L'Albero dei gelati

Along just a few blocks on Park Slope’s 5th Avenue, you’ll find the shops that make up ice cream row: Culture, the viral, so-tart-it-makes-you-pucker frozen yogurt; Van Leeuwen’s kooky flavors and Pentagram millennial-bait branding; and Albero Dei Gelati, a walk-up counter scooping up hand-churned, small-batch flavors with seasonal ingredients that align with its Slow Food ethos. It’s so small, you just might miss it—if it weren’t for the line that wraps around the corner on hot summer nights. 

The vibe: The friendly scoopers are always happy to give you a taste; since the flavors can be savory and occasionally unusual (think lettuce and olive oil, zucchini or pale-blue spirulina), it’s always worth trying what’s on offer. 

The food: Made with more milk and less cream than ice cream, gelato is, at its best, decidedly stretchy and pleasantly dense, with a lower temp and concentrated taste that lets its simple ingredients shine. Served piled on a cone or in a cup with a tiny spoon-like paddle, this gelato might just be the platonic ideal of the form. Chocolate and hazelnut, without a pile of chunks or toppings to contend with, have a depth of flavor that makes you feel like you might actually be walking down a piazza. But it’s the butter and salt, a sweet-and-savory favorite you’ll almost always find in the case, that helps Albero edge out its competition on ice cream row. It’s elegant, simple, surprising, a delight: absolutely everything you want in a cone. And, now that we think of it, out of it. 

Time Out tip: The dairy-free will find plenty of sorbets to enjoy here, including strawberry, with its pleasantly seeded texture, lemon with a hit of ginger and vibrant, juicy mango.