Updated post-visit! If the sky seemed a little clearer this morning, the birds a bit chirpier, the sun a whole lot sunnier, all I can say is this is what happens to the world when a new gelateria opens up in the neighborhood. Gelato Bar is the fantastic cafe helmed by Gail Silverton (yes, sister of Nancy) and Joel Gutman that has been tantalizing the Valley gelatiscenti for a few years in Studio City. And now they’ve ventured over the hill to open a location at 1936 Hillhurst, in Los Feliz, occupying the old Hollywood Gelato spot.
My friend Lenny, who just moved down the street, has been monitoring the situation for me and snapped a few shots. Last night they piped the yards of feathery, satiny gelato into the case, which could only mean they were opening today.
More importantly, this means the Great Gelato Triangle is once again complete. I’ve created this handy GeLAtomap (or click on the image above) to help you navigate between all three points in three of LA’s coolest neighborhoods: Pazzo Gelateria in Silver Lake, Scoops in Hel-Mel, and now Gelato Bar in Los Feliz.
This morning, it was confirmed, courtesy of my friend Jess Ritz over at the LA Weekly: Soft opening today! So what could I do but high-tail it over there for lunch?
The tiny space has been reimagined in the shade of blood orange sorbet.
Gail was there, as was her cohort Wendi Matthews—who have been friends since childhood!—and they traded off giving us a personal tasting tour of all the highlights. They won’t be officially open for another week or so—although Wendi did hint that they might open up for a few hours on Saturday night—but the only reason for the delay is that they still need to hire someone. They’re looking for someone who’s knowledgeable and passionate about the cold stuff, so if that’s you, I’d suggest stopping by for a gelato-spiked chat with the ladies this week. Although you may have some competition…I was ready to jump behind that counter right then and there.
But there’s really no need to fret about the opening at all since Gelato Bar is serving free mini-cones all week—which I, of course, like to call baby gelato. I recommend trying one of their rich ultracreamy flavors—like the salted caramel, pannacotta or pistachio—and then be sure to get one of the seasonal, pretty-in-pastels sorbets. Although it would be a shame to miss out on the chocolate sorbet, which is kind of the best of both worlds: It’s such a jolt of pure, unfettered chocolate that they don’t even make a chocolate gelato. I’ll most likely be back tomorrow.
Where to find this (plus how to get there on public transportation) at Gelatobaby’s GeLAtomap!
