Lana's Gelato sampler perfect for spring weather

Helene Dujardin Photography

Unless this is your first summer outside of Alaska, you know that while Charleston is lovely and temperate right now, it's about to get hot.

Never fear, fellow Southerners, I have found a way to beat the heat when the mercury starts to rise: Head to Lana and try the gelato sampler.

Gelato, if you're not familiar, is like ice cream in reverse. If ice cream is 80 percent cream and 20 percent milk, gelato is the opposite: It's a little bit lighter but just as tasty. Gelato originated in Italy and can be traced back to the 16th century.

John Ondo of Lana began experimenting with gelato when partner Drazen Romic brought him authentic Italian recipes. From that moment on, according to Ondo, "I just went crazy. I started with chocolate, then almond and then anything else that I could think of."

Right now on Lana's menu are chocolate, ginger, cinnamon, coconut, strawberry, mixed berry and mint.

I went into this awesome gelato tasting experiment believing that I would like coconut the best. It was delicious, but the mint blew me away. It was so fresh and fragrant that it tasted like a refreshing and deliciously sweet ice cube; it actually tasted green. It doesn't hurt knowing that the mint is grown in Lana's herb garden.

For me, the chocolate was a close second. Made with cocoa powder and Callebaut chocolate from Belgium, it has a much deeper and truer chocolate flavor than most ice creams. The best part is, if you try the chocolate and the mint together, it's like a gourmet Girl Scout cookie.

The third flavor that I would recommend is the ginger. It's very mild, and truth be told, I could take a bit more of a ginger kick, but it's fresh and bright and delicious, nonetheless.

Choose between two scoops of a single flavor for $5.95, or a single scoop of three flavors for $6.95.

The sampler is the way to go. Served in sherry glasses on a small block of granite, it's as pretty as it is delicious.