Excellent report!
IMO it’s the best dining experience around!
I’m glad the food was delicious.
If I were peeved by having to wait 15-20 minutes past my reservation time simply to be seated at a completely empty cafe, I wouldn’t consider that being “picky,” but to each his/her own. ::shrug::
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Great report @NYCtoLA!
Over saucing and over olive-oiling sounds like a recipe for more delicious focaccia (sans extra salt) to sop up all the goodness… problem solved.
Seems like Leo and his wonderful Bulgarini are gettin’ busy, folks. I have a call in to find out his exact dates of availability in July - then we can decide which dates work for everyone. FYI, it’s a bit like “who’s on first?”. I ask for availability and he asks how many people. Hopefully, we’ll get somewhere.
TBC…
I get that. But I give Leo more leeway since it’s just him and an assistant running the gelato shop. He also gets leeway since a dinner here is more akin to dinner at a friend’s house than a restaurant. My husband loved how casual it was.
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I will join you all in spirit! Would love to go try the food and tasting menu, only had his gelati once some years ago (and he didn’t have pistachio by the cup, only to go by the pound or more).
Does he do Trippa Alla Romana?
My friends don’t charge me $125 to eat at their house, so I wouldn’t say that.
True, but the pasta and gelato pairings are unlike anything any of my friends can do. I guess I don’t mind the casual nature of this dinner party.
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Update 5 (To-Go):
We had manged to get in a couple visits to Bulgarini Gelato before the pandemic, and then we wanted to show support for this wonderful artisan Gelateria during the pandemic.
While Owner and Gelato Master Leo Bulgarini’s standouts are his Handmade Gelato, his Handmade Pastas are some of the best in the city.
Pappardelle al Pesto:
Leo Bulgarini’s Handmade Pesto was outstanding on this visit, fragrant, earthy, nutty from the Basil and Pine Nuts and the Handmade Pappardelle had a nice light bite to it, pliant and toothsome. 
Handmade Focaccia:
Crunchy exterior, quality Olive Oil and Sea Salt on top.
(Specials) Spaghetti Carbonara:
New Pasta alert! On this visit, Leo had a Special Pasta for the day, Spaghetti Carbonara! 
Taking a bite, COME ON!
Intensely porky, so fragrant, the Guanciale (Cured Pork Jowl) Leo uses was sourced from a specialist after Leo searched for almost a year to find one he was satisfied with (of course he did). The Pecorino Cheese is from a dairy farm outside of Rome, Italy, and makes a huge difference, and Leo’s masterful cooking.
The Carbonara Sauce was rich and eggy, stunning in its porkiness and nice Pecorini punch with some Black Pepper, and the Spaghetti on this visit was perfect! One of the best Carbonara Pastas we’ve had in years! Do not miss! 
(@J_L @PorkyBelly @TheCookie @attran99 @A5KOBE @beefnoguy @paranoidgarliclover @Ns1 and others.)
Time for Dessert. 
Cioccolato All’ Arancia (Chocolate Orange) Gelato:
Stunning as usual! Intense Dark Chocolate notes and beautiful fragrant citrus notes from the Orange zest and fruit infused within. Wonderful!
Nocciola (Hazelnut) Gelato:
To understand how great Bulgarini’s Gelatos are, look no further than the Nocciola (Hazelnut). Taking a bite:
It’s truly stupid how GREAT this is! Even if you don’t like Hazelnut, Leo’s Hazelnut Gelato will make you a fan. It’s like the ultimate concentration of an entire vat of Roasted Hazelnuts, but even better, more fragrant, more intense, sweet and airy, but never saccharine.
Another Visit:
Handmade Focaccia:
Leo just finished a new batch of his Handmade Focaccia. Crunchy, beautifully seasoned with quality Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Sea Salt.
Pappardelle al Sugo di Carne:
Leo sold out of his Tagliatelle, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying his incredible Housemade Meat Sauce. Leo spends over 4 hours to slowly cook down his Sugo di Carne Meat Sauce, and you can taste the love he puts into it. There’s a beautiful meatiness and rich savoriness that produces one of the best Pastas in the city.
(Specials) Spaghetti Carbonara:
Wanting to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, we had come back to try his Specials board Spaghetti Carbonara again a 2nd time.
It wasn’t a fluke.
Every slurp of this Spaghetti Carbonara is bathed in a rich, deep porcine flavor that puts to shame all of the Carbonara offerings we’ve tried from LA’s more hyped restaurants over the past few years (no hyperbole). It is incredible!
The Pecorino, lovely egginess in the Sauce, the Spaghetti once again perfectly cooked! SO GOOD!
Nocciola (Hazelnut) Gelato:
Outstanding. Intensely nutty, it is probably my favorite Gelato at Bulgarini, surpassing his legendary Pistachio Gelato. (@TheCookie @hanhgry @attran99 and others!)
Cioccolato (Chocolate) Gelato:
Incredible!
Most Recent Visit (During Pandemic):
We were hoping Bulgarini was still open during the shutdown, and thankfully they are open!
Social distancing is in place. Leo Bulgarini will greet you at the door personally, with mask and gloves and let you know what the flavors are for today. He will still give you samples, but it’s a bit more of a hassle (he has to run back inside, get a sample, run back out to you to deliver the sample, so try not to ask for too many during this time. 
Gelato Time!
Tiramisu Gelato:
Ridiculous. It tastes like the most concentrated, beautiful Tiramisu Dessert you’ve had, distilled in Gelato frozen form! Beautiful Coffee and Cocoa flavors not overly sweet, lovely.
Pear, Greek Mastika, Blood Orange Gelato:
This was OUT OF CONTROL! Gorgeous intense Pear flavors, infused with Greek Mastika (what Leo describes as sap from the Mastic tree from Greece), and Blood Orange. The flavor combination tasted natural fruity, not too sweet, finishing with a Spring-like citrus finish.
Cioccolato Di Firenze al Sale (Florentine Chocolate with Salt):
Leo’s amazing Dark Chocolate Gelato infused with Sea Salt. There’s barely any sweetness, so it’s rich, chocolately with a saline edge.
Vaniglia (Vanilla) Gelato:
To understand the greatness of Leo Bulgarini’s Gelato, look no further than the seemingly simple Vaniglia (Vanilla) Gelato. I made the mistake years ago of overlooking this flavor, but then one taste and you’ll be kicking yourself for not having tried it sooner.
INTENSE, real Vanilla flavor in every bite. It puts to shame any Vanilla Ice Cream in the city. It’s not even close. HIGHLIGHT!
Fragola Sorbetto (Strawberry Sorbet):
Antico gets a lot of love (rightfully so) for its Strawberry Ice Cream with Harry’s Berries, but it’s banal in comparison to Leo’s Strawberry Sorbet. Yes, it’s a different animal, but after you’ve had the intense crush of fresh, in-season Strawberries (even if they aren’t Harry’s Berries) in Leo’s Strawberry Sorbet, other Strawberry frozen desserts feel muted in comparison.
OUTSTANDING!
Mandorla (Almond) Gelato:
While Leo Bulgarini’s Pistachio Gelato is his most famous, he takes the same exacting care with his newer Mandorla (Almond) Gelato: He sources these Almonds from the same farm in Sicily, Italy that he does his Pistachios. It may sound like an extreme measure, but take one bite and you’ll understand.
It’s like your eyes have become open to what a real “Almond Dessert” is supposed to be like: The most glorious Roasted Almond flavor, delicately sweet, not overly fatty like Ice Cream, nutty, intense, glorious! HIGHLIGHT!
Strawberry Gelato:
The Strawberry Gelato (bottom scoop in the pic) turned out to be nowhere near as intense as the Strawberry Sorbet. In this case, Antico’s Strawberry Ice Cream had more of a Strawberry flavor and was more enjoyable, but this was still good.
But go for the Strawberry Sorbet for the best frozen Strawberry Dessert right now.
Macadamia Nut Gelato:
If your only impression of “Macadamia Nuts” is from those Hawaiian packages, Leo Bulgarini’s Macadamia Nut Gelato will transform your world view on them. I have no idea how he’s able to intensify and distill down the flavors so beautifully, but take a bite and it’s like you’ve experienced Macadamia Nuts for the first time, the right way.
Beautiful, distinctly fragrant like only Macadamia Nuts can be, delicate, lightly sweet. Wonderful!
Cioccolato (Chocolate) Gelato:
Do not sleep on this. How incredible is this?
Leo Bulgarini starts with an 85%(!) Cocoa Valrhona Dark Chocolate base, and the result is truly one of the most intense and glorious Chocolate Desserts I’ve ever had! This is for Chocolate Lovers everywhere!
Crema al Limone (Lemon Cream) Gelato:
Wow!
If you ever wanted to have a great Lemon Frozen Dessert, you get beautiful Lemon citrus notes, but tempered and tamed, with a light creaminess and just the right bit of Sugar (not too sweet) to create another stunning offering! HIGHLIGHT!
Pistacchio (Pistachio) Gelato:
And finally, Bulgarini’s most famous flavor. A big thanks to @J_L for the original report, Leo Bulgarini is so obsessive about the quality of his ingredients, and especially Pistachio Nuts for this flavor, that he only makes this Pistachio Gelato when he can source them from a specific farm in Sicily. He will fly out personally to Italy to sample from the farm and then if it’s good enough, he’ll bring the batch home. Once it sells out, it’s gone.
Taking a bite…
You will understand why this Pistachio flavor is more expensive than his other offerings (he charges $1 more for these individual scoops). Intensely nutty and savory, barely sweet, his Pistachio Gelato is like nothing you’ve experienced before.
With the heat wave, and just to support one of L.A.'s great treasures, consider a trip out to Bulgarini Gelato. Once there, choose from the greatest selection of Gelato in L.A. All of his flavors are distinct, so intense, so distilled in essence, it becomes perfectly clear why Gelato is more expensive than Ice Cream, and why Bulgarini is worth it.
We did a bang x bang with Antico Ice Cream, and Bulgarini has ruined us from Ice Cream forever. There’s no comparison: Antico (and other Ice Cream) have too much milkfat, air, filler for my tastes. Bulgarini’s Gelato is flavor intensified, so pure, so distilled, so focused, it is stunning and brings you utter joy. (Thanks again @J_L @Porthos kevin @PorkyBelly @paranoidgarliclover @A5KOBE and others for the recommendation!)
Here’s to hoping Bulgarini pulls through the pandemic.
Hours (during Pandemic):
Tues - Sun, 1:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Bulgarini Gelato
749 E. Altadena Drive
Altadena, CA 91001
Tel: (626) 791-6174
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Do the OOE there. Did he offer you any pairings?
(edit: Leo probably cannot do any pairing with the social distancing in place right now…)
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Hi @J_L,
Thank you again for the recommendation. 
We can’t possibly do a OOE! We’d need 3 people at least, or just 1 @J_L or 1 @PorkyBelly. 
I think Leo still has his selection of wine to do pairings, but we didn’t ask for any since we had a drive back to the Westside right after. Next time though!
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You got me! I’m going this weekend. That’s what I want for dessert. I need to clear fridge space for all the gelato I’m about to bring home. My brother LOVES the chocolate and salt sorbetto…it is the most intense chocolate I’ve ever had. I adore Leo’s chocolate orange…and I don’t even like chocolate. The pear/mastika/blood orange is amazing! And the hazelnut is legit…that pistachio has hazelnut nipping at it’s heels for the top spot.
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If you ever get the chance when this settles down you gotta try the gelato with his red wine or sour beer pairings, it really brings out the flavor to the max
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I would use the freezer, but that’s just me.
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Hi @attran99,
Nice! 
Leo said he might have his amazing Hazelnut Gelato ready by Saturday! What’s your favorite flavor?
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Pistachio and either peach or nectarine…my version of PB&J.
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they’re open then? almost drove there last sunday after a hike
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Don’t forget to bring the cooler for the car ride back. I think Leo actually asks about that.
As far as I can tell from reports here, yes. Always call ahead, though, b/c, even pre-pandemic, the hours were not always quite… consistent.
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Hi @JeetKuneBao,
Thanks! I just realized I didn’t ever post about the wine pairings we had with Leo Bulgarini. Yes, definitely agree! We’ve had the wine pairings before last year and they were spectacular like you were saying.
You would taste the Gelato by itself, then Leo would pour over a wine or liquor that he’s researched out and the pairing is stunning! The Gelato changes flavor, the wine also changes and the final mixture is unique and delicious.
I’ve never had the sour beer tastings before so I’ll have to keep that in mind for another day. Thanks.
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Hi @Nemroz,
Yes! Tues - Sun, 1:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
The website says if you’re interested in Gelato or Pasta outside of those hours to give them a call. So I’m guessing they’re trying to be as accommodating as possible to survive during these times. Enjoy!
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wait so just to confirm, he’s doing Pastas right now still?
Might go do a carmakase this weekend, especially with the easy no traffic drive!
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