Under the beautiful and ornate archway were a series of shops, one of which served gelato...
The gelateria is named after Uli Nasibova, the vibrant owner who makes all of the gelato and sorbet batches by hand. Some flavors were quite fanciful and seasonal. Although she wasn't there that day, the young man working the counter was quite nice and friendly, letting us sample several flavors of our choice before we decided on a triple scoop bowl.
From the Spring Arcade Building's website:
"Built in 1924, the 12-story, double-wing Spring Arcade Building was designed by San Francisco architects with continental backgrounds. Kenneth MacDonald had trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and internationally recognized structural engineer Maurice Couchot was French. Originally known as the “Mercantile Arcade Building,” the dominant features of the three-story base of the building are the beautiful terra cotta archway lunette, decorated with ornate Beaux Arts/Spanish Renaissance motifs, and the cavernous midblock arcade connecting Spring Street with Broadway. On the rooftop of both the Broadway and the Spring Towers still stand the landmark old KRKD radio towers."
If it weren't for the sandwich board sign, we would have passed it up...
Every flavor looked so good.
To be honest, I don't remember exactly what we had, but I'm guessing one was strawberry, the other a dark chocolate hazelnut flavor along with Stracciatella.
We each chose a flavor of our liking and shared it this way.
There WAS a video I was going to embed, but the people in it asked such stupid questions and it seemed as though the owner was just bored shitless answering their smug questions. I didn't want to subject you to millenial hipster videos expressing fake awe at how the gelatos were housemade. I mean, "Duh, of course they're housemade ya' idjits!"!!!
Who else went to Gelateria Uli?
PaleViolet Aug. 2015
"Gelateria Uli scoops within downtown's Spring Arcade" LA Eater, April 2014
LAWeekly
"Downtown LA's Broadway Spring Arcade continues to transform with new opening of Gelateria Uli" DTLA Rising, April 15, 2014
Plus an article on Spring Arcade:
"Spring Arcade Building looking to whet new palates" LA Eater, Oct. 2013
Here's how it looks from top to bottom:
(photo by Lauren Everett, from LAConservancy site)
More info on the Spring Arcade Building:
www.springarcadebuilding.com
www.laconservancy.org
Gelateria Uli (located in the Spring Arcade Building)
541 S. Spring St., Suite 104
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 900-4717
www.gelateriauli.com
It was about time to get going to Little Tokyo. The exhibit we went to has been over since April 2015 but this was our only time to see it that early January since our future weekends were booked solid...Yeah, I meant to have this post out nine months ago, heh.
4 comments:
Dammit! I erased your comment again! So sorry!
Yes, Straciatella FOREVER! That is one of TC's favorite flavors of gelato. I love the chocolate shards in straciatella.
Hahah, it's okay. No one needs to know what I said. :)
I hate when I delete by mistake. Dagnabbit.
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