Our friends at Whole Foods Market are starting off the weekend right with today’s ‘Grilling Season Kickoff’ at the Princeton store.  They’ll be sampling your favorite burgers and dogs; and Ciao Bella will be there with the desserts from 11:30-2:30.  On Saturday we’ll be ‘Down on the Farm‘ with the Darien Whole Foods at the Darien Nature Center. This event will feature local food vendors and activities for the whole family.

For those in the Bay Area – head to your local Costco where our new Adonia Greek Frozen Yogurt bars are up for the sampling on Friday and Saturday between 11am and 7pm.  Check our calendar to see if there’s a store close by where you can get your first taste.  Our club-packs are perfect for satisfying the whole crowd at your party.

So whether you are heading towards a bbq in the Bay Area or trying to avoid the Jersey Shore traffic make sure your frozen treats stay frozen in the back seat and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

For those of you not familiar with New York City, the World Financial Center is located in downtown, and is home to a classy indoor mall as well as thousands of square feet of office space. Located on the waterfront, the WFC attracts businessmen and businesswomen, as well as shopping tourists. Ciao Bella actually has a gelato bar at 2 World Financial Center if you ever make it down there – and I suggest you do – not only just for Ciao Bella, but for the amazing waterfront views that make you forget you’re in the Big Apple.

Our event was held in the Winter Garden, a large marble indoor lobby with floor to ceiling windows facing out onto the Hudson River. There were other vendors such as Starbucks and Au Bon Pain, but Ciao Bella stole the show, of course. We sampled our Key Lime Graham gelato, Lebanese Yogurt, Alphonso Mango sorbet, and our Prickly Pear sorbet (new for 2010). Of course, it was crazy keeping up with the demand, but once I got a second to walk around and catch my breath, I noticed that nearly everybody had a Ciao Bella gelato cup! We basically served everyone at the event, it seems, and it was shoulder to shoulder packed at some points. Thanks to our great team who kept up with all the customers with smiles on our faces.

While it’s not something we do everyday, the events we attend are always fun and energetic. We love meeting our fans! Check out our calendar on ciaobellagelato.com to see where we are heading next!

Pulling into the Kings Park Day celebration reminded me of every carnival or fair I’d been to as a child.  The streets were blocked off and people everywhere were having a great time enjoying a nice relaxing day.

Ciao Bella set up in front of Key Foods Supermarket, about a block away from the center of the festivities.  Our neighbors included Skinny Water (very refreshing in the 85° weather), Boars Head (cooking up hotdogs), and a variety of local food vendors.  The smell of fresh zeppoles never ceased to tempt me and the Key Foods employees were hard at work on the grill.

Being a very Italian neighborhood, the Key Foods residents loved the Ciao Bella name and were often found telling their own gelato stories over scoops of Chocolate Hazelnut.  Martino’s Pizza and Vasari Salon added to the fair by providing a moon-bounce for the kids, a DJ to dance along to, and (in true town-fair fashion) a spokesman announcing specials and prizes on a megaphone.

Our Alphonso Mango sorbet was gone before lunchtime (I have to admit, it was my breakfast as well) and the Tahitian Vanilla was soon to follow.  Later in the day, word of mouth made the Blood Orange sorbet a big hit.  I can’t tell you how many times I heard something like “I just tried some of my friend’s sorbet and I gotta have one” (it’s great to see Discover.Savor.Share in action)

I must say, I was truly envious of the number of young children (and some adults) who rode by on bikes, grabbed a scoop of gelato and rode away to enjoy the fair.  As we finished handing out the last sample, I had a great feeling about this event, although I wish I had one more sample to enjoy on the ride home

The hot weather and a refreshing iced treat are the perfect combo while relaxing on the sun-soaked beaches of the Hamptons, especially when it’s Ciao Bella. The Hamptons Beach Treats yellow bus provides an oasis for beach goers looking to cool down with all natural gelato and sorbet. They currently serve our single serve cups in multiple flavors, like our refreshing blood orange sorbet and our savory key lime graham gelato. A luxurious Hamptons beach getaway and a single serve portion of Ciao Bella gelato or sorbet, what a tantalizing pair.

The yellow bus is parked at Pikes Beach on Dune Road in Westhampton. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Personally, I’d go for lemon zest.

We’ve seen the entire East Coast and met some truly wonderful people along the way. We want to say a huge “thank you” to all of you who have helped us during this tour; from the distributors to the stores and especially the consumers. We loved meeting you and seeing the smiles on your faces everyday.

The tour couldn’t have ended on a more perfect day. The sun was shining bright in a big blue sky and the temperature was perfect. It was a gorgeous New Jersey September day. Our first event was at Dearborn Market in Holmdel. There was a health and wellness seminar being held in the greenhouse today and we were welcomed into the store with a goodie bag. While we were passing out samples Mikey Mouse stopped by to have his picture taken with Penelope.

Today was very bittersweet for us. We are definitely going to miss Penelope and our Ciao Bella family, but we are excited to see our families and to be home.

Thanks again to everyone out there for supporting us and sharing in this wonderful experience.

From what I understand,the idea of making some kind of blood orange creamsicle bar has been discussed before. What do you all think? Have an at-home tasting and let me know!

This treat would also be a fun addition to any Halloween parties coming up.  You could even add some dark chocolate sryup to the top to make it even more festive.

Nicole and Zack with their samples and stickers.

Today was a beautiful September. The skies were blue and the temperature was perfect. Lauren and I made a trip to Ciao Bella this morning to top off Penelope’s freezers for the weekend sampling. After we were fully loaded, we headed south. We had events in East Brunswick today at A&P and ShopRite.

We had some special visitors at our second event today. Nicole (if you keep up with our blogs, you know Nicole is one of our college roommates) came to visit, along with her boyfriend, Zack, and her parents. Our events were close to their house and they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come see two of their favorite people…or to sample some gelato. Mrs. Maikisch was especially excited because she loves the Chocolate Alba Hazelnut. Of courses she sampled that one. Nicole tried the Blood Orange, and just like everyone else, she instantly became a fan. Zack had the Tahitian Vanilla. I thought his was a great choice because the Tahitian Vanilla is my favorite of the onese we are sampling.

Nicole and Zak both donned stickers and I made them pose for a picture with their samples and stickers, hence the picture above.

It was great seeing them again. We were really glad they were able to come see Penelope in action. They’ve heard lots of stories and seen lots of pictures, but today they actually got to meet her!

Make sure to come see us either tomorrow or Sunday. The East Coast Bella Girls and Penelope only have two more days left on the summer tour and we would really love to meet you and share Ciao Bella with you. We can’t wait to see you!

The first A&P we went to really set the tone. As soon as you walk into the store the aroma of what I took to be apple cider hits you (it could have been that I was drunk with fall festiveness). You are greeted with a dead-looking man decoration who tells you to “come here, I have something to show you…” while he proceeds to remove his head from his body. I am smiling while I frolic around the pumpkins for sale and Charlie Brown pumpkin patch balloons. Working in grocery stores everyday, it’s hard not to see and begin wanting all the new most enticing seasonal décor. This is when I decide that my Dad’s apartment is lacking in spirit. I bought a very modern looking pumpkin, it has black and copper twirlies jumping off from the stem. I also chose some pumpkin/squash salt and pepper shakers and a pumpkin scented candle. Why not, right?

If you’re as excited as me about fall as I am check out the Pumpkin Spice gelato! It has already had a request or two via Penelope..

Passing out samples at Balducci's in Scarsdale, NY

Lauren and I had a fantastic day! The sun was finally out again and it was warm. It was a perfect day for sampling.

It was also a fantastic day for me for another reason. My sister, Sam, and my brother, Jobe flew into NYC today! I haven’t seen them in almost four months, and I have been beside myself waiting on them to get here. We are all really close and I have missed them dearly.

We are going to spend my days off exploring the city. I’ve only actually stepped foot in New York City twice. The first was for dinner and a Broadway show and the second was the event we did for Fashion’s Night Out. I’m so excited to see the city and all it has to offer. If you have any suggestions as to what we should see and do I am all ears.

I hope everyone has a great start to the week. Lauren and I will be back in action on Thursday. Make sure to come see us at our events next week. It’s our last week and we want to give out all the gelato and sorbet happiness we can before this year’s tour ends!

After our last event Elle and I are excited to watch our Carolina Gamecocks take on the Georgia Bulldogs. We attended the USC game in Athens, GA 2 years ago and are hoping the outcome is the same. I’m sure you can guess we won. Root with the East Coast Bella Girls tonight as we watch! Kickoff is at 7. If we win, and you come out to an event tomorrow and say “Go Gamecocks,” you get an extra sample.

So I hope the football gods know what kind of gelato happiness rests in their hands.