Ice Ambrosia

My maria.... I remember the first time I tried Berthillon ice cream was with you. And the French boys you picked up on the train from England! At the time it was the glace café that really impressed me. So rich, bittersweet and unadulterated. -- And that Maison Berthillon closes during July and August. It just seemed so French.

But even when the original is shuttered, there are three or four window vendors on the île Saint-Louis who will sell it to you any day, and into the night. One of these provided me and Cecco with our celebratory treat: a scoop of bitter chocolate and one of pine nut. Delights! It's difficult to describe just how the quality of Berthillon ice cream differs from the usual premium ice cream. There's simply a purity to it, as if it had no air.