(Pigi Cipelli for The New York Times)  When I first walked into Grom on Broadway at 76th Street a year ago, I was skeptical. Another chain trying to make it in New York City. Another lousy gelato shop tricking us into thinking it’s the real deal.  So, upon meeting the two young Italian owners, Federico Grom — who is tall, dark and handsome — and Guido Martinetti — who could pass as an Italian version of Brad Pitt — I had some questions.  “Where do you get your lemons from?” The answer: “Amalfi.” Check!  “Where do you get your pistachios?” Answer “From Bronte.” (A town in eastern Sicily famous for their flavorful, pea-green pistachios.) Good answer! Check, again.  They explained that they conduct side-by-side taste tests to select every raw product, from the chocolate to the water. When Amalfi lemons are not in season, they stop making lemon sorbet. They are so obsessed with quality ingredients that they are in the process of starting their own dairy and organic fruit farm. My fears were quelled and, frankly, I found myself enamored — not only by their charisma and good looks, but by their story and quest for top ingredients. Oh, and the gelato too. It’s excellent.  Martinetti, the brains behind the gelato, and Grom, the business genius, are so serious about quality control that they make all the liquid gelato bases in their Turin factory, then package and ship them to their 19 stores in Northern Italy and New York, where they are spun on-site.  Last Saturday Grom opened its second New York store, in Greenwich Village at the intersection of Bleecker Street and Carmine Street. This summer they plan to open a shop in Paris. As you might imagine, this stuff doesn’t come cheap: $5.15 for a small cup. You gasp — for that kind of money you could buy a venti Frappuccino, a tub and a half of Breyers and several Mister Softee’s. True, but this is superlative ice cream made with whole milk, organic eggs and real flavorings. Besides, you might run into Federico and Guido — and you can’t put a price on that.  Tags: Federico Grom, Frappuccino, gelato, Grom, Guido Martinetti, ice cream, Jill Santopietro Link | E-mail this  This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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