Eating Albuquerque: Van Rixel Bros. Gelato & Sorbet

Calling me a locavore would be like calling a meal vegetarian because there's broccoli and a baked potato next to the steak. I love trying and collecting foodstuffs from all over the world - my pantry is crammed with Asian condiments and imported olive oils. 

But few things thrill me more than really good local foods. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I'm a long-time member of Los Poblanos Organics, which grows beautiful vegetables right in Albuquerque, as well as bringing in produce, meat, and so on from organic producers in the state and region. I try to eat at local restaurants almost exclusively. And I squealed with delight when I discovered Van Rixel's incredible gelato.

We were out of town, in a hotel room in Santa Fe, when I discovered the existence of the Van Rixel factory store. Once we were back, we seized our first opportunity to get there. I confess, I was a little disappointed at first. I knew the place was in a not-too-promising strip mall in a rundown industrial section of Juan Tabo. Despite this, and their own characterization of the shop as a "factory store," I expected a cute little ice-cream shop with brightly colored cups of gelato hand-scooped to order. Instead, it was, well, a factory store, stocked with pre-packed pints and $2 four-ounce single-serve cups. We bought one Lemon Chiffon and one Espresso and left to find a park bench to eat them on.

Lemon Chiffon perfection

With one bite of my Lemon Chiffon gelato, all was forgiven. It was perfect: tart with lemon, speckled with vanilla bean, sweet and richly creamy. The Espresso was strongly espresso-flavored and not too sweet - just on the edge for this recent convert to milky coffee drinks. The car ride in search of an eating spot (we picked a bench near the Multigenerational Center across from Costco) had been just long enough to bring the treats from hard-frozen to perfect soft creaminess.

Two days later, I discovered that La Montanita Co-op in Nob Hill carries the four-ounce sizes in their ice cream treat freezer, and an obsession was born. My freezer now has a corner devoted to a stack, and I'm having a great time trying all kinds of flavors. The brightly tangy Limoncello sorbetto and the hauntingly rich Venetian Tiramisu are my current favorites. I cannot wait to try the Caramelized Macadamia!

A treasure trove

Van Rixel costs a little more than the national brands, but it is worth every penny for this vibrant, small-batch, hand-crafted treasure.