During my Marketing 101 class, we studied a case where we had to perform a quantitative analysis on Grom, a gelato cafe. At the time, Grom had just emerged in the Upper West Side. Our professor described the infamous lines that formed around the corner during Saturday afternoon but I never got a chance to check it out before I left for London. A year and a half later, as Steph, Janice and I were walking along the street after Steak Frites, I noticed a very familiar logo. It was actually Grom! It was exciting to see how in a very short amount of time, they were able to expand and luckily, expand near the NYU campus!
The prices caught me by surprise. $5 for ONE scoop of gelato?! I was about to say that the gelato better be diamond encrusted when I saw Earl and Komal. Komal gave me a taste of her Hazlenut, and I was swayed. Steph and Janice, however, wanted something hot (they were freezing) and got the Affogato.
The interior of Grom is sleek and almost alienesque. Instead of the traditional trays of ornately displayed gelato that you’d find in Italy, Grom keeps their gelato hidden in these spotlesssly clean covered metal buckets. It’s a disadvantage because I tend to eat with my eyes. Thus, I felt as if I was blindly shopping for a delicious-sounding flavor. But in the end, I chose the Hazlenut, because that little taste I got from Komal was just so good. One scoop is definitely enough. In fact, I’d recommend sharing it. It’s extremely creamy and dense. It took me a good while to finish it and after when I licked up the last scoop, I felt so ful.
So Steph and Janice settled for the affogato, which set them aside $6 together. Affogato, meaning “choked” in Italian, is a traditional dessert where coffee is poured over sccops of gelato. My first affogato was in New Zealand and it was the best darn caffeinated drink I’ve ever had.
I didn’t see Grom make the expresso, so I think they actually used coffee (don’t take my word for it though). Then, they put two large scoops of gelato inside where it promptly started melting. By the time we got to the table, I think it already melted a quarter way through. But, they said it was delicious so we’ll just have to take their word for it.
Grom has different flavors for each month. Below is March’s flavors (sorry, a bit too late now!) although most of them sounded generic enough to have fit with any month. While there is seating, it’s limited. Expect to spend at least $5 for your one scooped gelato, but it’s worth it. In the words of Komal, “It’s better than the gelato I had in Italy!”
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
233 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10014
Near Carmine St. See Map | Subway Directions 
212-206-1738
