Comments (0) BEST PLACE TO FEEL AS IF YOU’RE BREAKFASTING IN AN ITALIAN PALAZZO - 2009
Intelligentsia Venice
1331 Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
310-399-1233
An affogato, which means "drowned" in Italian, is the blissful marriage of two of Italy's finest exports: espresso and gelato, and it may well be the best union of hot and cold since the Baked Alaska. At Intelligentsia Venice, this combination is achieved by first placing a scoop of dense vanilla bean gelato, made by David Myers' of Comme Ça bistro, into a pleasantly weighty Gibraltar glass (a small bar glass, so called because, if you turn it horizontally, the thin space between the upper and lower wells resembles the Straits of Gibraltar). The barista then pours a just-pulled double shot of Black Cat espresso over the gelato. The thick crema from the espresso melts the outer edges of the gelato, forming what looks like a bit of haphazard latte art in the glass. As both the espresso and the gelato are dense, perfectly orchestrated examples of their species, the affogato resists melting for a surprisingly long matter of minutes. Far longer than it will take you to finish off what is perhaps the best breakfast combo to be had in L.A.
—Amy Scattergood
