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When it comes to gelato flavors, I’m all about the classics: give me all the vanilla there is and I will never get tired of it.
However, there is something thrilling about the discovery of eclectic creations that always somehow elicit a myriad of starkly opposing opinions (especially in a town as vocal as New York). Until now, I thought I had seen them all: Lemon poppy seed muffin at Van Leeuwen! Pickles N Mayo at Morgenstern's! Avocado at Il Laboratorio del Gelato!
And yet, earlier this week, while visiting a relatively new spot in Greenwich Village, I came across what I can confidently say is the oddest—yet perhaps most interesting—flavor of gelato my Italian lips have ever tasted: the olio e pomodoro (that is: oil and tomato) served at Pamina Dolci e Gelato at 461 Sixth Avenue by 11th Street.
Just seeing the offering on the menu tickled all my senses. But trying the flavor, which comes along with actual pieces of tomato in it, quite literally shook me to my core: who came up with this? Do people know about it? Is this even… good?
"With olive oil and tomatoes you can prepare a variety of dishes: from a simple raw tomato sliced and finished with olive oil and salt to tomato sauce,” chef Riccardo Orfino, the man behind the savory creation, said to me. "These ingredients can be transformed into anything and I was very happy to include these flavors in our gelato.”
Orfino didn't choose just any tomato when concocting the gelato. In fact, the recipe calls for a specific variety called Corbara, which is grown near the volcanic mountain Vesuvio in the southwestern Italian region of Campania. The high minerality of the vegetable works well alongside the just-as-special olive oil used in the gelato, which is sourced from Umbria, in central Italy.
Turns out, the flavor is solid. I don’t know if my traditionally trained palate is sophisticated enough to devour an entire cup of the stuff (confession: I’m not the biggest fan of raw tomatoes) but it’s certainly one those only-in-New-York foodie experiences that should be on general culinary must-try lists—whether you're going to sing its praises or write an entire piece about how wonderfully odd it feels to eat it. After all, how many people in the world can say that they had some tomato and olive oil flavored ice cream with actual chunks of the vegetable inside on an average Wednesday afternoon while walking around downtown Manhattan?