by BRIAN NADIG
New Paradise Bakery, located inside the former Gladstone Park Bakery at 5742-44 N. Milwaukee Ave., offers a variety of bakery items and gelato, using fresh ingredients and recipes from its sister location in Palermo on the island of Sicily.
The Gladstone Park Chamber joined Alderman Gardiner and others for the March 26 ribbon cutting. The project represents a huge investment in our community.
“We want to be part of the neighborhood (and) also will ask (for local recommendations),” said New Paradise Bakery manager John Rubino.
As a result, New Paradise customers may find Polish, German, Irish and other cultural delights in the display cases in addition to Italian favorites, such as cannoli's, panettone, mini-pizzas, calzones, arancini (rice balls with meat or cheese) and panelle(sandwiches made with chickpea flour).
The gelato flavors will be seasonal, as “real ingredients, real chocolate, real vanilla, real fruit” will be used, Rubino said. The Palermo location has 100 or more flavors, although the Chicago store will not be offering that many for now, he said.
Customers can choose between cannoli's made from cow’s milk or sheep’s milk, which is used in Palermo, Rubino said. Sheep’s milk has a stronger taste and provides a “more authentic” flavor to the cannoli but is more difficult to find at a cost-effective price in the United States, he said.
Rubino said that the idea for New Paradise to open a branch in Chicago started with a phone call from his brother Lucky, who owns a butcher shop overseas and knows the owners of the New Paradise in Palermo. Now there is even consideration of a New Paradise in New York City.
