Ice Cream Man: 25 Years at Toscanini's
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend A highly entertaining, idiosyncratic mini-memoir, with recipes, about 25 years of running a gourmet ice cream shop down the street from Harvard and MIT. Gus Rancatore shares his initiation into ice cream making, catering to customers, managing employees, and tracking changes in music, teen culture, and the urban landscape. (Photo of Gus Rancatore by Mikki Ansin) Product details and pricing info |
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11 Customer Reviews Posted
- The Renaissance Man in Central Square
- This is a great read. For years Gus has been making the most amazing ice cream on the planet and keeping generations of ecletic folks afloat in the Boston area.
One story that he didn't recount here: He's always been generous and supportive of people trying out for the National Rowing teams, employing them and supporting their habits. One year he packed up two dozen half-pints of his best ice creams in dry ice and fedexed them to one of his employees who needed a pat on the back after losing some important seat races. You've never seen ice cream better received.
He's knowledgeable about just about everything under the sun. He's the unofficial mayor of Central Square.
Buy this and hope that a full length version will be forthcoming. - 2006-12-11, 5 of 5 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Fabulous, old fashioned ice cream, matched by true, old fashioned storytelling
- Having had the joy of devouring my share of Tosacnini's ice cream, I was not disappointed by Gus' storytelling. What a treat it would be to spend a few hours eating his ice cream and listening to his stories on a regular basis!!! I can even imagine Gus on NPR with his own "Ice Cream Talk" show to match the other Italian guys who entertain us with stories in between solving car riddles. Way to go Gus!
- 2006-12-08, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- delicious
- A delicious story proving Gus has a way with words as well as with ice cream. This is an endearing take on all things Cambridge, straight from the heart of a true humanist. When do we get to read the rest??
Mikki Ansin - 2006-11-27, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Ice Cream Superman
- This short story is unbelievably witty. After reading it, my first reaction was to write my own autobiography; the second was to open an ice-cream store; the third, and last, was going to the ice-cream store around the corner to get a pistachio cone.
It is the most entertaining and absorbing autobiography I have read in ages. I really hope it will be made a longer book. - 2006-11-26, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- The Toscanini's experience
- Toscanini's is the best ice-cream in the Boston area (this comes from an Italian still missing the taste of Italian ice-cream after 13 years in Boston!) but the success of the business is not only the quality of the product: it is the complete customer experience. In this short book Gus reveals the background of what becomes a fun experience for customers stepping into a Toscanini's shop. Reading it is just as fun, refreshing and rewarding.
- 2006-11-15, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
