Kat's 9 Lives

I missed the Grand Re-Opening at Tutto Amore Gelato because of the Elite event in LA. The owner, Timothy Lin, was nice enough to invite me to try their gelato in a separate event. As it turns out it has become a big event on 12/28/08 where anyone with me will be getting a Free Gelato and Espresso or Hot Chocolate. Everyone is welcome to come! Just let me know how many people so I can get a head count! ^_- By chance I was at another event and ended up coming here with everyone after dinner. Currently they offer that if you buy 2 scoops of Gelato and put a suggestion for a new flavor into the box, they will give you a FREE PINT to take home!
My new GPS does not like me and made me take a super long route to reach this place. It's near PCH where Broadway hits. The drive home was much smoother and quicker than the drive here. It was FREEZING outside, but we still came and I am glad we did. As soon as I walked in Timothy recognized me without ever having met me. My face must be so scary and distinguishable! lol We were greeted warmly and offered to try the Mystery Flavor Gelato. As soon as I had a small taste I knew what it was! Whoops, I blurted it out immediately... I guess I should have waited to see if anyone else would get it. There's no way my tongue would be easily duped by flavors. =9 The mystery flavor was Caramelized Bacon!
So here is my honest opinions about certain flavors. What I really enjoyed was the Green Tea (Matcha), Ferrero Rocher, and Garlic Gelato! When Timothy told me about using high quality matcha for the gelato I just took the information as random information. As soon as I had one bite of the Matcha Gelato I could tell it was made from superb raw materials. You can really taste the richness and aromatic flavor of the powder. I immediately knew that Ms. Lin would love it when she tries it on 12/28! PK and I were raving about the taste. The Ferrero Rocher tastes just like the candy. Of course with the good there are some flavors that weren't as impressive. It's not that they were bad but they were lacking in comparison of the others. To be fair, it could be that the others were too good and it's hard for everything to be like that as well. Another reason can be personal preference.
Timothy tried to make Salted Caramel and the flavor was not bad, but it was just too buttery in taste for me to enjoy. I am still a huge fan of Bi-Rite. They had Persimmon, which was a very interesting flavor. After a few bites I knew immediately that it was Hachiya Persimmons based on the flavor and texture. The Baccio (Hazelnut) was good but PK and I were discussing that there was something lacking. I think it was the richness of the hazelnut flavor. They had Tiramisu that was flavorful but it was a little icy. This could be due to the liqueur flavoring. We were given complimentary Espresso. WOW! Can we say strong!? lol I have had Espresso all over Europe last year, but I think this is stronger than that if you can imagine! Luckily I am not affected by caffeine but it was very strong in taste with a bitter aftertaste. I dumped two packs of brown sugar in and bam! It was sweet as heck! I recommend maybe one pack at most now. O=)
I am very grateful that he made fresh Garlic Gelato for us. Wow was the garlic flavor strong and DELICIOUS! lol I think having fresh gelato is very interesting because the texture and consistency was totally different. The Garlic Gelato tasted like Sweet Garlic Butter. We all joked that we should whip out some bread and spread the gelato on it! Yum Yum! lol The flavor just lingered in our mouths. Before we left he packed us a huge quart of the Garlic Gelato out of the kindness of his heart. PK and I both love it and eat it happily. O=9 We both also got a pint of the Matcha. I brought mine home to my parents that night at 2 AM to share with them since I like the place. They DEVOURED it! I was going to save the Matcha for Ms. Lin but it's all gone! lol
Most of the flavors were pretty good, some were okay, and some were great. They often change flavors due to what is seasonal and certain experiments. I think the owner is extremely passionate about his store and an intricate part of the creative thought process. We all enjoyed meeting with him and chatting. He has done a great job re-painting and decorating the store. It has a very inviting feeling and the couches are so soft and nice. If it wasn't so far away, I'd probably come by more often. Be sure to come try this place and have a nice chat with Timothy while you are here. He's always around ^_-

Tutto Amore Gelato