Upper West Siders are not wet weather gelato eaters! I happened to pass by Grom on my way home this rainy evening and there was almost no line. The lemon sorbet was good but unmemorable. The coconut sorbet was excellent. it was so smooth and creamy I'd have sworn it was ice cream rather than sorbet.
Theory on why the lines might be long at Grom:
While friendly customer service is always appreciated, the hyper-neurotic woman ordering gelato to go was obviously insane. She asked questions in rapid succession, as she moved back and forth around the display so nobody else could order, but didn't bother listening to anyone's answers, which meant the question and answer had to be repeated several times before she paid attention. At one point she said she had been to Grom several times since they had opened. It is not too far-fetched to surmise that she alone was responsible for the line each day.
At some point a quick, polite, but firm, "Thank you very much may I help the next customer please" would have been appreciated by the next customer in line. The neurotic woman would probably appreciate it as well, as her gelato was well on its way to being melted by the time she got to her destination. Somehow I get the impression she would blame Grom for the melted gelato even though she refused the styrofoam containers with lids ("I don't like styrofoam") and kept talking and talking and talking after getting the frozen treats in uninsulated paper cups without lids.
Unrelated: After putting it through a wash cycle I now have the cleanest MetroCard in the city.
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