Difference MakersThe Advertising spot above is reserved for companies,people and organizations that are making a difference in the Italian and Italian American communities. It's a free spot and changes periodically. Are you making a difference? Contact me. | Espressamente I did some more walking today and ventured into the Venetian’s new hotel and casino that recently opened. The new hotel and casino is called “Palazzo”and is a continuation of the Venetian with more Italian shops and themes. As I walked past the new shops I bumped into “Espressamente”which is an Italian “bar”or better known here in the US as a cafe’. Espressamente is apparently owned by illy,the Italian coffee brand. I had to go in! I was just blogging about how difficult it is to find a good espresso…. illy has to know how to make a good espresso,right? Espressamente had gelato,caffe’and much more. Everything looked great! So,I ordered an espresso and a chocolate briosce.
The results are in:Caffe’= B,Briosce = C- ….. damn! it looked sooo good. I’ll have to try their gelato next and keep you posted. Buon weekend a tutti! Joe 
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I did some more walking today and ventured into the Venetian’s new hotel and casino that recently opened. The new hotel and casino is called “Palazzo”and is a continuation of the Venetian with more Italian shops and themes. As I walked past the new shops I bumped into “Espressamente”which is an Italian “bar”or better known here in the US as a cafe’. Espressamente is apparently owned by illy,the Italian coffee brand. I had to go in! I was just blogging about how difficult it is to find a good espresso…. illy has to know how to make a good espresso,right? Espressamente had gelato,caffe’and much more. Everything looked great! So,I ordered an espresso and a chocolate briosce.
Joe,
This is what I have figured out about Italian food in America vs Italian food in Italy. They just don’t taste the same because the ingredients aren’t the same. Food tastes better in Italy because of the care they take in obtaining the best ingredients. An example is prosciutto. The whey left over from making parmesan cheese is fed to pigs from which they make prosciutto. Here,we feed animals ground up almond hulls,rice hulls,chicken feathers as fillers among other things.
We also use sugar and fat (real butter,if you’re lucky) to flavor food and european food tends to use flavoring (vanilla,for example) to flavor food. So,it’s less fattening to boot.
Grom,the gelateria,has a store in New York. They import their pre-made gelato here from Italy so I think their stuff would be excellent. They have a website about how they prepare their gelato and it is amazing. They actually bought a farm so they could grow their own fruit. And the fruit they select to grow is based on how good the fruit tastes,not the ease of mechanical harvesting or how well it will be transported to market. So,even if you have all the right ingredients,the food doesn’t translate. So,good luck but don’t get your hopes up:(
Venice really is a one of a kind place…can’t possibly be expected to be duplicated! It gives you all the more reasons to go back there,even if it’s for the perfect espresso and delicious treat!! Enjoy Vegas for all that it has to offer,but don’t have high expectations:)
Wendy
I would be the same,I get so excited if I see anything new that “might”be as good as it is in Italy!! When you see Illy you would expect it to be of a high standard but it never happens,Illy is really expensive to use in a cafe here,nearly double the price of less known brands( we use caffe mokarabia) so I’m always amazed why businesses bother here in Ireland when the espresso doesn’t even have a hint of crema??? Mar 23rd and I’ll me drinking the “good stuff”:)
At least there is a crema on the espresso,and it looks like a single…a hard find in the US! I wrote about our quest for caffe in the US on Slow Travel…it was an exercise in frustration.