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Java Cat 3918 Monona Drive Madison WI 53716 (608) 223-5553 |
A girl worth her salt would brave the elements for a scoop of truly good ice-cream. For a taste of dreamily divine gelato, however, she would travel the globe. Gelato, far denser than regular ice-cream because it contains less air, can have either a dairy base (milk, cream) or a non-dairy base (soy milk, water). For this reason, it can even be enjoyed by the lactose-intolerant without losing any of its flavor. Hey, try finding soy ice-cream that dances on the tastebuds just as heavenly—it is still very much a hit-or-miss mission.
Abby, in covering Rue de Buci, has already let you in one of the best places to enjoy gelato to your heart’s content. One might not guess, however, that delicious gelato can be found not just in Europe, but even right in the American Midwest, of all places. More specifically, at Java Cat.
Photo from Java Cat
Located on the corner of Monona Drive and Cottage Grove Road, this Wisconsin establishment opened in December of last year. It serves a wide array of soups, sandwiches, and pastries, but gelato—ah, gelato—that is the queen clearly reigning the throne. Not that you could possibly miss this fact, considering this dessert’s display case is the first thing that greets you as you step inside the richly purple walls.
The friendly staff won’t stop you from sampling as many flavors as you want—in fact, they’ll even encourage you! Which is a good thing, considering that with eighteen different varieties to tempt you on any given day, you need a good deal of pondering and experimentation to decide what you really want.
Tip: Order the sampler, which lets you partake in five different scoops of flavor, rather than the medium or large dishes, which allow you larger scoops of three or four different flavors. Less is more, after all. The sampler may give single scoops of each, but it allows your tastebuds to swirl and discern every one. Pick the medium or large and after a few minutes the flavors start to gel together.
I personally recommend the sugar-free chocolate (which tastes so dark and decadent you might as well disregard the “sugar-free” term), wild berry (lusciously melting on your tongue), and the oh-so-refreshing lemon. Go slow—you don’t want to miss a second of any of these in your mouth.
If you happen to have a huge hankering for ice-cold gelato this summer, or find yourself on a road trip in the middle of the Midwest, this little stopover cannot be beat. After all, five ladies piled into a car for a thirty-five-minute journey just to enjoy the ecstatic delight inside Java Cat. It certainly capped off our day, and may very well rev up yours.
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