Baci Gelato

The snow has melted, spring is only weeks away. Is it too soon to start thinking about gelato? Not at Baci. Last weekend, co-owner Doron Bensusan said, was his busiest since the store opened in November.

Bensusan and Allen Aingorn founded Baci Gelato in 2005. The first location was a mile north on Willis Avenue, but last year, the partners sought a space with more parking, more visibility and a more inviting dining area. They got it all with this bright, corner storefront. For the wholesale end of the business, they wanted a production facility large enough to supply gelato for Williston Park and a new store in Manhattan's Limelight Marketplace, but also for the growing number of restaurants, cafes and hotels that serve Baci gelato.

When Bensusan emigrated from Israel a decade ago, he already was a gelato maker, having trained there and in Italy (where he still goes at least once a year to brush up his skills and scope out new products). Over the years, he's learned that what distinguishes great gelato from good gelato is freshness and texture. Unlike ice cream, gelato has a shelf life of, at most, a few days. And it must be kept at a warmer temperature than ice cream, with constantly circulating air, to maintain its creaminess.

Of course, flavor counts, too. Baci's wares come in about 100 flavors; two dozen or so are available on any given day. (Cups are $3.25 to $5.25; pints, $9.) Classic Italian gelati -- chocolate, fior di latte (milk flavor), stracciatella (chocolate chip), espresso -- mix it up with such American innovations as banana split and cookies and cream. The store's most popular flavor is "bacio," a chocolate-hazelnut base with bits of hazelnut. It pays homage to the famous Perugina candy -- and its namesake store. -- Erica Marcus (Newsday, March 10, 2011)

Doron Bensusan, co-owner of Baci Gelato in Williston Park, gets ready to scoop some of his gelato, which comes in 100 flavors. (March 8, 2011)