Gourmet Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich Tasting with Coolhaus

Growing up as a kid, it was de rigeur to run after Mom and Dad for spare change once we heard the familiar sound of the ice cream truck coming from down the street. Once it stopped, we'd wait in line anticipating when we could get to the window and order our favorite icy treat whether it be a strawberry cheesecake bar, the creamsicle bar, the fudgesicle, the pushups or the always popular ice cream sandwich. These ice cream trucks are still around, but today, one ice cream truck in particular has upped the ante and goes by the name of Coolhaus.

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Coolhaus is the first project by Freya Estreller and Natasha Case under their umbrella organization that they call Farchitecture, which is shorthand for food + architecture. Natasha, who's an architect, came up with this concept of marrying food and architecture while in grad school and finally fully realized it in the form of an ice cream sandwich and edible wrapper at a craft fair while working for Walt Disney Imagineering. Her roommate Freya, who's a real estate broker, soon came on board and after much experimentation, they launched Coolhaus in a 1984 renovated postal truck at the Coachella Festival this year. If you'd like to find out more, please click here to read the LAist interview.

My first experience with Coolhaus happened as a result of one of my Assistant Organizers from my dining group, arranging a private tasting with Coolhaus on a sunny afternoon in July. Our sampling was going to include halves of 6 different ice cream cookie sandwiches. It started with Freya giving us a little background about Coolhaus. She also further explained how the ice cream cookie sandwich was a perfect representation of architecture because it had a floor, a roof and four walls and as such, each of them were named after a well-known architect. After that short talk, we were ready to begin.

The first one up was the Mintimalism, a chocolate cookie with mint chip ice cream. That chocolate cookie was quite rich and almost had a cakey brownie quality to it. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the cookie wasn't so hard to bite into. Unfortunately, the Mintimalisms were prepared ahead of time, which meant they had time to sit in the freezer and harden. Freya did mention that in the future, they might steer clear of preparing ice cream sandwiches too far in advance, noting that they aren't as enjoyable to eat.

Up next was the Frank Behry which was a sugar cookie with strawberry ice cream. It was a nice pairing of sweet and tart and it doesn't hurt that I love sugar cookies, but like the Mintimalism, it was still a little bit too frozen. One suggestion though? Why not take the sugar cookie to the next level and have one ice cream cookie sandwich with snickerdoodles instead? I'd be first in line.

The Richard Meyer Lemon Ginger was third on the rotation and was my favorite of the whole tasting. By this time, Freya and Natasha were putting together the cookie sandwiches to order, which meant the cookies were nice and soft. The spice of the ginger and the tartness of the lemon really did it for me. My palate shies away from the bland so this particular ice cream cookie sandwich is one I'd definitely order again plus it wasn't too sweet.

Next on the agenda was the IM-Peinutbutter which was a double dose of peanut butter in both cookie and ice cream form. When it comes to peanut butter, I've been known to eat a spoonful or two right out of the jar. In this case, it was just too much of an overload for me. I would have preferred one or the other, but not both. I did seem to be the minority of the group since a lot of people were digging it.

Next to last was the Mies Vanilla Rohe, chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream. Simply, this was a classic and like most classics, it didn't fail to please.

To end this prolonged sugar rush that probably lasted the rest of the day, we were treated to the Renzo Apple Piano, which was an oatmeal cookie with an apple pie ice cream. This particular sandwich is usually sold exclusively at Wurstkuche, so this was an unexpected treat. What made this one stand out was that it was wrapped in an edible rice paper with an image printed using food coloring of Bergamot Station, the location of an event they were going to later that night. Again, I think I was in the minority because for me, this sandwich was way to sweet. The oatmeal cookie itself was fine, but the ice cream was a little too much for me. One thing to mention is that all the ice cream is now coming from Milk in Los Angeles.

Overall, Coolhaus did put a smile on my face and the quality of the cookies and the ice cream is definitely not something you'd find on your local music tinkling ice cream truck. Not that I still wouldn't be perfectly happy with a creamsicle or a strawberry cheesecake bar when the mood hit me, but it's nice to see how Coolhaus did such a glamorous makeover on the simple ice cream sandwich and I look forward to seeing what else comes from the melding of food and architecture.

By the way, as mentioned, our samples were ice cream sandwich halves, but look below for a photo of a whole sandwich.

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Tasting Extravaganza at Glacier Ice Cream & Gelato

When Cecilia, one of the organizers of my dining group went into Glacier Ice Cream & Gelato to see if she could set up an ice cream tasting for Pleasure Palate, little did she know at the time that it was going to snowball into a tasting extravaganza. Apparently, Cecilia came in at the perfect time. Executive Chef Roxanne Gin, of Glacier, had been contemplating adding salads, sandwiches and soups to the menu and what better way to get feedback on her recipes than from a bunch of passionate foodies. So on one of Saturday afternoon, 16 of us walked in and by the time it was all said and done, 16 of us had to be rolled out.

Our afternoon started off simply enough with bread dipped in balsamic vinegar and a couple of basic salads: Caesar and Cobb. While we were sampling these items, Chef Gin gave us a little info about Glacier Ice Cream and Gelato, which by the way, was selected as one of America's Best Ice Cream Stores by Forbes Traveler Magazine. Glacier actually started in Colorado and just opened another location in Manhattan Beach. Lucky us! We also learned a little more about Chef Gin, who has been a chef for over 20 years. Along with ice cream, Chef Gin creates desserts (petit-fours) for cruise lines, the Fresh & Easy stores as well as various high end hotels.

The salads, while fresh, didn't really have any wow factor, but the two soups that followed were quite tasty. One was a roasted veggie and meatball soup, with a vegetable broth that was so surprisingly rich that we all thought it was chicken broth. The second was a refreshing crab gazpacho soup. I enjoyed the chunky vegetables. but would have liked more broth.

Two more salads appeared and gave the wow that the Caesar and Cobb lacked. One was a Pasta Salad and the other was an Potato-Egg Salad. Generally, these are basically picnic salads that are more of an afterthought than anything else, but let me tell you, other than the gelatos, these two salads were the talk of the group. The pasta salad ingredients included basil, tarragon, tomatoes and mini mozzarella balls. What was great about it was that it wasn't over-dressed plus I really enjoyed how the basil added a little pungent hit of flavor. The Potato-Egg Salad was also quite delicious and the addition of tarragon gave it a nice herb-y freshness.

So far, we've sampled bread, 4 salads and 2 soups. Next up were samplings of 6 different panini sandwiches. I'm just glad I hadn't had breakfast. Of the six, two really did it for me. One was the Roasted Turkey Sandwich with ingredients that included housemade cranberry sauce, red leaf, cream cheese and housemade herb mayo (mint, oregano and Italian parsley). I'm not much of a sandwich person, but this turkey one was just scrumptious. The cranberry sauce added a wonderful sweet tartness and being a cheesehead, the thick slab of cream cheese really made my day. I also really liked the housemade herb mayo, which I thought added a wonderful flavor that went well with the rest of the ingredients.

The other sandwich that also appealed to me was the Proscuitto and Salami Sandwich, which also included arugula, pesto and a thick cut sun-dried tomato. I honestly think that arugula should be the new lettuce. The combination of the peppery arugula, the meat's saltiness and the sun dried tomato that had been packed in oil and herbs was the perfect Italian sandwich.

With all this food, I bet you thought we wouldn't have room for dessert, huh? But you were wrong. After a brief demonstration of their gelato-making process, a gelato and ice cream sampling frenzy started with Chef Gin basically letting us sample as much gelato and ice cream that we wanted before choosing what we wanted for our dessert.

She even set up a little sundae bar, but honestly, the gelato and ice cream, for me, really stood out just on its own and didn't need any additional ingredients. After sampling everything from Manhattan Beach Plum to Cantaloupe to Peanut Butter to Cinnamon, etc. and that doesn't even include the ice creams I tried, I finally settled on the Coconut Stracciatella and the Cantaloupe Gelatos. I actually preferred the gelatos finding them lighter and more creamy than the ice creams, which seemed a bit heavy to me.

The Coconut Stracciatella had a wonderful richness and creaminess to it while the Cantaloupe was just so refreshing. I also ended up taking home a Papaya Sorbet, a Vermont Maple and Honey Ice Cream and one other one that I'm totally blanking on. I thought the Papaya Sorbet was a little icy, but the Vermont Maple and Honey Ice Cream, like the Coconut Stracciatella, was richly creamy.

Overall, it was a fun event and Chef Gin was extremely gracious and generous throughout our visit there. She was also open to all comments, positive or negative and that's definitely a sign of someone who really wants to put out excellent product, which for the most part, she did.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157606137713833/

Glacier Ice Cream & Gelato
1605 N Sepulveda Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 545-9730

www.glacierhomemadeicecream.com

Brunch & Cheese Tasting at Auntie Em's Kitchen

Isn't it funny that sometimes the restaurants that are the closest to you are the ones you take the longest to visit? Not that Eagle Rock is close, but heck, I've driven to Gardena for ramen and Fountain Valley for 8 Courses of Fish. In retrospect, Eagle Rock is practically a neighboring city to Duarte where I reside. When you also take in consideration that I have a friend in Eagle Rock that I hang out with a couple of times a month, it's a wonder that I still haven't paid a visit to Auntie Em's and took her with me. Finally, we went for brunch and also brought another mutual friend for the ride.

Walking in, I was already liking that the menu was written on chalkboards. What that tells me is that this restaurant probably plans its dishes around seasonal ingredients. Using produce at its peak definitely can make good food great. While waiting in line, I also spied their cupcakes, both mini and full size. Having heard rave reviews, especially from my Eagle Rock friend, about those cupcakes, I decided to bring some home and try them out for myself, but that's getting ahead of myself.

Let's get back to brunch. Catching my eye was their Strata which had layers of Asparagus, Goat Cheese, Bread and Eggs and along it was going to be a bowl of fresh fruit. Doesn't that sound yummy? With no available seating in the main dining area or outside, we ended up in their Cheese Store next door, which had quite a nature motif. There's a fake tree where the hanging branches are made up of interconnecting square cardstock paper. At the foot of the tree, there's a painting of a wolf. You can also look up to see branches sticking out from the wall holding birds nests. I just really enjoyed the quirkiness of the decor.

Finally, our food arrived. When I took a gander at my plate, what really caught my eye first was the bowl of fresh fruit. Inside were plump raspberries and blackberries, along with the usual pineapple, cantaloupe and watermelon. Those berries looked amazing and definitely looked in season. They tasted as juicy as they looked. Then I dug into my strata and oh boy, was it worth getting up early for, especially since I'm not much of a morning person in the first place.

The top of the strata was browned perfectly and had a nice crispy-flakiness to it, but that first bite of an almost creamy-like texture of egg and melted cheese along with the tender asparagus was just an "oooh" and "ahhh" moment. It was just that good. Needless to say, my plate was almost licked clean. How can you go wrong with fresh fruit and a cheesy egg dish? That strata is definitely worth a return visit, although I'd probably would order something else just because I'd like to sample more of their menu.

Finally, we finished our meals and off we went our separate ways, but I had cupcakes with me. Later on that day, I tried their red velvet cupcake and left the others for the family to sample. I liked the cake portion of it, but I found the frosting overwhelming. From the side, it looked almost the same height as the cupcake itself. There was just too much of it and I also found it too sweet for my palate. I told my Eagle Rock friend when I saw her a couple of weeks later that I actually scraped off most of the frosting, to which she replied that the way she eats her red velvet cupcake is to put it in a bowl and mash cake and frosting together and than eat by the spoonful. Hmmm....forget a bowl of cereal when you can have a bowl of cupcake. Now that's an interesting concept.

While I wasn't much of a fan of their cupcakes, what I did like along with that strata dish was the selection of cheeses inside their Cheese Shop. During our brunch there, I chatted with Owner,Terri Wahl, and Jody, the Cheese Monger about doing an after hours cheese tasting there at the restaurant and they were quite agreeable.

About 3 months later, a group of between 20 and 25 joined me for what was a veritable cheese buffet where we sampled 9 different cheeses and each cheese was paired with another type of food, whether it was figs, olives, honey or a type of jam or relish. I honestly can't remember all my tasting notes, but the cheeses and the pairings that Jody put together were awesome.

All of them had the distinction of winning awards at a recent competition held by the American Cheese Society. There were two that really stood out for me. One was made by Capri out of domestic goat's milk and was called Wasabi Disc. The wasabi in this cheese added a little heat that really blended well with the pungency of the goat cheese. My other favorite was the Smokey Blue made by Rogue River Creamery. Cold smoked for 16 hours over Northwest -grown hazelnut shells, this cow's milk cheese definitely had a unique flavor profile - smoky, sharp with hints of a sweet nuttiness.

Overall, both of my experiences at Auntie, brunch and cheese tasting, were just wonderful. I still dream about that strata and it's good to know that there is an artisanal cheese store that's fairly local and is headed by a Cheese Monger who knows her stuff.

To see Brunch pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157603390870289/

To see Cheese Tasting pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157603386767328/

Auntie Em's Kitchen
4616 Eagle Rock Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 255-0800
www.auntieemskitchen.com

Chocolate Tasting at Compartes

Walking into Compartes for a chocolate tasting I had set up, I wasn't sure what to expect. For the past few months, I've reading off and on about chocolatier, Jonathan Grahm and was definitely curious as to how someone in his early 20s had already made quite a name for himself in the very competitive world of artisanal chocolate making.

Soon the rest of the group arrived and it was time for Jonathan Grahm to start off our tasting event by giving us some background about himself and Compartes. With his talk, we found out that Compartes was originally owned by Mrs. Compartes and had been around since 1950. Back then and up to when Jonathan took over, Compartes was more of a traditional candy store than a real chocolate shop. When Jonathan's family, of Bonny Doon Wine fame, purchased the shop, at first they weren't quite sure what to do with it, but at age 19, Jonathan volunteered to take it over and because of his creativity, Compartes reached new heights.

Even at such a tender age, he knew not to completely throw out the old and replace it with everything shining. Compartes' signature line were chocolate dipped fruits, everything from apricots to orange peels, so that stayed and what he added to the mix were truffles and ganaches utilizing exotic combinations of various spices, nuts, fruits, etc. Also, since his passion is dark chocolate, that's generally what Compartes sells.

What impressed me throughout the rest of his talk was how some of his chocolates were limited because he would only make them if he was able to get the ingredients directly from the source. For example, you aren't seeing umeboshi plum truffles until he's actually made a trip to Japan and picked some up to bring home. Now that's dedication to your craft. He finally ended with telling us that at the age of 23, he finally bought the business from his family and now it was really all his. I think that's pretty cool.

Now it's time to taste chocolate and we tried 8 different ones. Here's the run down:

1) Love Nuts (vanilla roasted and caramelized nuts sprinkled with sea salt, covered with chocolate and dipped in cocoa powder) - There was quite a cornucopia of ingredients, yet the combination of sweet-salty flavors combined with a nice crunch worked well together.

2) Brown Butter and Sage Truffle - Don't ask me why but the ingredients of brown butter and sage reminded me of a roast turkey with stuffing. I wasn't quite sure how it would translate with chocolate, but it did. The nuttiness of the brown butter and the slight peppery kick from the sage really complimented the dark chocolate.

3) Cup of Coffee Truffle - I'm not much of a coffee drinker, so I wasn't expecting much from this truffle. After my first bite, I decided that it should be called Perfect Cup of Coffee Truffle because if coffee tasted like that, I'd probably be drinking (or eating) a lot more of it.

4) Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel - I really don't have much to say. It was tasty and of good quality, but too "classic" for my taste.

5) Chocolate Covered Candied Apricot - Ditto.

6) Lavendar Violet Marshallow topped with Sugared Violet Petal - I love lavender and I've had it a few different ways from ice cream to chocolate, but a lavender marshmallow was something quite unique and how can you say no to a lavender marshmallow dipped in dark chocolate? You'd be a stronger person than me. What worried me was that the lavender might be overpowered by the dark chocolate, but it wasn't. The lavender certainly wasn't in your face, but I think the concentration of it was just enough in the marshmallow that you could appreciate it.

7) Bonny Doon Dessert Wine Truffles - These particular truffles were extremely limited in that once all the dessert wine was used for this chocolate recipe, you wouldn't see these particular truffles back on the shelves. I can't quite remember the story, but it had something to do with those dessert wines not being produced anymore, so there was only a small number of them left.

I'm not much of a wine drinker, so while I remember liking it, it didn't stand out as much as some of the other chocolates we sampled.

8) Smoked Salt Truffle - Of the 8, this was my hands down favorite. I've had chocolates sprinkled with sea salt before, but not smoked salt. It was something different. The name of the truffle really describes how it tasted to me - a little smoky, a little salty, but just the right amount of sweet from the dark chocolate somehow balanced all the flavors together.

The range of chocolates we sampled really showed a good example of "traditional" Compartes as well as a more "forward-thinking" Compartes, a company that is willing to take culinary risks, all in the name of chocolate. Throughout the tasting, Jonathan would talk about how he likes to experiment with new ingredients. Here's a hint for you. If you walk into Compartes, look into the display case and if you see chocolates without a label on the front of the tray, more than likely, the "Mad Chocolate Scientist" was at work again. If you're feeling brave, ask about those unmarked chocolates. You'll never know what treasure your palate might experience.

After the tasting, Jonathan gave us a tour of his "chocolate factory" with factory being quite a misnomer since it brings to mind automated machines belching out items from a mechanized production line. Instead, all the chocolates are hand made and hand-dipped in chocolate tempering machines and they're never refrigerated, with the exception of the original line of Stuffed Fruits, where one or more of fruits like grown apricots, dates, figs and prunes are combined with almonds and walnuts.

Overall, it was a great event. Jonathan really impressed me with his passion for what he does. After all, it's obvious that only someone who is quite dedicated and inventive can come up with truffles like Sichimi 7 Spice (Japanese spices), Lemongrass, Olive Oil Vanilla, Peach Rosemary and Raspberry Pink Pepper. Like I said earlier, he's only in his early 20s. I think it'll be amazing to see what else he comes up as he continues to evolve. I, for one, am looking forward to tasting the end results of all his hard work.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157603274176536/

Compartes Chocolatier
912 South Barrington Avenue
Brentwood, CA 90049
(310) 826-3380
www.compartes.com

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Tasting at Meltdown Etc - CLOSED

Last September, I set up a tasting of the ultimate comfort food, grilled cheese sandwiches at Meltdown etc in Culver City, a part of town that's starting to be quite a foodie mecca. Our ooey-gooey-cheese fest started with the perfect accompaniment, a tart tomato soup, which definitely paired well with the first three sandwiches we partook in.

We started off with their Classic Three Cheese sandwich, which consisted of sharp cheddar, Meunster, Fontina, Roma tomato on sourdough bread. For this particular sandwich, there are different variations to its ingredients. The three cheeses stay the same, but you have the option to add separately or together, a roma tomato and/or applewood bacon. For our tasting, I opted to include the tomato, simply because I like how it added a fresh, juicy acidity to every bite of the sandwich.

Up next was their Cheddar, Ham and Apple sandwich that was made up of sharp cheddar, smoked ham and apple butter on sourdough bread. In truth, the apple butter seemed a strange bed partner to the other two ingredients, but I was willing to give it a whirl. Surprisingly, it was a total hit with me. Usually, I don't like ham because I find it too salty for my taste, but the sweetness of the apple butter actually counter-balanced that saltiness so much so, that I could have happily eaten a whole sandwich without complaint.

Just around the corner came the Turkey Melt with brie, oven-roasted turkey, arugula, cranberry-horseradish mustard on walnut bread. Of the three savory sandwiches we sampled, this was my least favorite. Usually, I'll pick turkey over ham any time of the week, but not in this case. What I found lacking or should I say missing was the cheese. There just wasn't enough of it. The turkey portions were generous, but with the word "melt" being part of the sandwich name, cheese is an important part of equation and unfortunately, it was MIA.

Also, while I loved the addition of the arugula which added a nice peppery kick, I was a little disappointed in the cranberry-horseradish mustard, which I expected to add more oomph to the sandwich and it didn't.

With three of Meltdown's savory grilled cheese offerings under our belt, it was now time to experience two of their "Sweet Melts". First up was their Goat Cheese, Fig and Honey sandwich on walnut bread. What's interesting about this sandwich is that if you are someone who doesn't like goat cheese because of its pungency, you may actually be able to eat this sandwich and even like it. The sweetness of the fig preserves and the honey cuts into the piquancy of the cheese, which may make it more palatable to goat cheese naysayers.

Last, but not least, came the Brie and Apricot sandwich, also on walnut bread. I've actually had this sandwich before and at first, I couldn't quite equate melted brie mixed with apricot preserves as being a good combination. My first bite; however, made me a convert. The mildness of the cheese was a perfect foundation for the tart-sweetness of the apricots.

Overall, this was a fun little tasting and I think we were able to get a good sampling of Meltdown etc grilled cheese sandwiches. For those of you who weren't able to join us, I guess you'll just have to live vicariously through my photos below. :-D

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157602589758602/

Meltdown etc
9739 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-6358
http://www.meltdownetc.com/

Chocolate Tasting at Edelweiss Chocolates

The event started with owner, Madlen Zahir, giving us a short talk about Edelweiss' history and about chocolate itself. For those of you who didn't know, Edelweiss has been a Beverly Hills landmark for over 60 years.

First, some history. The original owner, seen in a black and white picture on the shop wall, came up with the idea of chocolate covered marshmallows in the first place, which currently are Edelweiss' top sellers. In fact, she actually would make the marshmallow herself after hours, just to ensure the secrecy of the recipe.

After her retirement, the business was sold to a Swiss chocolatier, whose chocolate recipes comprises the majority of chocolates sold in the shop today. For 5 years, Shirley Jones took over but for the past few years, Edelweiss has been in the hands of the Zahir family.

Madlen also gave us a brief talk about how chocolate is made, which I elaborated on in the next few paragraphs to give additional information. First, the cacao beans have to be roasted so that their shells become brittle. Then they go through a machine that will remove the shells and remove the seeds which are now called cacao nibs. Now the cacao nibs have to be ground into a paste called "chocolate liquor."

Some "chocolate liquor" is pressed to remove cocoa butter, which is used to make white chocolate. Further processing turns it into cocoa powder, but it's the unpressed "chocolate liquor" that is used to make chocolate. To make chocolate, the manufacturer blends unpressed chocolate with condensed milk, sugar and extra cocoa butter.

This raw mixture becomes a coarse, brown dough called "crumb." The "crumb" needs now needs to be refined to make the chocolate silkier so it's pressed through giant steel rollers to do the job. You now have a creamier batter of chocolate; yet, it still needs to undergo still another process before it's ready to use. Finally, the chocolate can be tempered (heated) to give it a glossy sheen and smoothness and than used to hand dip various items in or poured into different kinds of chocolate molds.

After Madlen's introduction, we went into the chocolate factory and as she talked more about their chocolate making process and showed us the various "tools of the trade" so to speak, we started our tasting of 8 different chocolates which were:

- Dark Chocolate Caramallow (with an inside layer of marshmallow and caramel) - loved the thick layer of caramel and the sponginess of the marshmallow.

- Milk Chocolate Toffeemallow (with an inside layer of marshmallow mixed with toffee pieces) - a little too sweet for my taste, but I appreciated the toffee pieces.

- Geraldine (ground apricot with caramel) - My favorite of the bunch and with a great story. Apparently, this chocolate had caramel added to the ground apricot by mistake and it was such a delicious accident that they named this new chocolate after that employee who made that error, Geraldine. I really liked the combined flavors of tart and sweet.

- Dark Honeycomb Sponge Chocolate (burnt sugar and honey) - I liked the flavor, but burnt sugar makes for a harder candy interior so be prepared to take a hardier bite.

- Milk Chocolate Coconut Snocap (with moist coconut) - That coconut was definitely moist and better than any Almond Joy or Mounds out there.

- Alpine Snow White Chocolate Truffle (rolled in cocoa powder) - What was nice was that the white chocolate wasn't overly sweet.

- Dark Chocolate Turtle (caramel & pecans) - Apparently a fav of Katherine Hepburn and even mentioned in her autobiography. I really liked the sweet-slight saltiness of this chocolate

- Milk Chocolate Maple Pecan Cream - A favorite of Frank Sinatra and members of the Sinatra family to this day will send out boxes of these chocolates to family & friends. This was my least favorite just because it was just too sweet and sugary for my palate.

...but we weren't done yet....Madlen's husband, Steve surprised as with a 9th chocolate which was dark chocolate with a brandy liquer inside along with a cherry that has been soaking in brandy for 3 months. I normally don't like these types of chocolates, because I find them overally sweet, but this particular chocolate I wouldn't mind having a second piece of.

Some of the equipment we saw were over 50 years and almost as old as the shop itself. Madlen also showed us some of the various molds used to make their molded chocolates. One last bit of Hollywood history I'll mention before ending is that Lucille Ball, a faithful Edelweiss Chocolates customer actually used the chocolate conveyor belt that's part of the Edelweiss' factory as the inspiration for an "I Love Lucy" episode and I'm sure you know which one.

Overall, it was both a learning and tasty experience!

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157601764686605

Edelweiss Chocolates
444 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 275-6003

http://www.edelweisschocolates.com/

Gelato and Sorbet Tasting at Bulgarini Gelato

This summer has been scorching, which is why, I was more than happy to be at Bulgarini Gelato last August to experience delicious gelatos and sorbets at a tasting I set up with the shop. The tasting started off with owner, Leo Bulgarini, giving us some history about how Bulgarini Gelato came to be. What many may or may not know is that he and his wife, Elizabeth spent two years back and forth in Italy trying to someone who could teach them the art of making gelato from scratch. This was actually quite a difficult task since the majority of the gelaterias are industrial. Finally, they met a third-generation retired gelato maker and spent two months with him learning the craft.

Afterwards, they came back to the US and started small with Leo selling his gelato from carts at a local movie theater in Pasadena as well as at the courtyard of the Pacific Asian Museum. Eventually, they were able to open a small courtyard shop in hilly Altadena, which is where we all were that day.

After the talk, we were shown this amazing gelato maker that sits in the corner of the shop. It's over 50 years old and built to last. In fact, that old-timer actually made one of the sorbets that were part of our tasting. As we crowded around that machine, Leo let us peek in as it was mixing and then we watched as he scooped some out with a large white paddle into a container. Then he showed us a large plastic container of fresh kiwi juice that he poured back into the maker to make another batch. Leo mentioned earlier about only using only fresh ingredients in his recipes. You can't get any fresher than fresh kiwi juice. You could even see the seeds in the liquid.

Finally, we sat outside in the shade to start our tasting. The first one up was the pistachio gelato. Before we dug in, Leo told us that the pistachios are directly from Italy and while he could have gone the less expensive route and used California pistachios, he felt that the Italian pistachios were better quality. He even mentioned that to save costs that there were some gelaterias in Italy that would actually use California pistachios as opposed to locally grown nuts. Now that's what I call nutty.

If you love pistachios than the pistachio gelato is a dream come true. The nuts are actually ground before being mixed into the recipe and with every lick; you get a taste of nutty goodness. After consuming this first gelato, Leo actually had us taste the pistachio paste and while giving out a sample, he told us that when the pistachio quality is where it should be, the paste should have the consistency of peanut butter and it certainly did that.

Next was the Kiwi Sorbet, which had a smooth and creamy texture and knowing that it was just made that day was actually cool. As for the flavor, I really liked its hint of tartness. By the way, the difference between a gelato and sorbet is that gelato tends to contain egg yolks and contains less air, which makes it less dense than regular ice creams. Sorbets contain no dairy and are like a creamy ice because it's churned until it's smooth.

Soon after came the Crema de Caffe Gelato. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I could see myself starting off the day with a scoop of this as opposed to the liquid version. After the coffee gelato, we were hit with a gelato and sorbet whammy, all in one cup. On the top was a Chocolate-Orange Gelato and it topped a Golden Plum Sorbet. Let me tell you that plum sorbet was so tart; it felt like I was eating a lemon. I actually thought that it was too tart even for me who tends to like that flavor profile, but when eaten with that chocolate-orange gelato, it was a pretty good pairing. The combined tart-sweet-citrus flavors that came as a result of this duo were actually fun to eat.

There were two more to go and the next on the rotation was the mango sorbet. It was sweet, fruity and it really did taste like a fresh mango. It was definitely quite refreshing. Last, but not least, was the Zabaglione Gelato, which was made up of custard cream and Marsala wine. This was the first time I've ever had gelato or any kind of ice cream where wine was one of the ingredients and I have to say that this Zabaglione was a hit with me. With each spoonful, you could taste that wine, but instead of the "bitterness" I was expecting, it added a softer, more rounded fruit flavor to the custard cream.

Overall, this was a great tasting and Leo was a great host and gave us lots of information. I was already a fan of Bulgarini Gelato, but even more so after this tasting.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157601672651941/

Bulgarini Gelato
749 E Altadena Dr.
Altadena, CA 91001
(626) 441-2319
http://www.bulgarinigelato.com/