Tour del Gelato (and Indie Spotlight) — Pitango Gelato

by Valerie on May 25, 2009 · 5 comments

It’s warm weather here, which means it’s time for a Tour del Gelato stop. When I moved back to Washington, DC, I was concerned about the dearth of gelato that I remembered from living here, especially since in New York I had the Laboratorio del Gelato, and Ciao Bella, and Grom. I knew I would miss the Laboratorio for its complex flavors (think honey lavender and black mission fig) but what I missed the most was Grom’s authentic flavors and textures.

Fortunately, Pitango Gelato just opened a couple of blocks from where I live, between Dupont Circle and Logan Circle. It’s at 1451 P Street Northwest, between 14th and 15th, across the street from the P Street Whole Foods.

Pitango Gelato, Washington DC


Pitango was supposed to open in April, but things got delayed by several weeks. This is particularly unfortunate, because in that 6 week delay, I ended up on a non-dairy diet for various health reasons – but that’s not the important thing today. The important thing is that this is absolutely delicious, authentic, quality gelato, made with organic ingredients and grass-fed milk. When I walked in, I was immediately impressed with the fact the gelato was covered in individual containers. That is usually a good sign in terms of the temperature of the gelato being cold yet allowing the gelato to have that unique soft texture. The spoons being handed out were also appopriately tiny. I immediately had a good feeling about the authenticity of the place.

Pitango Gelato, Washington DC


While I couldn’t order my own cup of gelato (boo!), I brought along my designated taster, aka husband, who had a cup of Bourbon Vanilla and Pistachio. I did take very tiny tastes of both, along with a sample of Hazelnut – Pitango, by the way, was very generous with samples. I have to say – I was pretty blown away. The quality rivals Grom’s, hands-down. And, because the milk used in the gelato is grass-fed, the flavor has that rich depth of my favorite ice cream store in Brooklyn, Blue Marble.

Pitango Gelato, Washington DC


Really, the place is a win-win. And local peeps, please go often and keep it in business, so that whenever I do get to eat gelato again, Pitango on P Street is there waiting. Click here for hours and directions for the Washington, DC location as well as for other store locations in Baltimore, MD and Reston, VA.

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Melita May 25, 2009 at 2:49 am

i love gelato. the black mission fig sounds divine!! hopefully you won’t have to be on this non-dairy diet for too much longer so you can enjoy more than a sample đŸ˜‰

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2 AmyJean May 26, 2009 at 12:33 pm

OMG. that sounds so yummy! have you tried that other gelato place dolcezza? I’m obsessed with their pistachio flavor that i get from the Penn QUarter farmer’s market…
RelentlessBride

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3 Ivy May 26, 2009 at 8:26 pm

I wish I had a gelato store like this in my neighbourhood. The flavours sound amazing.

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4 Gianluigi June 28, 2009 at 5:34 pm

Have you ever tried Dolci Gelati? It is my husbands company. We also do artisan homemade and super quthentic gelato. my husband was the pastry chef at Galileo for 6 years before opening the company. We have to locations at the zoo and we have our pints at whole foods, dean and deluca among other places as well. Please try it and let me know what you think!!

Anastasia

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5 Anonymous December 22, 2009 at 7:50 pm

I totally disagree with your review of Pitango. On par with Grom? You have to be kidding. The crema is icy and flavorless, and the sorbets lack punch. It is good local gelato, but would not even be in my top ten favorites globally. Pitango claims they make the best gelato you will ever taste, but this assumes you never travel outside the DC metro area.

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