Cafe Lucca in Old Town Orange–which is not to be confused with Lucca Cafe, a Cal-Italian restaurant in Irvine's Quail Hill–was our pick for Best Gelato in OC Weekly's Best of 2009. The prices haven't changed, and the gelato is still excellent, but there's a hidden menu item that is worth exploring: affogato.
Italian for “drowned,” an affogato is a ball of gelato–traditionally
vanilla, but the sky's the limit–that's drowned in a shot of espresso. You can get your Cafe Lucca affogato two ways: by asking for a small
portion in a larger cup and a shot of espresso, or asking them to do it
for you.
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The advantage to the DIY method is that you can control the temperature of the espresso when the moment arrives for the happy marriage; the espresso will cool faster than the gelato will melt, as long as you order a single espresso.
That said, if you order the affogato to be made, you may get more gelato, and at the end, you get to drink a coffee drink of your own design. Try an affogato, made either way, with the amaretto gelato. Amaretto is a traditional addition to affogato; it's sometimes made as gelato plus a caffè corretto, an espresso “corrected” with liqueur–the flavor is great.
