New Yorkers hankering for a frozen treat can head over to Grom, a new transplant from Italy that serves up old style gelato made of only the freshest organic and seasonal ingredients. True to its tagline—Il gelato come una volta—Grom serves up gelato ‘as it once was,’ eschewing mass production for a slower, more authentic process.
Main flavours such as chocolate, hazelnut, coffee and pistachio are available year-round, but some of the more unique offerings vary based on when the ingredients are in season and at their freshest. Ciaculli late winter mandarins from Southern Italy, for instance, are best in March. And the company typically only purchases melons June through September. Rotating menu items based on seasonality harks back to times when shipping or storing perishable ingredients wasn’t feasible—which adds points for authenticity and still made here story elements. More importantly, the novelty doesn’t wear off as quickly, which can keep customers coming back. Grom operates a dozen stores across Italy, with more to come to other areas of the US if the New York location is a hit. Like Park Ave Summer, the seasonal restaurant we covered recently, Grom’s example is one to follow for other types of cuisine where limited availability—as dictated by nature—will appeal to customers looking for an older sense of time.
Website: www.grom.it
Contact: info@grom.it
Spotted by: Daniele Bellomo
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Hello Heather!
Grom simply does not ship the refrigerated fruit.
They have a small factory close to Turin, where they produce a kind of "syrup" based on natural ingredients and "addensanti" (not sure its translation into English).
They then ship this "syrup" and the dozen or so of ice cream places that this chain has (some are franchises) add some of the fresh ingredients like chocolate chips or ground hazelnut.
Hope this helps!
Giusy
Paciugo, another growing chain of gelato shops founded by Italian immigrants, has been offering some really off-the-wall flavors recently that mix fruits and veggies -- banana beet, strawberry celery, mango lime chili and blue cheese pecan.
The trend for eating seasonally I would have thought was also bourne also out out of a wish for people to reduce their carbon footprint. Flying a refrigerated fruit from one end of the earth to another is not a good use of fuel. How does this fit with their philosophy of achieving ''a type of farming with zero environmental impact, using old production methods, respectful (and a bit fearful …) of Mother Nature’s needs.''
Heather Kennedy | July 19, 2007 6:27 PM