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Good Food
Good FoodDessert for Lovers
By Zachary D. Lyons
Dolce Vita co-owner james E. Lalonde serves up gelato to Kalen Tindell, Kai Hoyt and their mother Sally Bjornsen. Zachary D. Lyons photo. |
James E. Lalonde opened this temple to gelato, donuts, panini and espresso last September with his wife, KING-TV's Linda Brill. They make fresh gelato several times a week, and fresh donuts every day. They bake their own focaccia for their panini sandwiches.
His customers swear by Lalonde's Italian delights. Lalonde is quite the student of the Italian methods. He even ventured to Italy in January for the International Gelato Convention, where he learned all sorts of tricks, ideas, and artistry.
"In Italy, gelato is not just about taste," says Lalonde. "It is also about presentation and the experience."
Gelato is the star at Dolce Vita. The colorful, creamy frozen treat is distinctly different than ice cream. "In Italy, gelato has less than 10 percent butter fat," explains Lalonde. "In the U.S., ice cream has more than 10 percent butter fat. Our gelato is only 7 percent butter fat."
And gelato machines, while much like ice cream machines, churn differently, resulting in much less air in the mixture--40 percent versus as much as 100 percent increase in volume from air. Finally, gelato is served at zero degrees Fahrenheit, whereas ice cream is served at minus 25. The result is that gelato is much creamier.
Lalonde also offers up terrific panini, the classic Italian sandwich, as well as donuts--the Italian kind, not that corporate dreck you have to go to Issaquah for. These donuts, like the huge selection of flavors of gelato, are incredible, and he gives out samples. Lalonde feels tasting is believing. Oh, and the cookies rock, too!
The first Tuesday of the month is Italian Conversation Night. Order in Italian, and get a buck off panini.
Dolce Vita, 2123 Queen Anne Ave N, 284-2514. Open Sunday - Thursday 7 a.m. - 11 p.m., Friday & Saturday 7 a.m. - midnight, closed Monday.
Reader Comments
Discuss this article in the forums!
| jen jen | Apr 03, 2003 | california | |
| im doin dis report and i need to know why people lyke ice cream so mucho! please post up yur opinions and comments! | |||
| jen jen is an idiot | Sep 23, 2004 | seattle | |
| jen jen, learn to spell and write useful posts. you idiot~! | |||
| seattle too | Dec 30, 2004 | seattle | none of your business |
| you are the idiot! Jen, was simply putting a little Italian accent into her post. Are you really that blind? | |||
