“Pussycat… I’m home… go get the blindfold.” Master instructed as he came in the back door with several containers of Lemon Gelato. “It’s TRUTH time!”
There is truly something amazing about eating with a blindfold on. I’d never had the experience until Master challenged me about my choice of Gelato. He knew I absolutely loved lemons and other tart things that made my cheeks pucker and he was sure that my current choice of gelato wasn’t the one that was the closest to a real lemon.
And so I obeyed… put on the blindfold and sat patiently as he spooned from each of the three containers and fed them to me. One by one, I could feel each mouthful of the cold bursts of lemon explode in my mouth, letting them melt around my tongue, reaching inside the corners of cheeks, spreading and warming in places that were sensitive to the acidic burst of lemon. One mouthful was not like the other, each different in their sweetness, the levels of sugar changing the way my cheeks and tongue responded to the party. I narrowed it down from three to two, one was far to sweet and I’ve always disliked lemon that was too sweet.
Anything ‘lemon’ should make your mouth sing and make your cheeks feel like they want to dance in the rain that is dripping from the shock of the tartness. To miss that burst of tanginess was like a sacrilege to me and covering up lemon anything with so much sugar that your mouth missed the party is just simply wrong. One of these was an obvious offender and thus… out of the running.
Now there were two options left and one after the other I tasted them. With my eyes covered I became more acutely aware of just how little or how much sugar intruded into the party and how much it disguised the lemon. Certainly there had to be enough of the sugar to keep control but it’s like the difference between having a couple of drinks and enjoying the party or being flat out drunk and not remembering what the hell happened. I wanted to enjoy the party, and it’s been a long while since I’ve been even close to flat out drunk, not something I ever really enjoyed, and after a couple more mouthfuls there was clearly a winner!
Eva’s is a small place on the outskirts of the hip Corydon Avenue strip in Winnipeg. Several blocks of Corydon Avenue are filled with restaurants, coffee and ice-cream and Gelato shops and in the summer people fill the outdoor seating areas, drinks in hand, friends by side and leaning back and relaxing, enjoying the summer bustle. Many of the little shops have their doors open, lacking air-conditioning, hoping to let in some of the gentle summer breeze that sweeps the sidewalks outside.
People fill this area of the city in the summer, some stop to eat, some stop to smoke or drink and just enjoy the hot Winnipeg weather in an outside area that believes itself to be just a little European. The cars fill both sides of the street and one is hard pressed to find a spot as people drive their cars up and down the strip, tops down, music blaring, wanting, like those who sit at Saffron’s, to be seen.
I’ve never been an exhibitionist and have generally remained a little reserved, perhaps its because I came to this country not speaking English and always felt a little outside of myself, not wanting to bring attention to the fact that I didn’t belong. Eva’s is like that, a little reserved, not loud or clambering for attention. There is an actual parking lot attached so folks can park and then walk a half block over to the busyness that is the hip Corydon Avenue… or not. And if not then you can sit on the spacious patio where there is plenty of room either at tables or on the stairs and watch the traffic pass from the fringe.
Perhaps it is their Argentinean heritage or perhaps it is simply their taste but regardless, when blindfolded, their lemon gelato is definitely the most like an actual enjoyable burst of sunshine.
We’ve been enjoying their Gelato for several years now since our blind taste test and they never disappoint. The Banana Split is a rich banana infused gelato with streams of home made caramel and chocolate sauce. There is more than one variety of chocolate ensuring everyone can find a favorite, Chocolate, Chocolate Mousse, Chocotorta, Coconut Extreme, Hazelnut Chocolate, there are so many more flavors to choose from and the range expands during the summer months. The cheesecake flavours are lush and rich and you’d swear that you were eating a well-flavoured cheesecake.
I have to admit that my favorite has always been the Lemon Alaska. It is a lemon gelato with streaks of mint and shaved chocolate. I typically pair one of the lemons with one of the chocolates or sometimes I feel like being adventurous and having a sampling of one of the others, but more often than not I go back to my favorites. Off season I drive through blizzards and rain often to bring a taste of summer to the warmth of my living room for evenings that get dark far too early and that is something I never did before Master and I rediscovered Eva’s.
