Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe at Chicago Ridge Mall
For the first time in pretty much ever, I went shopping both the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas. The same is true for J. We only had a couple things to return, but we had some gift cards and wanted to get a few more Wii games and I needed to go to Carson’s (Younkers) to get a shirt for a family picture we have to take tomorrow. The closest mall to J’s parents that isn’t the Ford City Mall is Westfield’s Chicago Ridge.
After taking care of things at Carson’s, we headed to the food court. I needed a Pepsi bad and the vending machines only sold Coke. I’ve been drinking a lot of Coke Zero lately, but I really needed a Pepsi. I still have those bad cravings every now and then. There was a Taco Bell in the food court and I knew they sold Pepsi, so that’s where I headed, but we got sidetracked when J and her mom noticed a new place open where the customer service kiosk used to be.
Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe is a fairly new chain concept founded in 2006. They have shops in seven states with the most locations being in California. This particular location at the Chicago Ridge Mall sits near the entrance at the food court. It’s a stand alone kiosk sort of in the middle of the of the dining area.
The big draw is the dozens of gelato flavors in the case right up front. Sure, they do panini’s and crepes, but I don’t think we even realized that until we were walking away. All three of us zoned in on the gelato. I wasn’t going to get anything, so I went on to Taco Bell to get my giant Pepsi and left J and her mom at Melt. By the time I got back, they were trying to talk me into changing my mind.
J got a mixed berry which she said was delicious. It didn’t look all that good to me, but I don’ t like berries. J’s mom ordered the roasted pistachio. Again, doesn’t sound good to me, but she loved it. I went a little safer with a chocolate cookie dough. It was good and soooo rich. There weren’t a whole lot of chunks of cookie dough, but the gelato was so good on it’s own I’m not sure I would have even noticed if they were missing.
The guys working the counter were having fun with J’s mom and another lady standing in line waiting on a panini. The other lady, I’m pretty sure, sampled every flavor they had. J sampled the peppermint gelato after she already had her mixed berry and loved that one as well. She was also a little thirsty and the Coke machine we tried to get a water out of took my money but didn’t give up the water, so she got an Italian soda at Melt. Again, very flavorful. I took a sip and it was good, but I don’t know if I could have drank a whole drink. She could and did.
J and her mom both said they were surprised by Melt in the Chicago Ridge Mall. It’s kind of an upscale treat in a mall that they didn’t think would have such a store. We all loved our gelato and it made a great snack on a stressful shopping day. Unfortunately, there are no Melt stores in Michigan….yet.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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