Ciao Bella Sea Salt Caramel Gelato Squares
No I am not in Boston. Before recently, I was under the impression that nowhere in Iowa City sold Ciao Bella. However, I finally dragged my butt to the New Pioneer Co-Op. And by dragged my butt, I mean drove 5 minutes from my house. I realize I have been a terrible Iowa City resident given that I have lived here 6 months and I am only now going to New Pi for the first time. I feel like I find myself saying this a lot on this blog, but better late than never.
Of course, you can always count on local grocery stores to have unique ice cream selections, even if the selection isn't huge. In addition to these Gelato Squares, I also picked up a pint of Capanna Gelato, a brand I hadn't heard of before. So look forward to that review coming at you soon.
These treats are described as Sea Salt Caramel Gelato with Caramel and Chocolate Swirl & Dark Chocolate Squares.
First note. I am always underwhelmed by the size of ice cream treats. I look at the nutrition facts and see 250 calories and think, oh that's a decent size. But they're not ever quite as big as I expect. Probably says more about my warped view of portion size than anything else (although I had a dietician tell me that no, a pint of ice cream is not a reasonable amount to eat in one serving, I'm still not convinced), but these puppies aren't huge.
While not huge, they do pack a punch! There was a lot going on in these treats. First the Sea Salt Caramel Gelato was a lighter caramel flavor, with a hint of salt. The texture was also divine. Better than I remember the Ciao Bella gelato being in pint form. Like it was soft, smooth, slick, and creamy. The caramel swirl was a more intense caramel flavor and also a darker caramel. It was also way thicker and there was a larger quantity of it than I was expecting. Most swirls in ice cream treats are think and pathetic, but this was anything but.
The chocolate swirl was even better. It was actual solid, yet soft, chocolate, as opposed to some chocolate sauce. Chocolate sauce swirls are okay, but often kind of have a fake chocolatey taste. This was great dark chocolate. And again, there was a lot of it in the sandwich. Lastly, the cookies were a slightly darker chocolate than your average chocolate ice cream sandwich cookie. They also were more like a cookie; they had some structural integrity and didn't totally disintegrate all over your fingers as you ate one.
While I would have loved these sandwiches to be bigger, I would say they are some of the best ice cream sandwiches on the market. They also add some needed variety to the at times overwhelming and monotonous salted caramel scene.
Of course, you can always count on local grocery stores to have unique ice cream selections, even if the selection isn't huge. In addition to these Gelato Squares, I also picked up a pint of Capanna Gelato, a brand I hadn't heard of before. So look forward to that review coming at you soon.
These treats are described as Sea Salt Caramel Gelato with Caramel and Chocolate Swirl & Dark Chocolate Squares.
First note. I am always underwhelmed by the size of ice cream treats. I look at the nutrition facts and see 250 calories and think, oh that's a decent size. But they're not ever quite as big as I expect. Probably says more about my warped view of portion size than anything else (although I had a dietician tell me that no, a pint of ice cream is not a reasonable amount to eat in one serving, I'm still not convinced), but these puppies aren't huge.
While not huge, they do pack a punch! There was a lot going on in these treats. First the Sea Salt Caramel Gelato was a lighter caramel flavor, with a hint of salt. The texture was also divine. Better than I remember the Ciao Bella gelato being in pint form. Like it was soft, smooth, slick, and creamy. The caramel swirl was a more intense caramel flavor and also a darker caramel. It was also way thicker and there was a larger quantity of it than I was expecting. Most swirls in ice cream treats are think and pathetic, but this was anything but.
The chocolate swirl was even better. It was actual solid, yet soft, chocolate, as opposed to some chocolate sauce. Chocolate sauce swirls are okay, but often kind of have a fake chocolatey taste. This was great dark chocolate. And again, there was a lot of it in the sandwich. Lastly, the cookies were a slightly darker chocolate than your average chocolate ice cream sandwich cookie. They also were more like a cookie; they had some structural integrity and didn't totally disintegrate all over your fingers as you ate one.
While I would have loved these sandwiches to be bigger, I would say they are some of the best ice cream sandwiches on the market. They also add some needed variety to the at times overwhelming and monotonous salted caramel scene.
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