On Thursday night we stopped in to Gelayo Gusto once again. We had eaten there once before – the last time that Bobby was in Mountain View.
Gelayo Gusto is a small cafe that serves sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Their feature is dessert, but I think the sandwiches are absolutely fabulous and often overlooked. They’re located on El Camino Real, right off of Castro Street.
We got the tomato, basil, and fresh mozzarella sandwich on whole wheat baguette ($6.50 alone or $9 for a combo with chips and a drink):
This sandwich was warm, fresh, and delicious. The mozzarella melts in your mouth and the veggies were flavorful and perfectly ripe. The whole wheat bread was soft and paired perfectly with a vinagrette that gave it a kick.
Afterwards we got shaved ice, an Asian dessert ($6 for the small; it’s huge):
The base is a generous scoop of milk-doused shaved ice. Next it is topped with sweetened red beans (a typical Asian dessert feature) that are surrounded by fresh fruits and mochi (another Asian dessert – chewy cubes of pounded sweetened rice). On top of all this is a huge serving of frozen yogurt (we got blueberry and yogurt flavor mix). Instead of yogurt you can also get gelato OR sorbetto, both tempting choices.
I have never had anything like it. The fruit is fresh and sweet, the red beans are delicious, the shaved ice is creamy and addicting, and the yogurt is smooth and light. This is not only my new favorite dessert, but Bobby’s as well.
What I really love about the yogurt is that they actually have plain “yogurt” flavor – the only other place I’ve seen this was in Italy, with the “yogurt” gelato. It’s slightly tangy and oh-so good. The blueberry is delicious as well, and Bobby (who is not a dessert person) adores it.
Other things that looked particularly good were: the dessert waffle (like the shaved ice, but on top of a waffle instead), the gelato, the froyo, the toppings, the grilled veggie sandwich, and the various gourmet cakes and cookies.
The prices are reasonable and even though the shaved ice was pricey at $6, it was a humongous portion and well worth it for such a healthy and amazing dessert.
Note: We ordered the shaved ice again tonight, but it was prepared by a different clerk, and he didn’t include the red beans or the mochi! It was still delicious, but next time I will be sure to ask for both the beans and the mochi – for me, they really make the dish.