We are Francesca, Leo, and Marco and everything started with our love for gelato.
THE CONCEPT
Italian-style gelateria serving cold comfort made from farm-fresh ingredients. It is the second location of Austin-born Dolce Neve, which is owned and operated by siblings Marco and Francesca Silvestrini, as well as Francesca's fiancé, Leopoldo Ferrarese.
THE SPACE
Light, bright and subway-tiled white on white, the former laundromat is in the same Heights-area strip mall as Morningstar coffee shop. Customers will not see displays of fluffily groomed trays bearing colorful gelato, as is the norm - Dolce Neve's gelatos are kept in shiny cylinders (topped with conical silver lids) sunk into the service counter. A handful of small tables and counter seats are available for those who dine in.
THE FOOD
More than 300 gelato flavors are rotated in and out; about a dozen are available daily. Staples include chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, salted caramel, stracciatella, organic pistachio, organic hazelnut, custard with lemon zest, and coconut milk with black raspberry jam. Rotating flavors might include chocolate and candied orange peel, almond custard, pecan and honey, whiskey and pecan, tiramisu, mascarpone and figs, cassata (Italian cake), ricotta with honey and pistachio, goat cheese and pecan, goat cheese and blueberry jam, and fromage blanc with apricot jam. All can be had in a cup, in a waffle cone, as a gelato pop or in a gelato "ice cream" sandwich between two cookies.
THE DRINKS
Well-made espresso, cappuccino and latte coffee drinks using Greenway Coffee beans (a friendly nod to Morningside neighbor David Buehrer, who owns the java biz). Texas favorite Topo Chico, too.
ONE MORE THING
Francesca Silvestrini studied at the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, Italy. She refined her skills while working at Gelateria De'Coltelli in Pisa, one of the most famous gelato shops in Italy.
THE WORD
Marco Silvestrini says what he's looking for in that final product is a concentration of flavor as well as the important considerations of mouthfeel and texture/density: "We want something that is very clear, and you immediately understand the flavor you are eating."
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