South Alamode Panini & Gelato Company because "It has twice as much sugar as American Ice Cream"

Confession: I LOVE ice cream. In fact, I love ice cream significantly more than I love rosé and if you can't tell by the name of this blog - I really, really love rosé. I considered naming my blog something with "ice cream" in the title, but alas "Life in the color Ice Cream" just didn't have the same effect...

That being said, the first thing I did when I moved down to the Alamo was ask native San Antonians where I could get the best, local ice cream. Nearly all of my neighbors highly recommended South Alamode so the ice cream fiend in me instantly knew I needed to try it. Prior to going, I did a little research and found that the owners spent several years in Italy studying how to make Gelato (side note: I had no idea this was something you could study - is it too late to change my career?). Their website mentions that while they bring a lot of ingredients from Italy, the rest of the ingredients are locally sourced.

My husband and I have been there three times now. Once to try their paninis (which are amazing and deserve their own blog post) and twice for their gelato. The first time I tried their gelato, I had Il Golosso, which google translate tells me means "the gluttonous." Now listen, if gluttony for this gelato is a sin - well, I guess I'm going to Hell... This flavor was AMAZING. South Alamode's website describes it as "Mascarpone Gelato with Caramel, Chocolate, and Hazelnut." If I have to try to put this unique flavor into words, I would best compare it to eating a creamier, more delicious Ferrero Rocher.

The last time I went, my husband and I decided to split a personal ice cream. Their personal ice creams actually come with two flavors- something we didn't know until after we had already ordered. This time around we tried their "Amaretto Peaches 'N Cream." I did not think I could like another flavor as much as I liked the last one, but boy was I wrong! This gelato was equally as creamy and had real pieces of peach. The Amaretto flavor was subtle but it was very noticeably there. I'm no chef, but even I knew it was balanced really well.

The shop itself is light, bright and honestly just cheerful. The staff are all very friendly and you can just tell they love the products they sell. Something of note is that South Alamode uses different scoopers for all of their gelatos. For anyone who has food allergies, you know how rare and how important this actually is. Most Ice cream shops I've been to simply place the same ice cream scooper in water (Really? Water? I'm sure that will stop my hives from coming on...). As someone with a nut allergy, I really appreciated this small detail.

Since we are living in the times of COVID, I also feel the need to address my opinions on how they're handling social distancing and what precautions they have in place. Honestly, they're doing awesome! Besides the usual (i.e., must wear masks, tables are more than 6 feet apart), they also have curbside pickup and hand sanitizer all over the shop. While we waited for our ice cream, I noticed they thoroughly disinfected the tables and chairs after they were unoccupied. All staff members were wearing masks and gloves, and I saw the owner politely ask a customer to please put his mask on properly and to make sure he was maintaining 6 feet apart from the closest client.

All in all, 10/10 recommend South Alamode. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my favorite places to bring friends and family when they come visit the Alamo. If you want to check them out for yourself, I'm linking their website below!

If you liked what I had to say, don't forget to subscribe! Sending you all my love and remember to travel even if it's in your hometown, read a good book, and maybe this time have a big, bowl of gelato - but rosé works too! Until next time!

-Pau