4D Gelato A new post-dinner dessert stop on South Beach

Things that're big in Europe and South American often do well here: we crave Euro supercars, love Brazilian bikini models, and go totally bonkers for soccer...oh wait, we hate it again now. For a gelato shop beloved in those other lands, hit 4D Gelato.

From an Italian guy aiming to reproduce the frozen treats of his youth, 4D's opening its first US spot on South Beach after killing it in Europe and South America, slingin' gelatos and sorbets (made from scratch daily with natural seasonal ingredients, plus eggs & dairy from free range animals) in a swanky space with espresso tile floors, snowflake-like chandeliers, and exposed pipes, which're just becoming weirder and more veiny when they appear in Stallone flicks. Gelato means staples like hazelnut, stracciatella, and fior di panna, as well as more offbeat stuff like tiramisu, fudge brownie, chocolate chip cookie, and pisco sour, while for sorbets it's lemon, strawberry, mango, apple, banana, and what the owner calls "mixed berry" -- also the name of your dad's Manilow/White cassette jam that probably resulted in your conception. 4D sets themselves apart from traditional gelato shops with what they call Coppas (basically sundaes), exemplified by numbers like the Coppa Caffe (layers of espresso with vanilla gelato in a champagne glass, topped with whipped cream), and the fruit-basket-like 4D: fruit-flavored gelato and whipped cream topped with kiwi, peach, pineapple, raspberries, pear, and melon -- which should dazzle your date to the point where she overlooks your "great melons!...No wait...Nice pear!" gaffe.

4D also does shakes and smoothies, will whip up espressos and cappuccinos (as well as straight-up fresh fruit juice from whatever they use in the sorbet), and they'll be delivering fresh gelato in one-liter jugs -- also a frequently Brazilian female feature that seems to do well everywhere.