Bulgarini Vino Cucina | |
---|---|
Restaurant information | |
Established | 2006 |
Owner(s) | Leo Bulgarini, Elizabeth Foldi |
Food type | Italian |
Dress code | Casual |
Street address | 749 East Altadena Drive |
City | Altadena |
State | California |
Postal/ZIP Code | 91001 |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 34°11′26.9″N118°7′55.7″W / 34.190806°N 118.132139°W |
Website | bulgarinigelato |
Bulgarini Vino Cucina, previously (and still commonly) known as Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale, is a restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine. Originally established as an ice cream parlor specializing in gelato , it is located at 749 East Altadena Drive in Altadena, California, beside The Bunny Museum.
Bulgarini was founded in 2006 by Leo Bulgarini, [1] a Rome-born former sommelier, and his wife Elizabeth Foldi, [2] with Bulgarini originally operating out of an ice cream cart stationed at the courtyard of the USC Pacific Asia Museum in neighboring Pasadena before opening a standalone location in Altadena. [3] The couple later opened a second location in Culver City, which closed in 2014. [4]
Originally serving several flavors of gelato, including a pistachio flavor made with the rare Pistacchio di Bronte cultivar sourced from Sicily, [5] in 2018 Bulgarini started serving a small selection of handmade pasta dishes as part of a special dining menu, [6] paired with a screening of Italian comedy films screened from the courtyard. [7] This would lead to the pasta dishes becoming a permanent part of the menu and the ice cream parlor transitioning into a full-fledged restaurant. [7]
The restaurant, along with the neighboring Nancy's Greek Café and an adjacent bakery, survived the 2025 Eaton Fire although much of the surrounding neighborhood, including the neighboring Bunny Museum and the owners' home a few blocks away, was destroyed. [1] Despite surviving the fire it remains closed, with Bulgarini remarking that it is not safe for serving or eating food, and with a high probability of it needing to relocate out of Altadena to either Eagle Rock or La Crescenta-Montrose. [1]
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
Altadena is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately 14 miles (23 km) from Downtown Los Angeles. Its population was 42,846 at the 2020 census, up slightly from a 2010 figure of 42,777. In early 2025, the community was severely impacted by the Eaton Fire.
Baskin-Robbins is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake specialty shops owned by Inspire Brands. Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in Glendale, California. Its headquarters are in Canton, Massachusetts, and shared with sibling brand Dunkin' Donuts. It is the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty stores, with more than 8,000 locations.
Gelato is the common word in Italian for all types of ice cream. In English, it specifically refers to a frozen dessert of Italian origin. Artisanal gelato in Italy generally contains 6–9% butterfat, which is lower than other styles of frozen dessert. Gelato typically contains 35% air and more flavoring than other types of frozen desserts, giving it an intense flavor with creamy, smooth texture, density and richness that distinguishes it from other ice creams.
The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is an American restaurant company and distributor of cheesecakes based in the United States. It operates 219 full-service restaurants: 206 under the Cheesecake Factory brand and 7 under the Grand Lux Cafe brand, not including the number of restaurants operated under the North Italia nor any of Fox Restaurant Brands' names. The Cheesecake Factory also operates two bakery production facilities—in Calabasas, California, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina—and licenses two bakery-based menus for other foodservice operators under the Cheesecake Factory Bakery Cafe marque. Its cheesecakes and other baked goods can also be found in the cafes of many Barnes & Noble stores.
Carnation is a brand of food products. The brand was especially known for its evaporated milk product created in 1899, then called Carnation Sterilized Cream and later called Carnation Evaporated Milk. The brand has since been used for other related products including milk-flavoring mixes, flavored beverages, flavor syrups, hot cocoa mixes, instant breakfasts, corn flakes, ice cream novelties, and dog food. Nestlé acquired the Carnation Company in 1985.
Ice cream parlors or ice cream parlours are parlor that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream, and/or soft serve, which is usually dispensed by a machine with a limited number of flavors. Ice cream parlors generally offer a number of flavors and items. Parlors often serve ice cream and other frozen desserts in cones, cups or dishes, the latter two to be eaten with a spoon. Some ice cream parlors prepare ice cream desserts such as sundaes or milkshakes, or even a blend.
Burton Leo Baskin was an American businessman who co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain in 1946 with business partner and brother-in-law Irv Robbins.
Caruso sauce or salsa Caruso is a warm sauce in Uruguayan cuisine made of cream, ham, cheese, beef extract, and mushrooms, and sometimes nuts or onions. A simpler version is a Béchamel sauce with spices, walnuts, and ham. It is served with pasta, typically cappelletti.
Affogato, known in full in Italian as affogato al caffè and gelato affogato al caffè, is an Italian dessert comprising a scoop of gelato or ice cream, either plain milk-flavored or vanilla, topped with hot espresso. Some variations add a shot of amaretto, bicerin, Kahlúa, or other liqueur.
Carnation Cafe is an American comfort food restaurant located in Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland in Anaheim, California in the United States. The restaurant opened in 1955 as Carnation Cafe Ice Cream Parlor.
The Bunny Museum was a museum dedicated to rabbits that first opened to the public in 1998, in Altadena, California.
Bacon ice cream is an ice cream generally created by adding bacon to egg custard and freezing the mixture. The concept of bacon ice cream originated in a 1973 sketch on the British comedy series The Two Ronnies as a joke; it was eventually created for April Fools' Day by a New York ice cream parlour in 1982. In the 2000s, the English chef Heston Blumenthal experimented with ice cream, making a custard similar to scrambled eggs and adding bacon to create one of his signature dishes. It now appears on dessert menus in other restaurants.
Garlic ice cream is a flavour of ice cream consisting mainly of vanilla, or honey, and cream as a base, to which garlic is added. It has been featured at many garlic festivals, including the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California.
Stir-fried ice cream, also known as rolled ice cream or ice cream rolls, is a sweetened frozen dessert. It is made using milk, cream and sugars as well as other added ingredients to improve the flavor. The liquid mixture is stirred constantly to incorporate air spaces on an ice pan and simultaneously cooled to −30 °C (−22 °F) in a motion somewhat resembling stir frying. The completed rolling process results in rolls of smooth, semisolid ice cream or gelato. The rolls are placed in a vertical position in an ice cream cup, topped off with various toppings and decorations, and eaten with a spoon.
C.C. Brown's was an ice cream parlor that operated in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California from 1929 to 1996. The shop claimed to have invented the hot fudge sundae and became popular with celebrity clientele. Their long list of famous customers included Clark Gable, Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe. Judy Garland was once a waitress at the restaurant and Marlon Brando enjoyed sundaes in his limousine while his family ate inside. A thank you note from another regular, Ronald Reagan, hung on the wall.
Fosselman's Ice Cream Company is a historic ice cream company based in Alhambra, California, located at 1824 W. Main Street, that has been owned and operated by the same family for three generations. Although the present company was started in 1937, the company can trace it roots to a related family business founded in 1919.
The Bigg Chill is a frozen yogurt shop in Westwood, Los Angeles. It was established in 1986, and bought in 1990 by current owners Diane Dinow and her daughter, Cary Russell. The store has been noted for its interior design, variety of conventional flavors, and longevity.