As the rain came down last night and the temperature dropped into the 40s, it felt like the perfect night for a hot chocolate and where better than the new Chocolaterie Stam in the Locker's Pointe development at 92nd and North, right?
Well, maybe. I can't say, because their "hot chocolate machine," wasn't working. So, instead of tea or coffee, we made the natural alternate choice: gelato.
Even before we tasted it we could see that the ice cream at Stam, while enticing, clearly isn't gelato. It's too cold, too grainy, too stiff. That could, however, be down to a storage temperature that's way too high.
There were four chocolate flavors that looked the same but were all variations on the theme: chocolate almond, chocolate with caramel, etc. There were also some fruit based sorbets and other ice cream flavors.
We tried the chocolate stracciatella and chocolate almond in one cup and the vanilla and raspberry in another. All the flavors were tasty, but again, they weren't at all gelato-like (too many ice crystals).
The selection of bon bons and gift boxes and the like looks pretty amazing for the area. There were dozens of candies on display, from fruit marzipans to little accordions filled with berries.
The interior has hardwood floors, plush furniture and warm lighting and really is inviting. Once the hot chocolate machine is up and running, it'll be the perfect place to stop on a cool autumn or cold winter night.
In related news, work is progressing on the new Alterra cafe at Locker's Pointe and an employee at another location tells us that the Wauwatosa shop should be open by the end of the month.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
