Pidapipo Gelataria Carlton started life as a “Test Lab” popup on Faraday Street late last year after owner/gelato-maker Lisa Valmorbida decided to throw in her chef whites and spend some time travelling around Italy and studying at Carpigiani gelato university, learning about the art of making proper gelato.
The popup closed earlier this year as Valmorbida sought to take what she’d learned from running the popup (and another research trip to Italy) and translate it into a more permanent location. Fast forward to 2014 and I was invited to sample some of the gelato flavours and learn about Pidapipo’s story and philosophy prior to this Friday’s opening.
The gelato is handmade on site daily, and uses quality local and Italian ingredients. The gelato is stored in stainless steel pozzeti to ensure a constant temperature and texture is maintained.
I was a big fan of the smooth and creamy gelato and could tell that the ingredients used were high quality. The gelato wasn’t overly sweet which let the flavours really shine – everything tasted like it was supposed to, never fake. Across the 20 pozetti are a combination of simple flavours like vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, and Nuttella swirl along with more adventurous flavours like the seasonal Christmas pudding and a Coke float inspired creation developed in conjunction with Beatbox Kitchen’s Raph Rashid.
My favourites flavours were the cinnamon, salted caramel, and a ricotta, cinnamon and honeycomb one which used Honey Fingers’ honey produced by bees kept on Pidapipo’s roof and was made from scratch while the event was running.
Along with scoops in containers and cones, Pidapipo will also offer gelato filled brioche and a variety of simple sauce toppings to finish things off, courtesy of the impressive looking chocolate tap.
There have been some great additions to Carlton’s food scene over the past year and Pidapipo looks set to be another welcome addition to the area. May the revival of Lygon Street continue!
Pidapipo Gelataria
299 Lygon Street
Carlton
Victoria 3057
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9347 4596
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://pidapipo.com.au/
Open
Mon – Sun: 12:00pm to 11:00pm
