By Shanika Whaley
City Times

Serving delicious dishes and treats with an Old World taste and charm, a new restaurant in Little Italy is bound to wrap its way around the whole community.

“Ciao, Come Stai?” (Hello, how are you), is what you hear from Francesco Bucci as soon as you step through the door. Bucci is from Toscana, Italy, and is the owner of the new “Gelato Lounge,” Pappalecco.

Pappalecco, serving everything from Italian sandwiches to gelato, just recently opened, but has already captured a lot of attention.

“It’s modeled after my other store in Italy,” says Bucci. “Everything is the same.”

Pappalecco’s doors first opened on the first day of the San Diego ArtWalk, April 28.

In case you’re wondering what Pappalecco means or how to even pronounce it, there are two separate meanings. “Pappa,” means food for kids, something small and “lecco” refers to licking, something to lick. But don’t let the meaning fool you, it has everything you want for little kids and adults.

“Everything here is so good,” explained Ida Farre. “It just opened, but I’ve been here every day since.”

For the young ones (and the little kid in all of us), there are 16 different Gelato flavors including banana, Pappalecco, fragola (strawberry), mixed berry, limone (lemon) and even tiramisu.

All of them have real fruit and chocolaty flavor that contain nothing but all natural ingredients. Banana gelato has the real, authentic taste of a banana. When you take that first bite, it really is as if you just ate an actual banana. Pappalecco is the signature flavor. It contains chocolate, hazelnut, and biscotti pieces; it’s extremely smooth and delicious.

Patrons will find espresso and cappuccinos to sip and enjoy and also delicious paninis (sandwiches) to choose from.

Something about this store that is interesting is how small a real espresso shot is, but in Italy, that’s how it’s served.

“A real Italian espresso is one shot,” explained Lorenzo, Bucci’s brother. “It is one shot, but extremely strong.”

Pappalecco is located on the corner of State and Cedar, you can’t miss it. It has bright orange paint across the top of the building; in the middle is the name, Pappalecco. Small brown tables and chairs that seat two or three people are set up outside around the store for the customers to sit and enjoy its tasty food.