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San Francisco Bay Area

Tips for Dining, Eating, and Food Shopping in the SF Bay Area (including Berkeley, Oakland, Napa, Sonoma, Marin, and San Jose)

Gelateria that Makes Everything From Scratch

Does anyone know of a gelateria that doesn't use Pregel America as their base? Or does no such thing exist here in the bay area? I'd sure like to taste the difference!

17 Replies

  1. Sure, Bovolo in Healdsburg. http://www.chow.com/places/3042

    1. re: Melanie Wong

      If you ask to look at the ingredient list for Bovolo's gelato, it will say something like Clover milk, sugar, Dry Creek peaches. Doesn't have "natural flavors" from Italy, such as Pregel America's.

    2. Lush in Oakland
      http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/618843

      I believe Gelato Firenze, also in Oakland, makes their gelato from scratch
      http://www.chow.com/places/7165

      1. What's Pregel America?

        1. re: boris_qd

          http://www.pregelamerica.com/en/produ...

        2. Almare in Berkeley.

          1. The most hardcore from-scratch ice cream places don't make gelato per se, but some of them have a similar texture.

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            Ici Ice Cream
            2948 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

            Bi-Rite Creamery
            3692 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94110

            Sketch Ice Cream
            1809 4th St, Berkeley, CA 94710

            Tara's Organic Ice Cream
            3173 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

            Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream
            2790 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94110

            1. re: Robert Lauriston

              Ice cream and gelato are different. I don't think any in that list are even close to gelato. The only place that I think matches gelato in texture is Citizen Cake which for years I belived was gelato and almost still refuse to believe it is ice cream.

              Still, because of the OP request, I didn't mention it because it is ice cream.

              1. re: rworange

                Most of them are denser (have lower overrun) than most American ice cream.

                Gelato in Italy varies a lot. Typically it's much lower in butterfat than American ice cream and contains no cream, but not always. Textures vary from whipped cream / mousse to the dense, sticky stuff people expect here.

                1. re: Robert Lauriston

                  Yes, but the OP is looking to compare a gelato with that base to one without. Even narrowing it down to the category of local gelato, I'm not sure how much validity there would be to the comparison.

                  It is about technique and ingrediants.

                  Using ice cream as an example, Bi-Rite, Three Twins, Lala's and Fairfax Scoop (and probably most top of the line ice creams) use that Strauss base mix yet they are all different. Petaluma farms is using Spring Hills Jersey cream while Clover uses their own cream. So, there is also that to figure in, what dairy is the gelato using. A differet dairy at various gelato shops might produce different results ... along with technique and other ingrediants.

              2. re: Robert Lauriston

                Great. The only "places" links on this threads are places that don't actually make gelato.

                1. re: Robert Lauriston

                  Doesn't Bi-Rite use base mix from Straus? Sketch's texture and lower butterfat is quite close to gelato.

                  1. re: Melanie Wong

                    Yes they do.

                2. CiCi in Mill Valley: http://www.gelateriacici.com
                  Obsessively from scratch with seasonal fruits. The best I've had in these parts.

                  1. I just heard about a place in Rohnert Park, you can see it when you're getting off the RP Expressway exit going south on 101. I'm not sure even what it's called, but I've heard some good things about it from a couple of friends.

                    1. re: dcortara

                      That would be Del Secco's. I haven't tried it either. What do you know about the ingredients?

                      http://www.gelatoandsweets.com/

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                      Del SecCo's Gelato 'N Sweets
                      6285 Commerce Blvd, Rohnert Park, CA

                    2. It's not a gelateria, but Jane Tseng makes gelato from scratch for A16 and SPQR.

                      I believe Delfina, Dopo, and Pizzaiolo make their own as well. As does, oddly, O Chame (caramel balsamic gelato).

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