Dolcezza - Tramontana

Tramontana - Sweet Cream Gelato with Ribbons of Dulce de Leche folded with Dark Chocolate-covered Rice Crisp Pearls

 

Today, I am trying a new brand.  New to me, anyways.  This is Dolcezza Gelato of Washington, DC.  It was founded in 2004 in Georgetown by Robb Duncan.  I found some writeups on the company and its founder here and here.  Duncan was inspired by the local gelatos that he and his wife enjoyed when they lived in Buenos Aires.  The name Dolcezza is Italian for "sweetness".  Interestingly, I remember Talenti Gelato had a similar origin story.  See an early Talenti review where that brand was founded in Dallas by someone who had returned from Buenos Aires and had loved the ice cream there.  So, if you ever find yourself in Argentina, don't forget to check out their local gelato scene.

Today's flavor is called Tramontana (instagram link here).  I bought it at Whole Foods on Selby in Saint Paul.  I have also seen it at other co-op-style shops (such as Mississippi Market).  I was curious about the flavor name.   A tramontana (or tramontane) means a 'cold mountain wind' in Italian (or Spanish).  I checked to see if there is a gelato connection and found this note from the tourism board of Buenos Aires saying that it is one of the five ice creams to try when you are in town.  This implemention features a sweet cream base, ribbons of dulce de leche (caramelized milk) and dark-chocolate-covered pieces of rice crisp.  Let's check it out.

Removing the lid, everything is visible right away.  The sweet cream gelato has a white color.  The large globs of dulce de leche are quite impressive and there are lots of dark brown dots in the mix which I assume are the chocolate-covered rice crisps.  Digging in, I taste the dulce de leche right away.  It is thick, gooey and has an excellent caramel flavor.  This is how I like my caramel and dulce de leche swirls!  Sometimes swirls like these end up half-blending into the base, but they did a good job of keeping them thick and distinct here.  It tastes like a regular caramel and not an overly salty caramel.  The rice crisp pieces have an airy crunchiness which I did not fully expect.  I guess rice crisps have this type of crunchiness so I should have expected it, but they look like little chocolate balls so part of me expected the texture of solid chocolate.  The sweet cream was pretty good, but it's purpose here is simply to serve as a vehicle for the mix-ins.

This is a fun and interesting pint from Dolcezza.  The thick globs of dulce de leche were some of the best I have seen in caramel or dulce de leche type of pint.  The rice crisps provided good chocolate flavor but part of me wanted them to be chocolatey-er and not the airy rice crisps that they are.  But if you expect that, then it won't be a problem.  I look forward to trying more flavors from this brand.