Anthony's of Little Italy

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As far as community fairs go, I’m not a fan. Because my interest is mainly food, I think it’s safe to say that having a bunch of carnies serving up fried dough doesn’t really have much appeal to me.

We actually ended up at the Feast of the Assumption celebration in Little Italy, on Thursday. You see, my sister is a teacher at Holy Rosary Montessori and wanted to show us the space for her new classroom. Since I had never been to the FOTA it was a perfect opportunity to do both.

Without going into too many specifics, there was a lot of Italian sausage, sheet pizza, and cavatelli with meatballs being served (just what you want on a hot summer night, right?. Most of what was being served was much of the same at each stand. There was a guy selling mussels and clams but I didn’t think it would be very easy to eat with a plastic fork – but they get an A for effort.

I will say this; the desserts had a fair amount of variety from stand to stand. Many were homemade Italian originals being served with much pride. Other stands were of the traditional county fair, tow behind trailer, elephant ear variety – no pride.

We decided to err on the side of lower fat and all got some gelato from Anthony’s of Little Italy. My wife and I are gelato/ice cream freaks. The bar was set exceedingly low for what Anthony’s was serving up. Our reasoning was:

a) We had never heard of them.
b) La Gelataria is the only gelato maker in Cleveland we’ve ever heard of.
c) Since we aren’t fans of La Gelataria (which is widely considered the best in Cleveland), then Anthony’s must be a couple clicks below the place we already don’t like.

Let me start by saying that I’ve been to Italy. I’ve tasted the gelato there. It’s awesome, however that was eight years ago (before I had a true appreciation for food). I think the secret is actually pretty simple: get the freshest damn gelato you can find. I don’t think the stuff at Anthony’s had been sitting around for very long. The first taste coated my tongue with the smooth taste of chocolate. Moments after putting it in my mouth you could still taste it.

The next night we had dinner with a couple at L’Albatros and skipped dessert to go to Anthony’s, it’s that good. The best I’ve ever had is from Capigiro in Philadelphia, Grom in Greenwich Village is up there as well. The only criticism I have is that they don’t have very original flavors. If you happen to be in the University Circle area you’ve got to give Anthony’s of Little Italy at try.

Anthony's of Little Italy
12018 Mayfield Rd
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216) 791-0700
www.anthonysoflittleitaly.com