Coco Gelato

Desire leads to desserts. Or at least that's how Gustavo Sidelnik first began to make gelato. One day in Italy, Cupid pricked him hard with an arrow of amore when Sidelnik caught sight of a beautiful bombshell named Rosa lounging at the counter of her father's gelateria. Dumbstruck, Sidelnik strolled in and begged the owner, Don Giuseppe, for a job. The old gelato-maker agreed. And Sidelnik worked feverishly, learning the art of churning deliciously chilly confections, while secretly yearning for the ravishing Rosa... until she ran off with some punk named Bruno! Years later, in 1993 to be exact, Sidelnik came to our Magic City and opened the first Coco Gelato in the Cocowalk mall. Inspired by Miami's Latin American and Caribbean influences, he decided to create creamy frozen treats with a flavor twist from the tropics such as tamarindo, mamey, passion fruit or guava. Those creations sit pretty next to traditional flavors such as bubblegum and dark chocolate mousse. Stroll into one of Coco Gelato's four locations and fall in love, like Sidelnik, with a cup of gelato (a small is two scoops for $5.75; large is four scoops for $6) pumped full of old-world Italian soul.