BUFFALO, N.Y. — "Ice cream, made with cream. Gelato, whole milk. So there's less calories, less fat. It's also served warmer temperature. Gelato is served around 12-15 degrees the warmer temperature allows for the flavors to be a little bit more pronounced, whereas the ice cream it's single digits when it's being served."
For the last couple years, Forno E Gelato has been scooping up this Italian treat on Webster Street in North Tonawanda, next to its sister restaurant, Frankie Primo's.
"We do all the breads, pastries, gelato for Frankie Primo's and we have an assortment of Italian cookies, an assortment of biscotti, fresh pasta, any of the desserts that you get over at Frankie Primo's we also make here," owner Jay Manno said.
For Manno, the bakery was not only an opportunity not only to grow their footprint on the block, but also serve even fresher food and desserts.
"Sometimes I wonder if it's actually like doing us any real good. Financially, I don't think it makes a huge difference on everything on everything all the time, but to say that it was yours, and to have a say over the consistency like, for example, we were buying fresh pasta, but the guy who had that pasta company sold that pasta company, and quality was kind of up and down. At least now we can control that. Plus it was the end game goal, we do everything in house," Manno said.
It's also allowed them to participate in the popular North Tonawanda Farmers Market.
"We're in the North Tonawanda Farmers Market all summer long, every Thursday and Saturday, and that one just got voted No. 1 farmers market in the country, so we're there, selling gelato, selling the Sicilian cold pizza. You know, the old school cold pizza. You can get a fresh hot loaf of bread," Manno said.
And if you're in the mood for a really Italian night out, Frankie Primo's is hosting dinner with some of the "Sopranos" actors this Saturday night.
"Food was such a big part of the Sopranos the series itself. ... The mother cooking, and Carmela cooking, it's just one of those things that seems like it belongs together, so we figured we'd take a shot, and if it works out well, we're going to do it annually," he said.
Forno E Gelato is open Tuesday to Sunday, and Frankie Primo's North is open seven days a week.
"Summer's here, let's enjoy it, don't sleep on North Tonawanda, this stretch and even that stretch, we've got a lot of things going on, lot of dining destinations, lot of activity," Manno said.
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