Pronto Caffè & Gelateria (Lexington, VA)

26 South Main Street, Lexington, VA, T: 540-464-1472

 

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A gelateria in a small college town in the western hills of Virginia? Sure… No, really! Pronto is a small Italian café and gelateria in downtown Lexington that serves (ok) coffee, nice pastries, sandwiches (with real Italian meats) and amazingly authentic gelato (Italian ice cream). It is run by a first-generation Italian-American, who owns various other places in town.

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I get a large cup ($5.25) with stracciatelli, a kind of Italian chocolate chip ice cream (good),  kiwi (quite fresh), lemon (ok), and hazelnut (excellent). While the lemon is a bit disappointing, but that even happens in Italy, the hazelnut is absolutely authentic, better than I ever had outside of Italy.

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VERDICT: 92/100

Pronto serves some of the best gelato I have ever had in the US and the hazelnut could compete with the best in Italy.