GROM

Well, we had made it to New York. After a tiring drive down, we had some NY pizza for dinner and finally retired for the evening. My sister did bring me some lovely treats from LA. Mainly some fresh cherries! (They're in season in CA right now) And they were delicious. I started eating them as soon as I got them. The next day dawned sunny and very very warm. It was time to head out for some eats and a tour of NY. I had planned on heading up to Soho to check out Caffe Falai and picking up my anchovies from Despana, but we got a late start. So we decided to grab a quick breakfast and head up town. My sister and her bf, Ben, had not been to Central Park, and I thought it'd be a good time to check out Grom on the UWS.

There was a street festival in full swing when we arrived, but luckily, most New Yorkers had left for the holiday weekend. So when we showed up at Grom, the line wasn't very long.

Despite this, it was a bit of a wait because the employees didn't seem to have a system down yet (I guess it has only been open for a month).

So if you don't know what Grom is, it's an Italian gelato shop that's just opened its first location in the U.S. Both the NYTimes and mostly, Ed Levine, wrote a praising reviews of the place, so I had to check it out. I knew about the astronomical prices ($4.25 for a small) and the long lines, but I love gelato so much that I hoped it'd be worth the trouble.

We all ended up getting mediums, and for 4 people, it came out to be $24! (with tax). Here are the medium size cups. (And yes, the medium size is what we'd call a "small" at any other store). I ordered extra noir chocolate, ruby red grapefruit and cappuccino. Tom just got the grapefruit (a sorbetto, rather than a gelato)

And here's the almond granita that my little sis ordered.

So was it worth it? The ultimate verdict: not really. The gelato wasn't any more amazing than gelato I've had in Italy, but more than that, it wasn't so much more amazing than gelato I've had in the U.S.; most recently at Mozza and at Il laboratio del gelato and Capogiro. I mean, the gelatos were very good, and I really enjoyed the mellow, creamy flavor of the cappuccino, but at these prices, I'll go elsewhere. My sister's granita ended up being watery and too sweet. It tasted a lot like the almond jelly dessert that you get at dim sum. So if you happen to be up on the UWS, I'd suggest a trip, but to make a special trip out there? Don't bother.

We walked off our gelatos with a long walk through Central Park...all the way to the Nintendo Flagship store at Rockefeller Center where Tom had his favorite moment of the trip, buying himself a Wii. (Actually, my sister and her bf also bought consoles). After dropping them off at the hotel, we were ready for some lunch at the Red Hook Ballfields.