 "Photo: www.cowboygelato.com")
Spaghetti western movie posters run along the walls along with lots of tables for a cozy meal. Step right up to the register, look over the menu and make your order. Varieties of fried appetizers, pickles, jalepenos, onion rings, corn and green beans are offered.
Most menu items have spaghetti western movie references such as the “Bronson” burger, a flagship entree with double quarter-pound beef patties and stuffed cheese in between, or the “Hill,” a Philly steak and cheese sandwich topped with green chilies. There’s also the “Van Cleef,” a barbecue pork sandwich with your choice of sourdough bun, and then the “Comanchero” plate, which comes with fried Indian bread pouches stuffed with pork and a mildly spicy sauce for dipping.
Veggie versions of the entrees are available for the vegetarian diner along with salads for the lighter appetite.
The menu changes frequently as the staff experiments with the dishes.
All the white, wheat or pepperjack sourdough buns are baked on site. Spices and dips are created in-house, too.
The gelato is created in a separate area called “the Lab” where gelato masters mix the flavors into the sorbet and gelato. They offer two styles of Italian iced delights: sorbet, less butter fat and smooth on the palate, or gelato, with a milk or cream base and richer, softer texture that makes it much more dense then traditional ice cream.
The fruit flavors are made with fresh fruit puréed into the base.
Some sorbet flavor choices include lemon, banana chocolate chip and lime. Some of the gelato flavors are pineapple, rum raisin, biscotti and mint chocolate chip.
Watch out for the strawberry habanero. It burns the tongue.
Cowboy Gelato also has the “Wall of Shame,” where getting brain-freezes can make someone into a local celebrity. If a person can eat their choice of flavors in the three different sizes of containers within 10 minutes, they get their photo in a special placard on the “Wall of Shame” just outside the “Lab.” Only two people have completed the task.
The prices are cheaper than comparable burger joints. The gelato is priced right in three sizes. “The Good” is a 4-ounce cup of up to two flavors for $2.99. “The Bad” is a 7-ounce cup of up to three flavors for $3.99. “The Ugly,” a 9-ounce cup of up to four flavors of gelato, costs $4.99.
My family of three ordered two entrees and one Django kids meal, shared a cup of “The Ugly” and got out with a nice tip all for less than $25.
Free wi-fi is available for customers, and there’s a CD jukebox with lots of hits available.
One drawback is the lack of beer and wine.
Route 66 has many places along the long trek to shop or eat and have a good time with friends. Every time you go to the 806 or some other store down in the antique district of Amarillo, stop in and get a spot of gelato at this western-style, cinematic watering hole.
Cowboy Gelato is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is located on historic Route 66 at 2806 Sixth Avenue.
To view the calendar of events and more, visit the Web page at www.cowboygelato.com.
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