New Yorkers lined up in droves to get their hands on Grom's gelatos and fruit sorbets when, in the spring of 2007, the Italian firm opened its first New York shop on the Upper West Side.

This frenzy rang my skeptic's bells. You weren't going to catch me trekking uptown to stand in line for some trendy dessert fad that was destined to fade like the tiramisus and glazed doughnuts of years gone by.

But by the time Grom expanded to a more-convenient-to-me second shop on Bleecker Street this past spring, I'd learned that the firm is a Slow Food sensation in Italy, where it has shops in 17 cities.  The gelatos are made from uber-fresh regional and seasonal ingredients, top-notch South American chocolates, and organic eggs; the sorbets are fully half fresh fruit and half Piedmontese mineral water.  Grom's founders have even started their own organic fruit farm.

Green, ethical, and now more convenient than ever: it was time to give Grom a try.  And to maximize the flavor spread, I invited along my friends Ellie and Margaret.  On a recent sunny afternoon, we met at Grom's Greenwich Village location, made our selections, and crossed the street to Father Demo Square (the piazza-style parklet across from Grom's Bleecker Street shop),  to sit, sample, and compare impressions.

Grom's gelatos are wonderfully creamy and dense, and milder in flavor than other local favorites such as Manhattan's own Il Laboratorio). Whether this appeals to your palate is a personal matter. While my friend Ellie wanted extra intensity in her caffe espresso gelato, which was more like a latte than a cappuccino, I liked the smoothness and depth that Grom drew from the Huechuetenango highland coffee used in the flavoring.  This is a variety of coffee that the international Slow Food organization, a champion for local and regional foods, is working to save from extinction.

My gelato selection was Crema di Grom, which was a bit like eating very good chocolate chip cookies dunked into chilled cream.  It featured flecks of Ecuadorian chocolate and pieces of a crunchy, graham-like Italian cookie called Battifollo.

The truest test of an ice cream purveyor is how well it does vanilla, a not so simple flavor that can subtle and rich, or a sweet, bland nothing.  Well, we all loved Grom's vaniglia, made with Mananara vanilla from Madagascar (another Slow Food ingredient).  Margaret rated it one of the best vanilla ice creams she's ever tried  It was great on its own as well as a perfect partner for any of the fruit sorbets, which also earned our raves.

Each sorbet -- we tried apricot, peach, and lemon -- seemed tastier than the last.  The apricot and peach flavors were intensely concentrated, rather than watery or sugary.  And Grom's lemon sorbet stood out for its well-balanced tartness to sweetness, with no bitter aftertaste. Grom makes it with Sfusato lemons from Amalfi -- yep, another Slow Food supported food. 

One does pay for all this quality and integrity: a medium cup (paper, not plastic) of Grom runs close to $6, which is a lot more than a cone from the Mister Softee truck.   Then again, I have no idea what that is made of -- and even though it's white, it sure doesn't taste like vanilla.

Grom

2165 Broadway
Bet. 76th & 77th Sts.
11:00 am to 11:00 pm daily

233 Bleeker Street
Corner of Bleeker and Carmine
Mon.-Thur. 11:00 am to 11:00 pm; Fri., Sat., Sun. 11.00 am to midnight