By WENDY HUANG
Food is an essential part of my life. Growing up in Taiwan, during big community gatherings like the Lunar New Year mid-autumn festival, we gathered as family and friends. Besides warm company, good food is the most important part. While studying abroad in Europe, I got the chance to visit different countries and try authentic local foods, from traditional Scottish sticky toffee pudding to kebab in Istanbul, Turkey. Besides my tasting experiences, my relationship with food is vast; I worked at a restaurant as a sous chef, which taught me the importance of spice and temperature control. So, I aim to find good restaurants wherever I go.
Gathering with friends and walking to a local ice cream shop is my ideal way to reward myself after a long day. While traveling in Europe, I fell in love with a different type of frozen dessert: gelato. Gelato originates in Italy and is traditionally made with whole milk, sugar and fresh ingredients.
Living in the U.S., I’ve found myself missing gelato—until I heard of Medzo Gelato Bar. The name Medzo is short for “Mediterranean Zone,” and the store succeeds in bringing the Mediterranean to Tacoma. Medzo’s website describes their unique process of making authentic Italian-styleItalian style gelato. “Unlike others, Medzo does not use a processed dairy base, artificial colors or artificial flavors. Our gelato and sorbet are handcrafted one pan at a time, from scratch, using local organic dairy and carefully-vetted ingredients that honor the cultural traditions of the product’s origins,” they stated. The owners note they have a special procedure of making gelato to avoid any cross-contamination with dairy or nuts. 12 flavors are offered on a rotating basis, and I tried every single one. Each is ranked out of 10 based on the quality of their flavors and textures, inventiveness, and general palatability to the average person.
My favorite flavor, without any doubt, was the rice gelato. As an Asian person, I was unsure of how to feel about rice in ice cream, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was refreshing and had a creamy and nutty flavor that lingered in my mouth, with small chunks of rice that added another layer of texture. It was revolutionary, but would be better with more rice chunks. 9.4/10.
In second place was the pistachio. In Chinese, pistachios are called happy nuts, and true to their name, this pistachio gelato brought me so much joy. The first taste was a little salty, followed by the deep fragrance of pistachio. The saltiness makes you keep wanting more and more, but the overwhelming flavors meant that one scoop was too much for one sitting. 9.2/10.
The third favorite was the chocolate. As a more common flavor, you might think it all tastes the same. However, Medzo’s is on another level. The owner, Fareed Al-Abboud, told me about the chocolate-making process as he served me my gelato. He makes his own dark chocolate, which gives the gelato an extra-rich flavor. With a perfect balance of chocolate and sweetness, this flavor is surprising. 9/10.
Now for some flavors that deserve honorable mentions! First, the Amarena cherry flavor. Typically, I avoid cherry-flavored desserts because of the artificial taste, but the Amarena cherry tastes like fresh cherries with cream and nothing else. I do wish there were some cherry chunks for texture. 7/10.
The coffee gelato is also recommended. It’s a creamy latte-type of coffee, but the cream didn’t overtake the coffee flavor. The deep coffee flavors are worth sacrificing sleep for. 7/10.
Last but not least, the homemade salted caramel flavor, Caramello al sale, is once again a perfect balance between sweet and saltiness. Al-Abboud said they make the salted caramel in-house, and you can definitely taste it. 8/10.
Other flavors, like vanilla, chocolate chip, and Oreo, are delicious but a little more basic compared to the more eccentric flavors.
While the gelato was amazing, two slight downsides of the gelato bar are that they do not offer samples or water. Some water would help cleanse the palate between bites and bring the whole experience to another level. If you’re not sure which of the 12 flavors to choose, start with the rice.
One of the owners, Jennifer Al-Abboud, is a proud class of 1986 Puget Sound alumna. She recognizes the impact of the business in the Tacoma community. “People come into our shop happy and leave happier. If they don’t come in happy, they leave happy.” I agreed that it was hard not to be happy while full of gelato.
I can tell you from my past experience in Europe that Medzo Gelato Bar is one of the best gelato places you can find in the Tacoma area. It’s authentic and has innovative flavors, including a special seasonal pumpkin flavor coming out for the fall. If you are looking for a cute dessert spot, I definitely suggest Medzo Gelato Bar. Here’s my recommendation: Go and get a medium gelato with a crush, friend, or family member and walk around the nearby Wright Park. I can’t speak for everyone, but that would be my ideal date. Overall, I give Medzo an 8.2/10 and a recommendation from this critic! The shop is open Wednesday through Sunday and is located at 621-B Tacoma Ave S.