Lotta Gelato

Ciao Bella, which provides unusual gelatos and sorbets to restaurants such as Fenix at the Argyle and Drai’s, is now selling its products in stores. Among the 85-plus flavors in its repertoire are lots of seasonal specialties, such as cranberry-orange sorbetto, pumpkin gelato and hazelnut rum gelato. We’re particularly impressed by the passion fruit sorbetto and the cardamom gelato. Especially if you sprinkle it with a drop of rose water, the latter is a nearly perfect substitute for the Indian ice cream kulfi, saving you the trouble of making or finding kulfi for an Indian dinner.

Ciao Bella gelatos and sorbets, $3.95-$4 a pint, at Urban Epicuria, West Hollywood; Julienne, San Marino; Francesca, Manhattan Beach; and the Wine House, Los Angeles; or call (800) 3-GELATO.