni and stracciatella both taste like plain vanilla ice cream with some chocolate chips thrown in. Even if the flavors were good, the texture of the ice cream was too crystallized. It lacked the creamy, smooth texture of Gelato Classico’s ice cream and costs significantly more.

Michael’s Gelato offers a wonderful atmosphere to chat over ice cream. However, I enjoyed the ambiance more than the ice cream.