Grom Gelato - Review

Intro
Grom - Highly Recommended
2165 Broadway, New York 10024
Btwn 76th & 77th St
Phone: 646-290-7233

The key to gelato is texture and intensity of the flavors. Either component is usually lacking when tasting gelato in NYC. We Americans also have a sweeter tooth, which is evident in the much sweeter gelati. To my surprise, a popular gelato maker from Turin, Italy has opened up shop on the Upper West Side. Does it live up to expectations? Yes, Grom is by far the best gelato in NYC. Better than the top rated Il Laboratorio Del Gelato, which is not that great in my opinion. All the gelati at Grom have the right dense, yet soft texture and definitely sources superior ingredients - lemons from Amalfi, hazelnuts from Piedmont, chocolate from Venezuela, etc. Definitely highly recommended.

My Menu
1) Hazelnut Gelato - Highly Recommended
2) Pistachio Gelato - Recommended
3) Cappuccino Gelato - Highly Recommended
4) Stracciatella - Recommended

Dish Comments
1) Powerful hazelnut flavor that definitely brought me back to a night in Amalfi eating nocciola gelato. My favorite of the four.
2) Nice pistachio flavor, but it was a little drowned out by the intense hazelnut gelato. The pistachio gelati we had in Rome had a real intense pistachio flavor which was lacking here. Still better than all other pistachio gelati I had in NYC.
3) My second favorite of the day. It had an intense cappuccino flavor without being ridiculously sweet.
4) Stracciatella is basically vanilla ice cream with chocolate pieces - I had probably a pound of this in Italy. This was good (especially the Venezuelan dark chocolate), but it was again - drowned out by the other three gelati.

Overall Restaurant Experience

• Food 9.0/10 - Best gelato in NYC
  
• Service N/A - Younger people serving the gelato but was accommodating and quick enough
  
• Atmosphere N/A - There was a long line on this Sunday afternoon and the gelato was almost out. On the day Grom opened, we tried to get some gelato, but they sold out by 8pm.
  
• Price 8/10 - Very expensive gelato (small is $4.75) but worth the price.

Closing Comments
Grom overtook Bruno Bakery in the West Village as my favorite gelato joint. Something was still missing from the gelato experience though. The gelato was still much better in Italy - maybe it was just the euphoria of being in Italy or maybe the milk they use is higher quality (all dairy products in Europe are much better). Grom's gelato comes very close though and I'm still happy they've arrived in NYC.