| rev:text
| - [PSA: You should know that management changed and the original pastry chef departed on February 28, 2015. Old reviews may not reflect the current business.]
After a great lunch today in the Spring Mountain area, I was wondering how I could possibly find a dessert to match the wonders that my taste buds had just experienced. Somehow, Snowflake Shavery did not seem right for the occasion. The texture is always welcome, but they tend to have subtle flavors.
Then I remembered to check the Art of Flavors Twitter feed and I saw that creme brulee was a flavor of the day. Bingo.
The first time I'd been to this local mecca of gelato was actually last month on my birthday. It was a ridiculously rainy day, so I figured I needed something to cheer myself up. It was empty right before I arrived, but owner / gelato maestro (maestra? I don't know these words) Desyree Alberganti was happy to greet me after making sure that I hadn't intended to walk into Viva Las Arepas instead. Look, I might have glasses, but I can find my way around
So anyway, she proceeded to ask me if I'd been there before. I hadn't. So she started me off on what I learned was a sampling tour of several of the gelateria's offerings. She explained that the first sample, fior di latte, was the simple base on which all the other flavors were constructed. I could go on and on, but I sadly don't remember all the flavors from that day. However, I remember one flavor that I made a part of my eventual order; rosemary and olive oil. You might think that those flavors wouldn't work in a dessert, but trust me, they do.
I forgot what I ordered on my second visit, but there was definitely a pistachio flavor. And there were two other flavors. Maybe a pumpkin spice flavor, which was pretty good. Can't remember if mango happened on the first or the second visit, but it's the most authentic mango I've ever had in a frozen dessert in comparison to the real fruit. It's not super sweet like you'll typically find in a boba drink or whatnot.
On that second visit, I learned that pistachio could also work in a gelato (having always had cheap pistachio ice creams in the past), and I also learned that eating three flavors slowly will inevitably allow the bottom flavor to melt into a sweet yet not-solid soup. Good lesson.
Today was my third visit. I had some more samples. The German chocolate cake, a flavor of the day, was surprisingly good. I love chocolate, but I usually don't enjoy German chocolate cake for some reason. This time, the pecans worked, the coconut wasn't too off-putting, and the chocolate shined. I ended up having German chocolate cake as flavor #1, with flavor #2 being creme brulee. The brulee was there, although it was significantly harder to crunch through than a typical creme brulee. It's still a nice touch.
I think I've finally had enough positive experiences to give Art of Flavors my full vote of confidence. Check out this place if you're ever in town, sample everything (especially "weird" flavors), and go with what your mouth says is right. It also helps if you've eaten something nice beforehand with a lot of spices or other palate-opening flavors, as long as you save yourself just enough room for dessert.
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