TL;DR: A little spot in the middle of Stone's Corner that is hiding all sorts of depths with the quality of their fare. For so long I almost dismissed it as another ice cream place, but circumstances brought me there and that I am thankful for.
It was a favourite for many years up in Caloundra, and now it has made its way to the south towards the Big Smoke. During the big revamp of Stone's Corner several years back, that segment of Brisbane went from pretty much derelict to being a happening hub again thanks to many new food places coming in - including this. Ever since that has occurred, more or less it seems unofficially that I was trying each of the new places out since then; like anything with even the most diligence, one or two examples evade via oversight or otherwise. Milano Geletaria is the topic of discussion today.
Rooted not in Italian influence, but in actual training right in the heart of Italy itself, the recipes in store root themselves in many years of training, which ultimately has led to the store itself winning several awards. Therefore, it is no small wonder that what you get here is going to be top quality fare. Whatever the flavour it says the gelati is, rest assured that it is an ingredient in the recipe. To put it in a clearer manner using an example, it is the difference between a banana smoothie using bananas in the mixture, and the banana milk from the dairy aisle being "banana-flavoured". Right here, it would be the smoothie example. And that makes all the difference.
With the wrestling, it was one of the really big events which often means that pizza is on the agenda. That had already been done, and it was quite good. The show being Summerslam, it was still running hot and I still had a bit of a hankering for fitting a little something more in. Going through the old UberEats app, with all the options that were there, it was high time to try this sucker out. Additionally, it was almost an appropriate step going from pizza to gelati. Nevertheless, Milano Gelateria is worth sussing out - whether it be in Caloundra or in Stone's Corner.
Even with something of an eagle's eye, it could get bypassed fairly easily. The whole shop space itself is pretty small, with the smallest lot of wiggle room for customers to take a glance before deciding what to order. Like with a number of gelati places that have been noted, the colour scheme inside is decidedly bright - this one somewhat muted in comparison. Though it mostly one that is to go, they give a couple of tables to sit at outside, with one more inside which also has a comfortable sofa.
What is a particularly cute and clever aspect about the design is the bin out the front being shaped like an ice cream cone. Not only is it unusual and would get a couple of extra seconds glance, but it also fits well with a tone of an ice cream parlour by a fitting aesthetic. That, and a mural that is shaped like Italy on the back wall. These touches do sound obsessive or a bit odd to point out, but it is to assure that the small touches can give a place character and possibly elevate their image if so slightly.
When it comes to the UberEats delivery drivers, and their service, if this is not the quickest service that I have had then it would certainly be close to the top. Before I knew it, the car was across the road. The general modus operandi when arriving is them calling the name by question form, but this time around it was more them asking what my name was. A bit of a different take, but nevertheless it is a system that works.
It is pretty clear what the major thing that they serve here is - gelato, plus some sorbet. At any one point, there are roughly two dozen different flavours which are constantly on rotation - all served in waffle cones. With all these flavours, they can be used in milkshakes, and thickshakes plus ice cream cakes via special order. Italian hot chocolates are also a specialty here, plus they also sell espresso-based coffee. They keep it all simple and sweet, and in addition to those an adjacent fridge also has some other cold beverages to take on the go.
That was not the only time that I had stepped into here either. Just to give it a bit more lip service and critique, a situation around a year previously had me in the Stone's Corner area awaiting an appointment. Biding a bit of time before the said appointment, I ventured right into here to get a coffee. Whatever bean it is that they use for their brew, I cannot remember for the life of me. Honestly, this is not really the best coffee around here. A bit on the bitter side to be honest, the extraction was okay at best, and it was far from awful. The coffee is pretty serviceable here, and often I would see that as a vague compliment; however, with this more or less being an Italian place by proxy, pride in the espresso should probably also be a priority. Although it is not the mainstay of the place, having coffee and the other sorts of drinks there is a nice little addition.
Getting to the crux of this review, the order went to a 3/4L tub in which up to three different flavours could be picked out. Even if it was a stagnant range of flavours, there would still be some difficulty in picking out what looked best. But if you ask me, it is never the case that some choices are more alluring than others: what was chosen was pistachio, peanut butter, and coffee. If all three of these flavours are an indication of how good this place is, then everything said about the awards being won, and all the effort and dedication put into it through the years is all for real.
To put one difference between ice cream and gelati, texture is one the main ones. Many times have I used a regular spoon from the draw and has it been bent from ice cream straight from the freezer. With this gelati, the spoon went through almost like it was warm metal. And the texture of the gelati is some of the softest, and most velvety material that exists one earth. While the colour of each one were a bit similar at a glance, the flavours became distinct though none were really overbearing. This gave the best advantage to pistachio - which has never really been a strong flavour - so it stood out just as much as the coffee, and the peanut butter. Bits of peanut butter were in there, not making it so sticky, and there was a bit of a hit from the coffee one. All three are worth a try, and they packed a good amount into the container. Rest assured, between the two of us here, there was rarely a morsel left.
No matter how long it took to finally try this place out, the important thing is that this place was tried out. It did not look like much from all those times bypassing it, but like it has been pointed out it is good to get the packaging. What Milano Gelateria brings to the table is a strong focus, one of getting sweet treats that are worth the occasional splurge.
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