Gastronomical Adventures: Dolcetti Gelato and Normandie revisited

The day started out pretty dark, gloomy, snowy (yes, it snows in April here), and Dad was being sulky, whiny, reclusive--again. Mom and I wanted to go grocery shopping, and asked him if he wanted to come along; because really, going shopping is pretty much the only we can get him to go out into the sun and much-needed exercise. At first he refused, but when I mentioned that we're planning on going to this gelato place in downtown, he had second thoughts. While shopping, we can tell that his spirits were gradually lifting... Then it was time for our little frozen treat. I've heard good reviews about this place, so I was excited to try it.

We ordered the Sundae Duo, since it comes with a choice of 4 flavors of gelato with topping, at a very cheap price. We got the Forest Berry, Cappuccino, Pear, and Dulce de Leche gelato, and topped it with whipped cream. They were delicious! Very creamy, not as heavy as ice cream. It was a nice, afternoon dessert. And as for Dad, he was in an extremely good mood, whistling the entire time after we got home. All I can do is just roll my eyes and shake my head :S

Then the next day, we went to the Normandie Cafe. It's been a long time since I've been here, so I've been wanting to go back and try their other pastries. We got there around 4:30PM--it looked like the workers were cleaning up, so maybe it was close to closing time. I looked at the arrays of pastries in the display case. I heard good things about their pear tart, so I got that. Then there were several other chocolate pastries that I haven't seen before (not that I come here often). When I asked about a few them, the clerk there gave a vivid description of each--he definitely knew what he was talking about. I got a Chocolate Decadence; he described it as a "molten chocolate cake base--it's very dense, with gooey chocolate in the center--topped with rich chocolate mousse". Interesting....usually molten chocolate cakes are served warm, I don't I've ever eaten one cold. So I got that one too. We ate them for dessert that night. The verdict?

...Hmmmm.... The pear tart was very almond-y. Too almond-y actually, all I could taste was almonds, and couldn't even taste the pear. But other than the pear itself, it was a good pastry. Nice, tender tart crust, and while tasteless, the pear provided a soft textural contrast. The Chocolate Decadence was really, really rich. The cake was indeed, very dense, with (cold)liquid chocolate still in the middle. The mousse was smooth, but a little too sweet. It was so rich the three of us couldn't finish it. Next, I gotta go back to Les Madeleine's and see how they measure up.