Date Idea: Trying the New Buffalo Milk Gelato at Bella Gelateria

PHOTO CREDIT: TARA LEE

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

I measure my happiness by the number of times I go for ice cream during a given year. I’m also a huge fan of the ice cream date, which is a fun alternate to going for coffee or a drink on an early date. It’s also a good litmus test for compatibility with me. If a guy doesn’t like ice cream, he’s most definitely not my type. Fortunately, my boyfriend (“S”) adores ice cream as well.

The other day I was in an ice cream sort of mood: carefree, cheery, and with a raging chocolate craving. Plus, I had heard that Bella Gelateria had recently released new buffalo milk gelato and I was dying to try it. S has learned not to deny me when I’m on a food mission, so he gamely said, “Sure, let’s go!”

Bella Gelateria has two locations, one in Coal Harbour (1001 West Cordova Street) and the other in Yaletown (1089 Marinaside Crescent), which both offer great opportunities for scenic walking. The Coal Harbour one is near the Vancouver Convention Centre, while the Yaletown location offers spectacular views of False Creek. The Yaletown one is also a restaurant that serves top-notch Neopolitan pizza.

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

If you haven’t been to Bella Gelateria before, and you love handcrafted gelato, done the old school way, you have to go there. Plus, the owner, James Coleridge, has won numerous awards, including double gold winner at the Florence Italy Gelato Festival in 2012, International Gelato Master of the Year in 2014 at the International Fair of Artisan Gelato, and winner of the Gelato World Tour in 2014. He’s also a graduate of Italy’s Carpigiani Gelato University. Suffice to say, he knows his gelato.

The latest creation from Coleridge is gelato di bufala or water buffalo milk gelato, which is the latest in gelato innovation. Esquire Magazine named it one of the best new foods in America in 2014, and this type of gelato can also be found in famous Californian restaurants, like the French Laundry, Oliveto, and Poggio Trattoria. The Californian gelato is produced by Andrew Zlot of Double 8 Dairy who raises buffalo.

Here, in Vancouver, Coleridge had already been using bufala mozzarella for Bella Gelateria’s pizza, and wondered what local buffalo milk would be like in gelato. Buffalo milk is touted as a healthier alternative to cow’s milk due to the fact that it has 58% more calcium, 40% more protein, 37% more iron, 43% less cholesterol, and more vitamin A and less sodium. Apparently, consumers who are intolerant to cow’s milk can often drink buffalo milk. In addition, Coleridge’s version of buffalo gelato contains no cream, eggs, or refined white sugar. It relies on the creaminess of fresh, Italian water buffalo milk from Abbotsford dairy farmer, Casie Prium.

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

We went to Bella Gelateria’s Yaletown location (S hadn’t been there before), and both ordered a scoop of gelato in a cup. Staff will allow you to try different gelato before committing to one, so we tried each of the four buffalo milk flavours: fior di latte (flower of milk), white coffee (basically fior di latte with coffee infusion), sunny lemon, and chocolicious (my final pick).

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

S got a regular gelato so we could compare it to the buffalo gelato. While the regular gelato was delish, the buffalo milk gelato was especially lovely–incredibly creamy, satiny, and rich. It was almost buttery. The fior di latte was a pristine white since buffalo milk, unlike cow’s milk, doesn’t have yellow pigmentation. If it wasn’t for my chocolate craving, I would have opted for the fior di latte since you get the unadulterated buffalo milk flavour.

Belgian chocolate brownie gelato (left) and chocolicious buffalo milk gelato (right) - Photo Credit: Tara Lee

Belgian chocolate brownie gelato (left) and chocolicious buffalo milk gelato (right) – Photo Credit: Tara Lee

The two of us took our gelato (mine drizzled with dark chocolate from Bella Gelateria’s chocolate fountain) and wandered outside to the seawall nearby. We finished our gelato on the steps down to the walkway, watching as people biked, ran, and strolled past us.

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

We then walked for a bit toward Science World before resting on a bench and enjoying the view.

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

Photo Credit: Tara Lee

If we had been ambitious, we could have made it past Granville Island, Vanier Park, and Kits Beach, but it was one of those lazy afternoons and we were both blissed out from gelato. I have a feeling there’ll be another buffalo gelato date in the near future.

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