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I need gelato in Detroit

Having recently returned from a week in Rome and Florence, I am desparately in need of some real gelato. Every evening there, we finished dinner somewhere between 8 and 10 pm, then found a gelateria to sample the wonderful stuff and stroll the streets of Rome. Help me, friends, gelato in Metro Detroit?

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  1. Only place I'm aware of is Zingerman's Next Door (coffeehouse next to deli) in Ann Arbor

    1. Closer than Zingerman's...
      Bommarito Bakery on Greater Mack, south of Nine Mile Road in St Clair Shores.

      4 Replies
      1. re: RedTop

        You can get gelato at both Zingerman's Next Door and at Zingerman's Creamery out by the Ann Arbor airport (it's tucked into an industrial park.) You also can get it at the Roadhouse as a dessert. Zing's sells their gelato in some local stores (Bella Vino, The Produce Station) so you could ask one of your stores to start carrying it.

        Or just give it a few years, somebody in Birmingham or Royal Oak will go to Italy and discover gelato, and come back and buy a franchise.

        1. re: brendastarlet

          There already was a place in Birmingham, on Old Woodward, however it wasn't the best I've ever had. Evidently it wasn't the best for others either since it's not there anymore.
          You can get gelato at Papa Joe's in Birmingham. They have quite a few flavors.

          1. re: brendastarlet

            Sadly there was a location in Royal Oak that had gelato a few years back, but its gone too.

          2. re: RedTop

            Depends on your perspective. You can't get much further east than St. Clair Shores. I still miss the east side, but it's a good drive from the west side and points west.

            formerly from the east side, now lives in Ann Arbor.

          3. Brooklyn Pizza in downtown Birmingham (111 Henrietta Street) makes their own gelato, sorbetto, and ice cream. I've never tried the gelato but I like the sorbetto I've had.


            1. Thanks for the recommendations. Bommarito's version is pretty good. We had their half chocolate/half vanilla-cinnamon block. It was pretty good - certainly reminded me of Rome, but didn't blow my socks off. (Also, I am not a big fan of cinnamon ice cream.) $5.99 a quart

              Brooklyn Pizza's version is better - much more intense flavor, good texture. I liked it a lot, though I would like a wider, or different selection of flavors - they only had 6, I think - chocolate, chocolate-hazelnut, pistachio, mango, banana-coconut, and I can't remember the last. $3 for about a six ounce scoop.

              Zingerman's next. At $4 a gallon, I'm trying to decide if I need a better reason than gelato to drive to AA....

              4 Replies
              1. re: berkleygary

                The new Whole Foods in Rochester Hills that opened yesterday has a gelato bar. The samples I had tasted very flavorful and free of additives. The most interesting was the pineapple-basil. Most of the other flavors were pretty traditional. Lots of lovely fruit flavors for summer as well. My first thought was "this reminds me of my trip to Rome". It's at the Village at Rochester Hills, the outdoor mall.


                1. re: kellycolorado

                  I'm glad you found it flavorful. When they were scooping for some elderly ladies ahead of me it looked very grainy and not smooth, at all. Not how I thought gelato should look, so I didn't bother tasting any. Since they had just opened that day I thought maybe their freezers were too cold, if that could happen?

                  1. re: grouper

                    hmm, I didn't notice the graininess, although it was at the end of my 1 1/2 hours there and I was just so excited to see gelato. :-) It did indeed taste good. I'll try more next time I'm there.

                2. re: berkleygary

                  Ha! For a moment there, I thought you meant the gelato was $4 per gallon and I thought to myself....what a deal! Then I realized you meant gasoline : (


                3. In Grosse Pointe, across from Grosse Pointe South, there's a place called Gelato Cafe. I was only there once years ago, but I remember it being pretty good.