by Teresa Gubbins

Texas pecan sea salt caramel, Texas peaches and strawberries sorbet, and chocolate jalapeno

The West Village branch of Paciugo Gelato was the site of a party on Wednesday where a trio of new flavors were introduced and new interior design elements were unveiled.

Flavors for summer 2009 include: Texas pecan sea salt caramel, Texas peaches and strawberries sorbet, and chocolate jalapeno. These are in addition to a half dozen flavors introduced in the spring that included black raspberry, yogurt, and blackberry cabernet.

Texas pecan sea salt caramel is a spin-off of the chain's hugely popular Mediterranean sea salt caramel, so popular that it already spawned a chocolate version. The pecans were chopped into small bits and had a noticeable buttery component. Texas peaches and strawberries sorbet was in the "light, refreshing, fruity" category, while chocolate jalapeno was an intriguing pairing between dark Belgian chocolate and fresh jalapenos. And by "intriguing," I mean that it was sweet but also fairly hot. Maybe there's a better word than intriguing.

Decor-wise, the store had been refabricated with what co-founder Cristiana Gianatta said were more durable materials, including narrow slate-blue glass tiles on the wall and charcoal quartz tiles on the floor. The most enchanting element was the use of gelato spoons as a decorating motif. One round tabletop was made of clear resin in which dozens of spoons were suspended. The piece de resistance was the chandelier, made of hundreds of hanging gelato spoons -- a colorful composition that could've passed for Murano glass, if you weren't looking too closely.

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