If you wanted to try every flavor of gelato available at La Grassa Gelato in Madeira, you could. Entertain no fear of being too picky or taking too long to decide on a flavor, as you might at other dessert shops. Proprietor John Berman wants you to find your favorite; in fact, he’s determined to help you do so. “I can’t justify doing traditional advertising when my best advertising is for you to taste the product,” Berman says.

He and manager Josh Clayton pass out at least 10 tastes of gelato during my visit to the shop on a weekday afternoon. (They serve sorbettos, or Italian sorbet, too.) I observed a pair of friends come in and ask to try one of the gelatos, and cross my heart, she actually said, “That’s incredible. That’s better than Italy.”