Paciugo Gelato !
5172 Buffalo Speedway, Unit A (Next to Vietopia)
713-666-4958
Since our trip to Florence (Italy for those of you who are thinking of SC), we've been rather obsessed with gelato. When we came back after a week of two gelatos a day, where do you think we went? Teo, a gelateria in Austin. Austin, in fact, has three different gelateria brands. Houston? None (Dolce Vita closed)... until now.
Paciugo is a franchise. But it makes good gelato. Good enough for Central Market in Austin to carry their gelato. So what is gelato? It's like icecream, but a bit smoother and more flavorful. Paciugo claims that it's 80% lighter than icecream. It's served in a semi-frozen state, allowing you to eat it rather easily with a plastic spoon.
Today, I tried the green tea, caramel, and black pepper and olive oil. All tasted very good. Not quite as ice-crystal-free as the gelateria at the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, but very good. I much prefer Paciugo's gelato to just about any icecream. The only thing I can compare Paciugo to is a place called Parfalat Parmalat that shut down a while back (a Marble Slab now occupies the space in Uptown Park).
Go try it now... Yummy.
posted by Huan at 10:11 PM
25 Comments:
Black Walnut Cafe at 5510 Morningside Drive in Rice Village offers a good selection of gelato, and flavors change daily. The Houston Press reviewed them last month.
July 06, 2006
Yup, Black Walnut does have good gelato... http://www.quoz.com/2005/05/black-walnut-cafe-rice-village.html
July 07, 2006
There's also Piccolo Gelato waaay out in Katy on Mason Rd, on the north side, almost to Cinco Ranch. I don't know if the gelato is of the same calibur, but wanted to let you know in case you're ever out there.
July 10, 2006
I'm sorry, thats "Piccomolo." There also is one on the northwest side, fm 1960, as well as all over the outlying suburbs (Cypress, Woodlands, Friendswood, Pearland)
July 11, 2006
Wow! I really like your reviews on different Houston restaurants. Keep up the good work. I agree with most of your reviews, so I will be trying out new eats that you have suggested.
July 12, 2006
Thanks for the comments. I didn't realize there were so many gelato places around.
July 24, 2006
I just came across a review of another one:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ultimate/05/fooddrink/3354478.html
August 16, 2006
oops, let me try that again w/ tinyurl:
http://tinyurl.com/qlxpr
August 16, 2006
We also are in gelato withdrawal after three weeks in Italy this past summer. Here's our take on Houston gelato. I haven't tried the Paciugo's here, but the one in Dallas is good so I assume it is similar here. Picomolo in Katy is AWFUL. Chewy, overly sweet and yet flavorless. Very disappointing as it is right around the corner. Coffee GroundZ in Sugar Land has great texture, but only one flavor we tried out of four was good. The chocolate cherry had a very artificial taste and the chocolate in it was so waxy I couldn't eat it. The tiramasu flavor was good. Sorbetto's and Nundidni's in Houston were good, but not as smooth as those we had in Italy. Loved the fresh flavors at Rain Drop Chocolates. Their blood orange is fabulous. We stopped at a cafe on Westheimer today (Cafe Italia?). The gelato was very good, though uneven. The amaretto was over-whipped, the vanilla was grainy, but the coconut, caramel and chocolate flavors were all very good. The best gelato I 've found outside of Italy is actually in California. Big Italian community near San Francisco so they do gelato right.
January 20, 2007
Paciugo is good???? Check their business practice out before you buy from a company that is unethical. It's all a lie one spoonful at a time. http://paciugo1.blogspot.com/
Pay attention to their scripted lies when they tell you that gelato is wholesome, nutritious, 70% less fat than premium ice cream or made fresh everyday. It is not true that it's only made with whole milk, fruit, water and sugar. Their ingredients contain food coloring, jams, stabilizer and emulsifier. They will tell you what they want to hear. The Italian owner told the trainer to do so. Find out what's the turnover of the trainer position. I can only tell you that the number is high, since the ethical people do not want to tell a lie got fired or quit. I am not blogging just out of the blue. I know the truth.
If you don't want to be lied on, buy Ben and Jerry or other ethical companies' products and spread the words about Paciugo's practices. If you are ok being lied on, then keep buying Paciugo.
February 09, 2007
Paciugo is YUMMY!!!... Closest thing you can get to real Gelato in Italy. I'm a Paciugo fan for life don't care about the bs ppl write about them... I've had it in many different locations and I just love the the little cherries they put on the black cherry swirl... YUMMYYyyyyy.....
February 13, 2007
Why are you so bitter against Paciugo? I don't know who you are or what you are trying to do. I'm a fan of Paciugo too since 4 years and I LOOOVE it. I love their "sorbetti" you can really taste the fresh fruit and since I'm a big fan of good chocolate, the Fondente is my favorite flavor. A suggestion: instead of being so against Paciugo why you don't try to soothe your life with this combination: Wildberries and Fondente..to die for!!
February 13, 2007
You have an outstanding good and well structured site. I enjoyed browsing through it » »
February 14, 2007
I am not trying to be bitter about Paciugo. The gelato is good in taste to be honest. I know someone who work in the company she told me that the employee were trained to tell lie about the fat content, freshness, wholesomeness, no food coloring etc. It's not made fresh every morning. Come by in the morning before the store is open, the old gelato is mixed with the new. It's not 70% less fat. Try the hazelnut mocha swirl, it contains a lot of fat. They used food coloring in the sorbet and some milk based gelato.
We are being deceived. They lie to attract customer. That's my point.
February 15, 2007
I've been a customer since they opened their first store in Dallas and now that I live in Houston I'm happy they opened a store here.
I don't think you are saying the truth. I have 2 young children and I always check health inspections scores. I've been checking Pacuigo's inspections for many years and they are always very close to top scores. If they were doing something wrong, the health inspectors would have stop them long time ago. Their sorbets taste like fresh fruit, gelatos are light and creamy and I know to avoid bubble gum for the artificial ingredients. Other than that I'm very happy every time I visit. I don't know where you are coming from with your comments.
Emily
February 20, 2007
Keep up the good work » » »
April 26, 2007
After 10 days in Italy: Rome, Viterbo, Orvieto, San Gimignano, Siena, Florence/Tuscany, Venice, Pisa, Asissi, etc...Paciugo ain't the real THANG at all; I couldn't wait to get out of the West University shop in Houston...yuck...a fraud! Give me Nundini's Italian Foods and Deli, 500 N. Shepherd, in Houston off 610 any day....that's for REAL! Try the raspberry, mango and wonderful orange...keep it simple, keep it pure!
July 04, 2007
Great Article! Thank You!
August 28, 2007
Thanks to author! I like articles like this, very interesting.
August 29, 2007
What article?
August 31, 2007
nice blog!
September 02, 2007
nice blog!Nice information
September 03, 2007
:-) ochen\' zaebatyj blog!
September 04, 2007
Keep up the great work. It very impressive. Enjoyed the visit!
September 09, 2007
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