Pair of Palermo reviews without photos - 2 of 2
It's only appropriate to write this review as part of a matched set. That's because this was the next stop after La Taverna di John. The pizza was more than fine, but I wasn't going to balk at "dessert" that I was being treated to and where the consensus was to go.
This is definitely the place - Brioscia on Via Mariano Stabile, meaning this dude was, or is, "stable." Who can forget a street name like that? It sits under or near one of those blocky office buildings or condos that must have gone up during the building boom of the '60s or '70s, and where the sidewalk is covered by the colonnade of the building. (I'm sorry for having to get into all these specifics, but I can't seem to write up a review without giving a lot of extraneous contextual information.)
Moving right along, I am almost sure that the Sicilian term brioscia is rooted in the French word brioche. Here, the thing to do is to have the gelato and/or sorbetto placed into a brioche bun that has been spread apart to accommodate the ensuing decadence! I was not expecting this presentation. I have had "brioscia(s)" in the morning for breakfast and they are really tasty on a stand-alone basis, given that they are sweet. And I've had gelato in a cup or a cone. This merging of gelato and a brioche bun is a cool idea.
I shouldn't do this when I go for gelato or ice cream, but I usually mix it up with one chocolate based flavor and one citrus flavor. And that's what I did at Brioscia. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I'm talking about how the mix comes off. That the individual flavors at Brioscia are excellent and tasty goes without saying!
There is a little wafer that they place at the top. A napkin is placed below the brioche bun. (I think you should also ask for a spoon.) The treat is, or can be, drizzled with a topping. Note that Brioscia is popular. You won't have the counter to yourself!
The young people working here are pleasant. I got a sample, or maybe two, before deciding on the flavors, but know what is reasonable and don't be obnoxious. This is a popular gelateria in Palermo, and for good reason. read more