When that summertime heat really kicks in, relief can often be found in the form of a large dish or tall cone of some frosty delight. You shouldn't confuse this delish-looking dish of frozen confection for ice cream, however, as it is a treat of even tastier proportions! This is gelato!
You'll usually find 12 luscious flavors of this house-made, traditional Italian indulgence in the cases of The Bethlehem Parlour, according to its owner Pietro Russo, a member of the locally famous Stefano's and MINT restaurant families.
So why gelato? Russo tells us it's healthier than ice cream is—gelato has one-third the fat but all the flavor of ice cream. It's just made of a simple blend of milk, sugar and flavoring. Its less-fat content allows this creamy confection to be chilled at a slightly higher temperature than that of ice cream—and that's a very important thing. Meaning there are no frozen taste buds by the time you make your way to the bottom of the dish so you can thoroughly enjoy every creamy, silky, tingly spoonful.
Our fave is the stracciatella, but Russo reports the customer favorite is the Mamma Mia—a combo of vanilla, wild cherry and chocolate.
Flavors rotate, but you can always count on a great fruity selection like blood orange or watermelon in the case. We‘re recommending one of the most classic Italian flavors, stracciatella— Italy's version of America's chocolate chip made better because its purely delicious vanilla base is ribboned with dark, rich chocolate that melts on the tongue along with the gelato, whereas the small chocolate chips remain hard, cold chocolate chunks in the mouth.
After all, taming summer's heat always works better with a treat!
1114 W. Broad St., Bethlehem | 610.882.0700 | bethlehemparlour.com
