Dalla Rose May Ditch Ice Cream and Try Noodles This Winter [Updated]

Saint-Henri ice cream darlings Dalla Rose appear to have realized that ice cream is not a year-round menu item in icy Montreal, and they could be changing things up soon.

The rumour mill has been grinding away on the question of what this summer’s favourite new ice cream spot will be doing for the winter months.

It’s unusual for ice creameries in Montreal to keep scooping anywhere close to the winter months — even the ever-popular Kem Coba with its interminable line-ups is already closed for the season.

Fortunately, the Instagram accounts of Dalla Rose owners Nick Rosati and Michael Dalla Libera yield some clues. In the last four days, Dalla Libera has ‘grammed a host of ingredients that don’t lend themselves to ice cream: seaweed, (possibly shiitake) mushrooms and pork belly.

Yesterday he also shared a photo of a large quantity of chopsticks, asking “Who ordered all these chopsticks?!” We don’t know, Michael, but it seems fishy that an ice creamery would accidentally invest in piles of chopsticks.

Over on Rosati’s account, it all comes together: he shared a photo of a ramen bowl (pictured below), and one commenter adds the remark “#nomoreicecream #moreramen”. Go back a few weeks earlier, and there’s another snap of a pork belly meal, with the added comment “so it begins”. Montreal’s other ever-vigilant food site, Tastet.ca has also gone on a liking spree on the photos.

Given all these clues and our childhood experiences playing Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego, Eater deduces that Dalla Rose will be serving up some steaming bowls of ramen this winter. There’s no official announcement yet, but Dalla Rose have already set their hours for winter, and it would be outright strange for them to stick to scooping for months of below-freezing temperatures.

Stay tuned — Eater will bring you updates as we get them.

UPDATE — Eater predicted it, and Dalla Rose’s ramen operation will be live today (October 12) at noon. They’ve dubbed it Ramen 9000, and close friend of Dalla Rose Elise Tastet reports with many exclamation points that the ramen base is all vegan with marinated tofu, egg and cured, slow-cooked pork all available as add-ons. Only 50 serves per day will be available and it’s no half-hearted effort — the pork preparation alone takes around three days. Ryan Gray of Nora Gray snapped a pic of what appears to be the final tasting before the ramen went public last night.

CORRECTION — A previous version of this article mistakenly referred to Ryan Gray as Michael Gray.

• Nora Gray Vets Open Dalla Rose Creamery [EMTL]
• The Kem CoBa Ice Cream Line Twitter Account Is Here and It's Hilarious [EMTL]
• Nick Rosati [Instagram]
• Michael Dalla Libera [Instagram]
• Ramen 9000: Ramen Pop-Up de Dalla Rose [Tastet]
• Ryan Gray [Instagram]