Rome: Gelataria del Teatro

We had a lot of good food in Italy. Some of it was amazing. A lot of it, while good, was familiar. But a few things we had were truly revelatory. The gelato at Gelateria del Teatro was one of them. It is not the most famous of the Roman gelaterias, but it was recommended in the Lonely Planet, so we decided to give it a shot. This was hands down the best gelato of our trip.

This small place, tucked away in an easy to miss corner boasts an array of interesting flavors. Each one successfully distills the essence of its key flavor component into an intense, icy form that is out of this world. The lemon gelato was the perfect refresher on a hot August day, and the strawberry gelato tasted like freshly picked strawberries at the height of their season. It was the less pedestrian flavors, however, that made this place special. We tried a ginger gelato that was so full of that spicy ginger kick that you could only take small bits of it...but you had to keep eating it because it was so darn good. We also tried a sage gelato. Words cannot describe how good this was. Sage is such a great complement to sweeter flavors, but to have it in ice cream form was a revelation. We often associate mint with "coolness," and when I had that sage gelato, I realized that sage could have the same effect. That gelato was quite simply the best non-savory food that I have ever tasted.