Our Kind of Excess

Despite the fact that the D.C. area abounds with international culinary riches, its status as an international city is seriously undermined by its dearth of gelaterias. Fortunately, the proprietors of Dolcezza (formerly Isee Icy) are doing their part to fill this void. Dolcezza specializes in Argentine gelato, which differentiates itself from Italian gelato in that it uses no eggs and more cream. That means that their gelato is lighter and less substantive than the denser version with which most folks are familiar.

But while Argentine gelato may not quite sate our gelato jones in the same way the Italian version does, they make up for it with their adventurous palate and extensive use of dulce de leche.

In fact, if you find yourself unable to choose among their twentysomething flavors, you can’t go wrong by opting for one of the usually several flavors that are generously ribboned with dulce de leche. In fact, our favorite flavor, “Banana Split,” is banana gelato with a swirl of  dulce de leche. I’m usually repulsed by anything banana-flavored, since that often means an artificial flavor that’s one step removed from a stick of Juicy Fruit. But Dolcezza’s banana split has the cleanest, most refreshingly natural banana flavor of any ice cream or gelato that I’ve ever had. And the inclusion of dulce de leche takes it from merely wonderful to heavenly.

Dolcezza’s “Mascarpone” flavor is similarly ambrosial, the gelato equivalent of the lightest, airiest raspberry cheesecake. And Dolcezza earns extra points with us for being fearless in its experimentation. “Olive Oil” sounds like a miserable flavor for gelato, but, in fact, they’ve managed to accentuate the natural fruitiness of olive oil, while stripping away all bitterness.

Unfortunately, their mix of passionfruit and milk chocolate doesn’t quite gel, but we’re glad that they're willing to let the public in on some of their more unusual experiments. In fact, they publish a blog that offers the backstory behind some of the more noteworthy flavors in their ever evolving repertoire.

And if you’re not tempted by their gelato, there’s always the prominent display of dulce de leche filled churros near the cash register. They’ll quickly heat them up for you, so that they’re still nicely warmed by the time you sit down. The churros are perfectly crunchy on the outside, while the inside is soft and eggy with a decadent vein of dulce de leche running down the middle. It may be excessive to fill fried dough with dulce de leche, but it’s our kind of excess.

Check out Dolcezza in Georgetown at:
1560 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C.
(202) 333-4646

—AC