Since I have started my lab rotation for the summer, I have not had much time to check out a lot of the restaurants in the area. However, there is always time (and room) for dessert, so one day I stopped by Almare Gelato in downtown. I am not quite sure what attracted me to the place.. maybe its black-and-white sign stood out amongst the others.. or maybe I just love gelato.

The shop is pretty small – two cases displaying all the gelato, a couple of tables, and a small counter facing the window, so you can stare outside while you eat (which I found a little odd, but I suppose it’s good for people-watching). There is also a shelf with some of their other products for sale, such as fresh jams.

Gelato display case

One of the cases featured an assortment of gelatos, while the other had sorbets. Now someone may have to correct me, but I always thought that sorbets were water-based, not cream-based. However, many of their sorbets definitely looked very creamy. Perhaps I have always misunderstood, and sorbets are just defined by the fact that they have fruit?

Anyway, I decided to try a couple of flavors (unfortunately I forgot all the Italian names of the flavors, which were written on the display cards): sweet milk, panna cotta, hazelnut, and coconut. I eventually decided on sweet milk and hazelnut, combined in a small cup. Only 1 scoop allowed in a small cup, so I got half a scoop of each.

Sweet milk and hazelnut gelato at Almare

The ‘creaminess level’ of the gelato was not as high as some of the places that I have had in Durham – this gelato was definitely more chunky than ice cream. I did miss a little bit of richness. However, I really enjoyed the flavors, in particular the sweet milk. Combining it with hazelnut was also a big win! I think the creativity and variety of the flavors would be my reason to come back.