Today on Eat Live Love San Fernando Valley, we’re in North Hollywood to visit Black Market Gelato & Sorbet. I caught up with owner Spin Mlynarik to talk about the origins of the shop, his passion for these sweet treats, and more.
Spin is originally from Austria and a former top-200 European men’s tennis player who met his wife here in L.A. When he brought her back to his home country, she fell in love with Austrian gelato in Vienna. Spin decided he wanted to bring this back to L.A. and help others fall in love with it too.
Spin started Black Market Gelato with the belief that Californians deserve to experience the same fabulous treat that Europeans know and love. Spin uses award-winning Gelato recipes that have won the “Best Gelato Award” in Italy.
“They’ve never strayed away from using pure, high-quality ingredients.”
He started gaining traction by taking his gelatos and sorbets to some local restaurants. They loved the product, ordered more, and Black Market focused on serving high-end restaurants and hotels. They produce and supply them with their gelato, and now they have their own brick-and-mortar store here in North Hollywood.
They’ve never strayed away from using pure, high-quality ingredients. All of their pastes come from Italy, the fruit purees from France, and only fresh, local fruit is used in their sorbet. The production costs are a bit higher, but the quality certainly shows.
On my visit, I got to try the vanilla with brownies and chocolate almonds—my favorite. To make the gelato, they take their sugar, dextrose, and glucose, then mix that with milk and blend. Once it’s dissolved, the cream gets added. The brownies come from a company in Texas and another company on the east coast makes the chocolate-covered almonds. Check out the gelato cake at 4:22 in the video above if you truly want to see something amazing.
I loved the gelato. The chewiness of the brownie, crunchiness of the almonds, and the sponginess of the gelato made for a fantastic afternoon treat full of texture and flavor. I recommend coming down here to check this place out at 13156 Saticoy St., North Hollywood, California 91605.
If you have any questions for me or know of other local eateries I should visit, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
