Splendora's Gelato

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United States
Charlottesville, VA
Splendora's Gelato

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Small-batch, on-site production. Seasonal, sometimes local, sometimes foraged. Shops at Stonefield Masks required for ordering
(378)

11/02/2026

monday and splendy's is closed. will be open 12-8 tomorrow for election day.

been thinking about albatross takeoffs and complancency in the cville food scene. the energetic burden of getting a bird with the wingspan of an albatross is insane. they need specific favorable conditions, a head wind and a long runway, a windy cliff, sometimes the push from a cresting wave. but once airborne they can relax. the heart rate of an albatross in flight is not much more than an albatross sat on land.

my understanding is when gerry newman started albemarle baking co he did so at a time when baguettes were a rarity and croissants were hoity-toity nonsense. but he had enough in him to reach a shift of croissants being quotidian. community conditions were favorable enough to launch abc to airborne relaxation. (well, insofar as any business owner is allowed to relax and now different folks are helming the same wonderful place.) but it did take curiousity and engagement and the unpaid work of educating a consumer on an unfamiliar product.

now a french bakery is de mode in our area. but a croissant is not the only thing being made in the world. i wonder what talents in town are not given a long runway. i wonder who burns out energetically before the wind coasts them to resources. and a lot of the span of possibilities is in direct relationship to the acceptance within a broader community.

(pictured is cloud nine's beef kare pan. crispy panko outside, flavor curried filling. they freeze super well if you get catering amounts and want to stay ready for guests.)

in this holiday season of catering and gathering and saying thanks with a meal, how often will people go with what is expected, supporting chain restaurants over smaller, more interesting food? why can't 'there's food in the break room' be pastelitos or conchas or kare pan or dosas or chicken satay? why do we as a food community not celebrate the people taking the time and energy to present what might be unfamiliar to us until it stops being strange and starts feeling like home? why aren't we putting effort into creating the circumstances for food people who are our neighbors to be able to take flight?

i'm thinking on i

10/30/2026

closing out filipino american history month with two boo-tiful flavors. (look i own silicone molds for reasons i don't remember anymore. i gotta use 'em.)

hojicha ube was a flavor that came as a whim. earthy on earthy was gonna be an odd balance to strike but did it anyway. that meant having a more muted ube flavor so that the vanilla tones didn't overpower the woodsiness of roasted green tea from having steeped hojicha into gelato base.

for transparency reasons, i want y'all to know the ube i've been using to make my halaya is actually sourced from vietnam. it's funny how many folks are surprised that my ube gelato tastes different/better than other experiences. that's because a lot of ube products out there are not from the beloved yam. the popularity of the trend has been superficial to its color, with the deep flavor i grew up with being a backseat. farmers in the philippines are not feeling the love since a lot of 'ube' out there is purple sweet potato. even though all i could get this month was ube from vietnam, this week i'm making a donation to global seed savers philippines to offset not being able to source my preferred lucia brand.

the second FAHM flavor this week is turon. in simple terms, turon is a banana eggroll. i'm not even sure i'm meant to call it a dessert. filipinos love us a merienda and turon falls into that category of anytime bite. a variant called saba, smaller, firmer, and less sweet than the banana you're used to seeing, is sliced lengthwise and rolled into an spring roll wrapper. shallow fried with sugar and vanilla and sometimes with a sliver of jackfruit inside, turon is a textural journey. crunch of the wrapper to creamy banana sweetness inside, teeth still sticky from the caramelized shell. to echo the flavor profile, i did a roasted banana gelato swirled with caramel. saba pieces and jackfruit bites fold in with spring roll wrappers that were baked crispy with brown sugar.

tis friday and we're open 12-9.

10/28/2026

gf/vegan cupcakes: chocolate strawberry, vanilla coffee

Flavor List 28 Oct - 1 Nov
Dairy-free
Chocolate
Mango
Lemon
Strawberry
Raspberry
Passionfruit
Kalamansi
Oatmilk Black Sesame
knocking around from last week: Apple C***r (limited)

Dairy-based
Cookies and Cream
Mint Chocolate Chip
Chocolate
Vanilla
Stracciatella
Coffee
Salted Caramel
Coconut
Hazelnut
Espresso Chip^
Pawpaw Matcha
Maple
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Flakes (pls note: contains coconut sugar)
Hojicha Ube^
Turon^ (filipino saba fried wrap not spanish nougat)

^production day tomorrow
knocking around from last week
Pumpkin Spice
Caromont Farm Rouelle and American Quince

10/25/2026

folks get bummed when an expected flavor runs out for the week. but i've always put pressure on myself to have gelato that spends less time in the display case. the fewer defrost/refreeze cycles my product goes through, the better texture for you all. so things run out as i have yet to become psychic enough to predict down to the scoop what will be popular. ube pandan is gone this time around but plotting for next week's menu. head to stories or check the poll here. i made enough halaya for another couple gallons of an ube something to close out filipino american history month. xoxo

10/22/2026

the less approachable flavors do have a method to the madness they purport. here's a smidge of insight into something that might take you aback in gelato form.

thursday and open 12-8. there's normie flavors too, don't fret. but the fun is in the exploration, i think.

ps: i mention feral quince in the slides. it is not a native tree but can be found around places that the woods took back (or sometimes forgotten in someone's yard). i like the idea of my friend knowing a fruiting quince when she saw it and being the sort of person scarcity mindset passed over enough that she shared bounty with me.

10/21/2026

Flavor List 21-25 Oct
Dairy-free
Chocolate
Mango
Lemon
Strawberry
Raspberry
Apple C***r*
knocking around from last week: Oatmilk Pumpkin Spice, Pomegranate

Dairy-based
Cookies and Cream
Mint Chocolate Chip
Chocolate
Vanilla
Stracciatella
Coffee
Salted Caramel
Coconut
Ube Pandan
Hazelnut
Espresso Chip
Brown Butter Brandied Cherry
Pumpkin Spice
Caromont Farm Rouelle and American Quince*
Pawpaw Matcha*
Rose Pistachio Honey Pomegranate*

knocking around from last week Reaper Sbagliato Honey and Blackberry (limited), Ube Flan (very limited)

*Production day today and not immediately available

10/19/2026

gelato is a long game for some flavord. semi-local dark fleshed cherries (apologies to the maryland farm that grew these for not catching the varietal) have been sat in brandy for a couple months now. tis time. a rough chop of the cherries, some splashes of brandy reduction, all folded into a brown butter gelato base. it feels autumnal without banging you over the head with cozy. but if pumpkin spice is the only harbinger of sweatah weathah you need, we're making that too. fairytale pumpkin roasted low with an amount of butter we don't need to talk about will be the background to a spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove, and nutmeg.

new flavor list drops wednesday under the talking bagel as usual but we're bringing some scoops and half pints of things to The Little Market at Lampo tuesday 3-6:30

dairy-free
pomegranate
raspberry
chai plum

dairy-based
brown butter brandied cherry
pumpkin spice
vanilla
hazelnut
stracciatella

10/15/2026

pain can be research when making spicy gelato. whether you think frozen treats should have capsacin heat is a conversation you can have with your tastebuds. i like spicy and i like playing with profile expectations in my gelato.

my buddy jason brought the danger fruits of his hot pepper bounty last month. i took little slices of peppers to taste which would be the most impactful for a gelato flavor. historically, the move has been ghost pepper honey raspberry. but the white ghosties he brought didn’t have the oomph i wanted. the reaper sbagliato felt like it would make an infusion with equal parts pain and flavor when steeped in wildflower honey. so a few weeks later, it is time. the brighter tartness of raspberry felt like too much of a high note in a honey that has overt front fruitiness. i didn’t want a gelato that was only sharp notes. opting for blackberry swirl this time, on the hope the earthiness will be a grounding foil for the spice.

thursday and shop is open 12-8. working on the rest of the gelato flavors from the new list. shop looked struggle city yesterday but i suppose if i bashed folks over the head with the homemade of it all, people would have patience. but maybe not. all i know is the flavors i make take time. i think it is worth it but since i’m shuttering end of the year, i’m probably wrong.

10/14/2026

cupcakes frozen from friday: chocolate coffee. vanilla vanilla.

Flavor List 7-9 Oct
Dairy-free
Chocolate
Mango*
Lemon
Strawberry*
Raspberry
Oatmilk Pumpkin Spice*
Apple C***r*
Pomegranate*
knocking around from last week: Kiwi

Dairy-based
Cookies and Cream
Mint Chocolate Chip
Chocolate
Vanilla
Stracciatella
Coffee
Salted Caramel
Gianduia*
Coconut
Goat Cheese Honey Fig
Ube Flan^
White Rabbit^
Hazelnut^
Reaper Sbagliato Honey and Blackberry^ (yes it's spicy)
Espresso Chip

knocking around from last week: Chipotle Chocolate (dried peppers from Amigo Mercado), Tiramisu, Pistachio

*Production day today and not immediately available
^Production day tomorrow and not immediately available

10/10/2026

closed until wednesday 14 october.

the cooler of guilt scoops will be at little market at lampo of a tuesday but splendy’s is not vending officially.

have an excellent weekend. go to a farmers market. stop at a stall you’ve never been. give your friend ten dollars to buy a vegetable that looks the most like you. drink virginia w**e. go to an event for a non-profit that is new to you. go to the welcome gallery and look at the arc of the piedmont art. tell a tree you hope it has a good rest now that cold is coming. make extra snacks. share them. be extra. share that too. see you wednesday maybe. xoxo

Address

2050 Bond Street, 170
Charlottesville, VA
22901

Website

http://splendoras.square.site/

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