Every once in a while, you discover a gem where you least expect it.
Morano Gelato, in Hanover, NH, is one of those discoveries.
It is no secret that I love ice cream, froyo, and other frozen desserts. I eat them daily. In my hometown of Lebanon, NH, I have my go-to place for ice cream: Dairy Twirl, as I adore soft serve ice cream, and soft serve is just not something we have much of on the west coast. I've tried everywhere else around town, like the more economical soft serve at Ice Cream Fore-U or the froyo at Swirl & Pearl, but in the summer, Dairy Twirl is my common destination, and I only go elsewhere if I happen to really dislike the weekly flavors at Dairy Twirl, or I'm sick of the standards vanilla and black raspberry.
Well, all of this used to be true. Until I discovered Morano Gelato. It isn't in Lebanon, but is in the town next door, a bit of a trek from my parent's house. Unlike the aforementioned soft serve shops, it is open year round. And they don't have soft serve, rather, they serve house made gelato.
At this point, I know this still doesn't sound very interesting. "Sure, you can get frozen dairy products in the winter if you drive 25 minutes, you can get those at the grocery store too!", is perhaps what you are thinking.
Morano Gelato, in Hanover, NH, is one of those discoveries.
It is no secret that I love ice cream, froyo, and other frozen desserts. I eat them daily. In my hometown of Lebanon, NH, I have my go-to place for ice cream: Dairy Twirl, as I adore soft serve ice cream, and soft serve is just not something we have much of on the west coast. I've tried everywhere else around town, like the more economical soft serve at Ice Cream Fore-U or the froyo at Swirl & Pearl, but in the summer, Dairy Twirl is my common destination, and I only go elsewhere if I happen to really dislike the weekly flavors at Dairy Twirl, or I'm sick of the standards vanilla and black raspberry.
Well, all of this used to be true. Until I discovered Morano Gelato. It isn't in Lebanon, but is in the town next door, a bit of a trek from my parent's house. Unlike the aforementioned soft serve shops, it is open year round. And they don't have soft serve, rather, they serve house made gelato.
At this point, I know this still doesn't sound very interesting. "Sure, you can get frozen dairy products in the winter if you drive 25 minutes, you can get those at the grocery store too!", is perhaps what you are thinking.
Let me cut the chase: Morano Gelato makes the best gelato I have ever had in the US (Sydney still has better gelato).
I remember the first time I visited my family, soon after Morano Gelato opened. The hype all around the small town was huge. I didn't believe it. How would a little gelato shop in New Hampshire really even be worthy of consideration? Sure, they have options like Nepalese (Basecamp Cafe) and Indian (Taj-E-India) too, that doesn't mean they are good. The gelato would likely be no different: novel to the locals, but not actually very good.
And then I had Morano Gelato.
Seriously. Best gelato. Not that I'm a gelato expert, but, if you look it up, you'll find legit critics who are gelato connoisseurs, and they too will tell you this is the best gelato in the United States. Yup, in Hanover, NH.
The story behind it? The owner grew up in Hanover, moved to Italy, worked in gelaterias, and decided to move back and introduce us to real gelato. She started by selling just at the local farmer's market, and, well, was more than successful. Within 8 months, she had a storefront. 2 months later, she expanded. The next year brought further expansion, more seating. 3 years later, she franchised, now with 2 other locations. All this, since 2010. Success, and for good reason.
Gelato and sorbet at Morano are made fresh every day, starting at 8am, 12 or so varieties, and they change daily. Flavors are categorized into "Classics", "Chocolate", "Fruit", "Traditional", and "Nut", and they make over 200 flavors total. You can find out what they are serving every day via social media. If you arrive earlier in the day, not all options may be available. Same if you arrive late, as they aim to sell out of all of it every day. 2pm is the sweet spot.
The menu also includes espresso drinks, but, gelato is what it is all about.
I do not have reviews of all the visits I made in the 7 years that Morano was open. I took some brief notes, on some visits, but mostly didn't take extensive notes, nor did I plan on reviewing it. But some aspect don't require notes. They are just so memorable.
First, the texture of the gelato. This is what sets Morano apart.
Just looking at the above photo, you can probably see how the consistency of the gelato is just amazing. Soft, smooth, creamy, rich, light as air, perfect, really. Served at the proper gelato temperature, warmer than ice cream.
The texture of this gelato really is a thing of wonder. I had never experienced anything like it before my first visit to Morano, and, still haven't.
The space had seating inside and out, but when I first visited, inside seating was virtually non-existent. It didn't matter, people were happy to stand on the sidewalk with their treats.
Sometimes, my job is "hard". Like when I'm asked to do a recruiting event at Dartmouth, e.g., "go visit your home town, on us", and host an ice cream social, e.g. "go eat ice cream". I wasn't even responsible for any logistics, I just had to get myself there, and attend.
I remember the first time I visited my family, soon after Morano Gelato opened. The hype all around the small town was huge. I didn't believe it. How would a little gelato shop in New Hampshire really even be worthy of consideration? Sure, they have options like Nepalese (Basecamp Cafe) and Indian (Taj-E-India) too, that doesn't mean they are good. The gelato would likely be no different: novel to the locals, but not actually very good.
And then I had Morano Gelato.
Seriously. Best gelato. Not that I'm a gelato expert, but, if you look it up, you'll find legit critics who are gelato connoisseurs, and they too will tell you this is the best gelato in the United States. Yup, in Hanover, NH.
The story behind it? The owner grew up in Hanover, moved to Italy, worked in gelaterias, and decided to move back and introduce us to real gelato. She started by selling just at the local farmer's market, and, well, was more than successful. Within 8 months, she had a storefront. 2 months later, she expanded. The next year brought further expansion, more seating. 3 years later, she franchised, now with 2 other locations. All this, since 2010. Success, and for good reason.
Gelato and sorbet at Morano are made fresh every day, starting at 8am, 12 or so varieties, and they change daily. Flavors are categorized into "Classics", "Chocolate", "Fruit", "Traditional", and "Nut", and they make over 200 flavors total. You can find out what they are serving every day via social media. If you arrive earlier in the day, not all options may be available. Same if you arrive late, as they aim to sell out of all of it every day. 2pm is the sweet spot.
The menu also includes espresso drinks, but, gelato is what it is all about.
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| Small. |
First, the texture of the gelato. This is what sets Morano apart.
Just looking at the above photo, you can probably see how the consistency of the gelato is just amazing. Soft, smooth, creamy, rich, light as air, perfect, really. Served at the proper gelato temperature, warmer than ice cream.
The texture of this gelato really is a thing of wonder. I had never experienced anything like it before my first visit to Morano, and, still haven't.
Second, the dark chocolate gelato. I'm not a chocolate ice cream type, but, the dark chocolate at Morano is like the best chocolate mousse ... turned into soft perfect frozen dessert. It is soo intense, so rich, and just amazing. It is best served with another flavor, like, hazelnut or another nut flavor, and you can combine bites of pure magic.
I also dug up an e-mail I sent a local friend, when I went in December, 2011: "My mom and I went the other day, and ZOMG it is still amazing!" I think that sums it up well. Every single time I visited my family, Morano Gelato was on the "must do" list. At least once. Even in the depths of winter. It was a place is worthy of a detour.
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| Outside Seating. |
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| Catering: Cioccolato al Latte Gelato, Citrus Sorbet, Fior di Latte Gelato. |
The plan, per the organizer, was to pick up ice cream from the grocery store. I quickly suggested that we get gelato from Morano instead, and, the host agreed to my suggestion (and, luckily, Morano does catering).
We were provided with 3 flavors (one of which was a sorbet to accommodate non-dairy), in big tubs. These were not the flavors I would have picked, as they were all a bit ... boring. Clearly, intended for mass appeal. But still, this is amazing gelato.
Cioccolato al Latte (Milk Chocolate)
I'm not generally a fan of chocolate ice cream/froyo/gelato, so the milk chocolate wasn't a favorite for me. It was creamy, smooth, nice mild milk chocolate, but not the flavor I'd ever pick. (The dark chocolate on the other hand ... swoon. More on that soon). ***.
Citrus Sorbet
Sorbet is not my thing, but I tried the citrus sorbet, for completeness. It was ... fine. Creamy, good citrus flavor, but, still, sorbet, and citrus is not a flavor I actually like in my desserts. **+.
Fior di Latte (Sweet Milk)
Classic Flavors
Cioccolato al Latte (Milk Chocolate)
I'm not generally a fan of chocolate ice cream/froyo/gelato, so the milk chocolate wasn't a favorite for me. It was creamy, smooth, nice mild milk chocolate, but not the flavor I'd ever pick. (The dark chocolate on the other hand ... swoon. More on that soon). ***.
Citrus Sorbet
Sorbet is not my thing, but I tried the citrus sorbet, for completeness. It was ... fine. Creamy, good citrus flavor, but, still, sorbet, and citrus is not a flavor I actually like in my desserts. **+.
Fior di Latte (Sweet Milk)
Fior di Latte is at least more interesting than vanilla, but is still fairly plain. The thing is, this gelato is so good it doesn't matter. No toppings, plain flavor, and it is still amazing. The texture. I just can't get past how smooth and perfect it is, even when served as catering. ***+.
- Crema Fiorentina (Vanilla Custard with Citrus): very creamy, lovely texture, but the flavor was lacking, no depth nor distinguishing flavor. ***.
- Tahitian vanilla: great flavors from rose and saffron, soft, great consistency. ***+.
- Salted Caramel: pretty good, both salty and sweet. ***+.
- Malted milk: meh, just there, no real distinct flavor. ***.
- Cioccolato al Latte (Milk Chocolate): creamy, ok chocolate flavor. ***.
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Cioccolato Fondente (Dark Chocolate): so intense! This was incredible, in both flavor and texture, like rich, airy chocolate mousse. My favorite. Goes great paired with a nutty flavor like hazelnut. ****+. [ Other notes: The dark chocolate and hazelnut are always winners, particularly if you get them together. The dark chocolate is insanely intense on its own but it is fantastic with the hazelnut (if you like nutella sorta things). - Dec 2011 ] [ Dark chocolate one was still insane actually, so intense" - June 2012 ]
- Passionfruit: I don’t like passionfruit flavor! I like passion fruit, the real fruit, but this, like many things passionfruit flavor, tasted fake. **.
- Blueberry: great soft consistency, but flavor not very intense. **+.
- Raspberry: great soft consistency, very strong raspberry. Not my thing, but well made. ***.
- Zuppa Inglese (English Pudding with Sponge Cake): Boozy, creamy, pretty good. ***+.
- Zabaione (Marsala Wine Custard): nice flavors, complex. ****.
- Nocciola (Hazelnut): Very good, good hazelnut flavor. Goes great with dark chocolate. One of my favorites. ****.
- Mandorla (Almond): Good almond flavor, tiny chunks of nuts, really nice. ****.
- Pistachio (Sicilian Bronte Pistachio): chunks of pistachio, great flavor. One of the more intense flavors, really truly tastes like pistachio. One of my favorites. ****+.
Other:
- Maple: not nearly as maple flavored as I’d like, very sweet. ***.
- Coconut Cream: bits of coconut in it, very rich, almost too sweet though, but good mixed with chocolate. ***.
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