Paciugo: Italian Gelato Renaissance

From what I gather, this Dallas-based gelato chain made a brief appearance in The Market at the Glen in Glenview (actually, it's The Market that made the brief appearance). I stopped into the Madison branch of Paciugo this past weekend. This location offered about 20 flavors of gelato, including some quirkier offerings.

Goldfish


Lime Mojito


Pepe Nero


I sampled the pepe nero (black pepper olive oil) and thought it OK. I'm a big fan of pepper flavor and have been curious about trying more pepper-flavored sweets after tasting pepper jellybeans from the Jelly Belly factory. The pepper in Paciugo's pepe nero was very, very subtle--basically overpowered by the sweetness of the gelato.

I also sampled the tartufi, a flavor which I had never tried anywhere. I was pleasantly surprised. I imagine kids like this flavor. I liked it enough to think about buying an individual-sized tartufi cake, but reconsidering that candy-coated exterior, my teeth ultimately dissuaded me. I have, however, added these cakes to my list of foods Martin Parr should photograph.



It looks like the chain is starting to make inroads to the Midwest. Locations are slated for Milwaukee and Kansas City this fall. I could probably live without Paciugo in Chicago, but I would welcome them as competition for Linz and Vail.

Paciugo
Italian Gelato - Caffe
341 State St.
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
Phone: 608-442-3538
www.paciugo.com