Angelo Brocato

Angelo Brocato is a family business that dates back to the years when the French Quarter was a largely Italian neighbourhood. Angelo Brocato was born in Cefalù, Sicily, and began an apprenticeship in an ice cream shop in Palermo at the age of 12 before emigrating. After a small first shop on Decatur Street, he opened a larger parlour on Ursulines Street in 1905, and in 1921 the business moved to a tiled room at 617 Ursulines Street modelled on the parlours of Palermo.

The French Quarter shop closed in 1981, and the family moved the business to Mid-City, near the corner of North Carrollton Avenue and Canal Street, where it bought a building in 1978. Hurricane Katrina flooded that building with about five feet of water in 2005, and for a while it was unclear whether it would return. Its reopening in September 2006 was widely seen as an important moment in Mid-City's recovery. Angelo Brocato died in 1946; the business is now run by his grandson Arthur Brocato and other members of the family.

The speciality to try is torroncino, a cinnamon and almond gelato that was the company's first product and is still served as a sliced block in the original way. Gelati and Italian ices fill the counter, with lemon ice the best seller, and the pastry cases hold cannoli, Italian cookies and other desserts. A cannoli and a scoop of lemon ice make a classic order.

Opening hours are not shown here, as they could not be confirmed from the business's own website, so check before you go. The parlour suits families, couples and anyone with a sweet tooth, and it is an inexpensive stop. It can be busy on warm evenings and weekends, so be prepared to queue for the counter.

The parlour is in Mid-City, so you can easily combine it with City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art, which are reached on the Canal-City Park streetcar line. Parkway Bakery and Tavern is also in Mid-City, which makes a po'boy lunch followed by gelato a simple half-day plan away from the French Quarter.