You'll find ample opportunity to experiment with fancy flavors at Ciao Bella, though even a small cup ($4.75) will cost you. I've enjoyed their malted milk ball gelato, especially the little crunchy bits; the cantaloupe tarragon sorbet — sandy orange with flecks of dark green — has a gentle, refreshing melon flavor.
Green apple sorbet was clean but should've been more sour. Although I could taste both components in the peach habanero sorbet, the chiles built up unpleasantly at the back of my throat. A special gelato that may have been called "niao gin" — a blend of ginger, sesame, red bean, and rice flour — had a flavor much like toasted sesame and coffee, with a little graininess. I noticed the seeds in the lemon poppyseed gelato more by their subtraction from the tartness than from any flavor of their own; I'll have to try this one again.
Ciao Bella Gelato
285 Mott St. (near Houston St.)
(one of many locations)
212-431-3591
www.ciaobellagelato.com
