If you pop by my house on any given night, you'll probably find at least one of the following ice cream flavors in my freezer: mint chip, pistachio or chocolate. I've yet to hear complaints from company when an unadorned scoop or two appeared before them to end their meal. But we can all stand to gild the lily every now and then. Georgia Wodder, executive pastry chef of Mel's, Al Coro and the forthcoming Discolo in New York, assures me that bougie ice cream is possible with a few pantry add-ons — several from the savory shelves, no less.
"My go-to in most aspects of dessert and gelato is finishing with really nice olive oil and good sea salt," says Wodder, whose upmarket gelato sundaes round out the nostalgic pizzeria menu at Mel's, which opened in March as part of chef Melissa Rodriguez's reconcepting of the former Del Posto. "I think with gelato it's about having different components to it — texture and crunch, and making sure the flavors are balanced."
