Biddrina Gelato

A cart in Clinton Hill, a Sicilian water snake for a name, and a flavour list that opens with olive oil and toasted breadcrumbs. Biddrina Gelato is the frozen-dessert arm of the team behind Locanda Vini e Olii, and it makes its gelato in Brooklyn.

Real Italian gelato, made in Brooklyn

The name comes from La Biddrina, the mythical water snake Sicilian parents invoked to keep children away from wells and shallow water. That childhood warning is the frame for what the cart actually sells, which it describes plainly as real Italian gelato made in Brooklyn by Italians. The lineage is a restaurant one, since the same people run Locanda Vini e Olii and the Camillo rooms, and the flavour list reads like it came out of a kitchen rather than a scoop shop. Flavours rotate rather than sit fixed in a case, so the list moves through the season and a second visit is rarely a repeat of the first.

A cart, and an evening habit

The format is a street-side cart, which makes the decision quick and the visit short. It works best after dinner, when it becomes a continuation of the neighbourhood's Italian dining rather than a destination in itself, and the rotating case rewards people who come back through the summer. The same cart is taken to weddings and private events, a natural extension of a dessert built for a crowd, and the reason the operation turns up in contexts other than the street. Everything about it stays informal: order, take the cup, keep walking.

Start with olive oil, then choose your fruit

Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Breadcrumbs is the flavour to notice first. It is the savoury end of the Italian repertoire and it explains the kitchen behind the cart faster than anything else. The classic side runs through Fiordilatte, Amaretto, Zabaione, Zuppa Inglese, Ricotta Cannolo, Hazelnut and Wafer, Coffee, Anise and White Chocolate, Nougat and Burnt Whiskey Caramel, and Dark Chocolate with Cardamom and Orange. Fruit and herb pairings go further out: Rosemary Fig, Chamomile and Peach, Mulberry, Cantaloupe, Turmeric and Amarena. The dairy-free list is as considered as the rest: Salted Sicilian Pistachio, Halva and Honey, Coconut Stracciatella, Blood Orange, Blueberry Ginger, Lemon and Sage, Strawberry and Mint, and Watermelon with Fennel and Lime are real choices rather than fallbacks.