Gelato Affogato, or drowned ice cream, in Bologna

 

 

I was at a sidewalk café in Bologna when, in my tourist Italian, I ordered an iced coffee. The waiter looked a bit puzzled. He called the manager. I repeated what I thought was a request for iced coffee. The manager smiled, said “si, si,” and they went off into the interior of the café.

 

A few minutes later, the waiter returned carrying a small bowl containing a scoop of vanilla gelato atop a puddle of espresso. The combination of hot espresso and cold gelato reminded me of a hot fudge sundae but subtler, more grown-up. Bittersweet rather than simply sweet. It was sublime.

 

Subsequently, I learned that this is called gelato affogato, or drowned ice cream. It’s a traditional Italian treat, and one that’s perfect on a hot summer day whether you’re in sitting in a sidewalk café in Bologna or in your kitchen in Boston or Boise.

 

Sometimes not being fluent in a language leads to serendipity. But I’m glad that I now know how to order it correctly. And that I didn’t get that iced coffee.

 

Gelato Affogato

 

Simply pour hot (but not boiling hot) espresso over the best vanilla gelato or ice cream you can buy or make. Vary it by adding a splash of coffee liqueur or change up the ice cream flavor. Coffee is excellent.

Comments

[Jeri Quinzio]

Love your Safire story. Sometimes the mistake works. Sometimes, not so much. Wonder what he was served.
Jeri

[Beth Surdut, Visual Storyteller]

Perfetto,Signora Jeri! Thank you for providing another way to enjoy my coffee and ice cream habits.
As to not knowing the language, William Safire wrote a NYT column years ago where he talked about traveling in Spain,not knowing Spanish, but thinking he could get by with his knowledge of French when ordering in a restaurant. Wanting a whole fish, he ordered pescado con tetas. The waiter was puzzled, as was your waiter, because instead of order a fish with its head, he asked for a fish with tits.