Good list. I've been to many, but there is one particular restaurant that continues to elude me as they have been closed in September: Fornello da Ricci, outside Ceglie. That one is near the top of my own list and the reports I've read have been consistently good.

Il Frantoio outside Ostuni is a masseria hotel. I think they only do their famous multi-course meals on certain days depending on demand. So you need to inquire. I would not eat there if it is just an "ordinary" meal.

Rizzi in Matera is a food store with a room in back where you can taste his local cheeses and meats. It is on the tourist map and when I was there the entire place was filled with a group from Louisiana. I don't remember any cooked dishes, so you can conceivably buy a few cheeses and meats and try them on your own. I am not denigrating it in the least, but not sure that I would give up another meal in Matera to eat there.

You have to book weeks in advance for Antichi Sapori. Have your hotel do this; ask them when you book the room.

Hi Dina,
this is a good expensive list

Honestly, it's hard to have bad food in Puglia
You've list the biggest/famouses restaurants of my region, but it's simple to find small and delicious "osterie" in all the places you are. Is it right Ekscrunchy?

So, my advice is to ask to people on the streets where to have lunch.

Vito

Ciao Vito! Of course, you are correct about the osterie. There are so many restaurants that foreign tourists will never find because many of us go to the same "big name" restaurants. But you can help us find the lesser-known places! Did I tell you that I had an astoundingly good pasta con ricci di mare at Da Renzina in Savelletri, thanks to your recommendation of that restaurant?


I am planning my own trip for September and would love to hear your recommendations. I hope Dina will not mind if I ask you here if you have any ideas for great eating near these towns:

Lizzano (TA)

Ugento (LE)

Torre Canne (BR)

Many thanks, Vito!

Yes, thanks for the great advice.

I'm sure it would be great to start a "restaurant thread" for puglia....

would love to know about some of the "less famous" and also maybe less expensive
osterie!

Hi Ekscrunchy,
are you thinking to be an apulian?
I'm happy to listen that you visit Puglia every year and I'm proud to write some advices.

Another tip if you want...
A new, tipical and cool restaurant near Fasano is open: http://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g227665-d1785098-Reviews-Il_Cortiletto-Fasano_Province_of_Brindisi_Puglia.html really a nice place!

Near this restaurant there is also a little bar (I don't remember the name) with delicious "panzerotti" and a very nice location (an ancient small building with no roof on the top!)
http://tinyurl.com/6mgwpmn

And so...
Lizzano (or better Marina di Pulsano) and Torre Canne are small location really cool in summer and with a beautiful sea. This places could worth a visit only if you like the sand & the sea.
Ugento and Marina di Ugento are located in the bottom of Puglia, so you need hours of driving. This could be a problem in the summer-weekends.
Ugento is a small town with a few attractions to visit, but Marina di Ugento has a beautiful sea and lot of (expensive) accomodations.

Vito

<OFF TOPIC>
Ekscrunchy,
could I ask you an opinion?

I'm thinking to setup a small business, a different way to discover Puglia.
I'm considering to be a turist-guide like a "personal trainer", a new way to visit a place. I believe that the very plus-point of Puglia is the "way of life".
In your opinion and considering your experience could be a good business? There may be people willing to use this service, this strange kind of tourist-sitting?

Vito

P.S. I speak English and Spanish

Hi Dina
I have eaten at 2 of these places, Osteria Corteinfiore, (Trani) I had a very nice lunch. Very special and well presented. Trani is a fishing town and what was served was the Italian version of sushi. I liked it very much.
Il Frantoio (5 km north of Ostuni) is an "experience" I was on a bicycle tour and arranged through them. The proprietor is prone to theater in his presentation and it was schmaltzy in its own way but each course was more delicious than the next and it was all vegetables grown there. I would go back to both of these places in a snap.
Buono Appetito

Vito: I'm not sure I have any good advice for you, except to give you encouragement. If you do a search here, or online, for guide services in Tuscany, you will find hundreds. And on this forum, there are posters who do trip planning for others for a fee. They do not advertise here since it is against the policy on Fodor's, but they do advertise on SlowTrav.com. But even these trip planners appear to have limited or no experience in Puglia.

So I think, given the increasing interest in Puglia as a destination for English speaking tourists, that there would be a market for some kind of service that would provide a deeper look into life and culture than the average guided tour might offer. (Most of the people posting here who have taken tours to Puglia seem to have taken either biking or walking tours). Anything food/wine-related might be a start.

But beyond that general comment, I really do not have a good idea of how to proceed. Would you want to discuss a bit more about what exactly you had in mind? How could you develop a plan that would attract tourists to the area, and to your services? I think you ought to start a new thread about this so that more people might find it and join in....

thanks, ahotpoet!

vito -- we will be close to Torre Canne and LOVE the sand and sea. do you have a lunch or beach recommendation there?
thanks!

ttt

Dina I took another look at your list: La Rotonda is in Torre Canne.

I hope Vito will respond with more.

My sister stayed at Torre Maizza last fall and was gushing about a restaurant in Torre Canne that she got on a recommendation from a worker at Torre Maizza. I will ask her for the name, but I remember that it was not La Rotonda.

This Torre Canne restaurant was recommended to me by a staff member of the same hotel but we never had time to eat there:
http://www.ristoranteforcatella.it/




Also, if you like crudo/sushi, you could check out this place in Savelletri:


http://www.pescheria2mari.it/





Also:

http://www.borgosanmarco.it/files/Itinerari_eng.pdf

Hi Dina,
near Torre Canne there is the restaurant that I told above (Il Cortiletto).
Torre Canne out of summer could be boring, so the bests place to have some fun and food are Ostuni and Cisternino.
Also Ekscrunchy's advices are good (and experienced! ). Savelletri and Forcatella are very small towns on the sea, with good food but no english-spoken ^__^

Vito

Ekscrunchy,
thank you for your interest
Maybe a standalone post only for my idea could be useful ... mmhmm...

Vito

Thanks all for this great thread on where to eat. It will come in handy as my planning progresses.

Vito: Is Il Cortilleto the one on the main road SS16 in Speziale?

Across from the Latteria/Caseificio Crovace?

Vito, we'll be there in late June -- so will love some sand and sea. And I have been learning Italian and would happy to practice it.

okay, that's great to know about LA ROTUNDA!

thanks so much. lots of great info here!

Yes Ekscrunhy,
Il Cortiletto is in "contrada Speziale"

Vito

Thanks, Vito! I've passed there many times and wondered about that restaurant. After you recommended it, I looked it up online and was surprised to see that it is listed on TripAdvisor as the #1 in Fasano!

I should remind everyone here not to place too much faith in the TripAdvisor restaurant and hotel locations in this area. They seem to be confused between Brindisi city and Brindisi province, for example. And they list some restaurants along the coast near Torre Canne as being in Fasano and others as being in Torre Canne. Da Renzina is listed as being in Fasano but it should be under (Fasano di) Savelletri. Other restaurants on the Torre Canne coastal strip are listed under Ostuni.

Remember that there is Fasano (large town) and Savelletri di Fasano (seashore hamlet near Fasano), as well as Speziale di Fasano (rural hamlet outside Fasano) and so on.....double check all the locations on the TA site. I used to write to them to tell them when establishments were listed incorrectly but since they do not make the changes, I gave up.

Dina: This is the restaurant that my sister and her husband loved; on the coast south of Savelletri and near Torre Canne:





http://slowfoodaltosalento.it/

Thanks, eks and vito!
i've added both to my list!!

Now, Dina, don't forget that we need details of where you eat! I'll be following you on a return visit in September, so take extensive notes!!

Do you have the final itinerary yet? If so, can you post so we can dream?? (September feels like such a long way off right now)

i'm working on it.
The problem is i'm finding more restaurants instead of eliminating...

We start in Lecce -- we arrive by train around 2 and use that afternoon and evening to explore the city. Staying in PALAZZO PERSONNE.

Next day, we're going to have a big driving day, exploring the eastern Salento coast, having lunch, maybe see OTranto, maybe sit on a beach for a while, etc. Plan to end up that evening at LA RASCINA.

So with two nights at LA RASCINA, we have a full day and half to explore the nearby towns - Ostuni, Martina Franca, Cisterno, Locorotundo, Torre Canne, etc. They seem to be very close together.

After checking out of La Rascina, we will head to Matera for one night and stay in HOTEL L'PIETRA.

Then we will move on to LAMA DI LUNA for two nights. From there, we will visit Trani and (maybe) Castel del Monte.
Are there any nice beaches near Lama di Luna that you know of?

We then take the train from Bari to Rome. (or we may fly? not sure yet.)

It has been five years since I visited, but I remember vividly the antipasti in a restaurant directly below the Castel del Monte. It was full on a Thursday afternoon with Italian tourists, well I assumed they had travelled to visit the Castle as it exists in the most splendid isolation.
Slowtalk described it as pricey, I dont remember that but then antipasti was great - huge plates of local meats and cheeses, toasted bread and great reds.
I second the experience of Il Frantoio, and see if you can have a tour of the farm in the ancient car.
I miss the food so much, while I love Rome food there has never wowed me as in Puglia.

4 Dina4:

We loved Puglia and as it was said earlier, it's hard to find a bad meal there.

Rather than go thorugh my own list of restaurants here, I suggest you check out my web page on our trip to Puglia. All the memorable restaurants we ate at are described in full:

http://www.travel.stv77.com/puglia/puglia.htm

The Trani area does not have the reputation of having great beaches. This seems to be the recommended beach club in the immediate area:


http://www.marechiarotrani.it/

Typical scene along that coast:

http://albegor.smugmug.com/Vespatour2006/Vespatour-2006-Parte-18/7851120_2LYrV/1/508893417_vhXAA#!i=508893417&k=vhXAA

And from the same set of photos (not my own) this is the scene of the landscape near Castel del Monte and Lama di Luna, just to give you an idea; in better weather you could see the city of Andria and the sea in the distance:


http://albegor.smugmug.com/Vespatour2006/Vespatour-2006-Parte-18/7851120_2LYrV/1/508893417_vhXAA#!p=3&n=20

Thanks so much. It's great to see the photos, eks. you really enjoyed your visit to castel del monte, right?

patricia, thanks for the restaurant tip. do you think that it would be easy to find? is there just one way up?

steve- i came across your blog a while ago and really enjoyed reading it!! i've already taken lots of notes.

SSSTEVE-- just found your web site blog of your puglia visit today-- it is so seriously good!!! thank you so much for sharing-- and only wish i'd found it earlier!!
kawh

KAWH:

Have you checked out the "mother page"? Lots more trips to Italy, and other places.
The link is at the bottom of the Puglia page (and below as well.)

http://www.travel.stv77.com/

Bookmarking.
After following dina to Istanbul, I may return to Puglia, inspired by her example and these great leads. Our Oct 2010 visit was one of my travel highlights of the last 20 years.

Dina: Yes to Castel del Monte. It is a pleasant drive to reach the castle, and I would guess that you should allot two hours total, which would include parking and taking the shuttle bus there and back, and seeing the site. do not miss the candy (confetti) store in the parking lot--a branch of one in Andria.

I would try to read up as much as you can before you arrive. I seem to remember that there are tours but getting one in English at the right time might be a challenge. I see on their site that restoration works were scheduled to begin in October, 2011, so you might want to check the progess. Keep in mind that they are open non stop so it is a good bet when other sights, shops, might be closed.


http://www.casteldelmonte.beniculturali.it/index.php?en/93/the-castle

Thanks for the tips. I have it in our plans.

Dina, I hope u will post reviews when u return. We'll be in the area in September, so looking forward to hearing what u have to say about the places u choose to eat.

I definitely will do a trip report!

Right now, I am focusing on some details....

***During our Salento coastal drive, I'm not sure if we should have lunch in Otranto or on the beach (at a beach club?) in Torre d'Orso, where I think we'll plan to spend a few hours relaxing.

Any ideas?? suggestions??

thanks...

Dina I wish I could help there. when I was at Torre del Orso, in mid September, the beach clubs were shuttered for the season and the town (which is tiny, modern and looked without much charm) also had a look of near abandonment.

Otranto has lots of possibilities but the one I would head for would be one that I've only peeked into, L'Altro Baffo. It seems to get very good online reports and was recommended by my hotel nearby. It is a very handsome place. Not on the water, though.

http://www.laltrobaffo.com/

I will also be looking for your reviews, because my next visit will also be in September!

Thanks!!! I'll check it out. Also curious which sites you like best for restaurant reviews. Chowhound? Tripadvisor?

For Italy, I do look at the TA listings but do not give that site much credence; I pay attention to the reviewer's history because once in a while (not often) you get someone who seems to have a similar food sensibility. I will look at TA reviews written in Italian, but again, make sure that the person has a reviewing history that looks like it syncs with my own style.

But I would NEVER rely solely on that TA site for restaurants or hotels. There seem to be a lot of fake hotel reviews, and many English-language restaurant reviews from visitors to Italy who are clueless in many ways regarding food and restaurants. "X restaurant was so terrible they did not even give us olive oil for dipping our bread!" "The menu said that the price of the fish was 15 euro but on the bill they charged us 35 euro..for ONE fish!!!" So obviously that person's review gets counted in the rankings and skews the whole thing.

I use Chowhound, and also contribute to that site.

I also Google the town and restaurant name, if I have it, and look at any online reviews on Italian sites; I can just manage to get the gist of the language.

I also look at eGullet (not my favorite), and LucianoPignataro (sometimes disappointing in his restaurant picks but great for all sorts of food and product information) as well as English-language blogs of expats in Italy like Katie Parla and others. Once in a while I take glance at SlowTrav.

And then there are these two, for starters:

http://espresso.repubblica.it/food/ristoranti

http://www.iltaccodibacco.it/ (for the South only)

And I have the Slowfood paper guides, and the Gambero Rosso Low Cost (in Italian), and the TCI guides for some regions. And of course the Cadogan and LP for Southern Italy.

I also get some good restaurant recommendations from cookbooks including, for Puglia, Nancy Harmon Jenkins' regional cookbook, which I highly recommend for background reading as well as some restaurant tips.
.
http://www.amazon.com/Flavors-Puglia-Nancy-Harmon-Jenkins/dp/0553066757

And Lidia's Italy has some good but very limited Puglia info, and even some recipes from Antichi Sapori.

http://www.amazon.com/Lidias-Italy-Simple-Delicious-Recipes/dp/1400040361/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332525129&sr=1-1

And of course, Fred Plotkin's culinary bible, and his regional food books. Note to Fred: time to do a real update of the Gourmet Traveler book.

And David Downie, for the regions that he covers, including Liguria and Rome.

Those are the ones I can think of offhand.

What you should be asking me is: Do you ever have time to do anything else other than buy, cook, and read about food!!

I'm amazed and impressed!!

wow, eks.
amazing.
yes, i don't imagine you have time for much else, but we are all very grateful for it!!

Dina:
Take a look at the last part of this article, which mentions restaurant Lo Scalo, near Santa Maria Leuca.

Perhaps for lunch on the day you take the Salento east coast drive from Lecce; I might try it, too, this fall:



http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/00ee758a-6f96-11e1-b3f9-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qZ90OjRO


http://www.ristoranteloscalo.it/index.asp

I saw in some of the posts above where it is suggested that u need to make reservations. Is that necessary at a restaurant like the one in the link by eks? Do you contact them in advance to find out which days they are open? thanks!

My guess is that it depends on the season. Out of August high season and weekends in summer, I would guess that you don't need to book more than a day ahead, but I'm not certain on that.

This site indicates that they close on Tuesdays but you might want to double check by writing or phoning.

http://ristoranti.travelitalia.com/it/ristoranti-gagliano_del_capo/ristorante-lo-scalo-gagliano-del-capo/

Well, we missed a lot of eating opportunities in Puglia as we are pescatarians. That said, we had the best fish of our lives in Corteinfiore in Trani. The place seems a little out of place for Puglia, more San Diego than Trani, but the food was delicious. We are from Seattle and know our fish. Trani was one of our favorite places.

We tried to eat at L'Altro Baffo in Otranto but it was locked up tight in November.

We really enjoyed our visit to Puglia and I am still working on the finish of a trip report from last fall which may help potential visitors.

Yes, cindyjo, we'd love a trip report.


Eks, you are adding MORE restos to my list.... I was thinking to not drive all the way down to the tip of the salento. But will check that place out if we do.

Thanks!!!

You guys have to stop!! We only have a short 7 days in puglia in June haha!! So many places to eat, so little time!!!

cindyjo - I 2nd the request for a trip report.

Third!

Jamkins, I get what you mean!!! Too many restaurants, not enough meals!!!

Oh no,... Le zie in lecce seems to be closed on sunday evenings in June -- our only dinner in lecce.
Now need an alternative!

Ideas?

Hi,

I'm planning to go to Puglia and Basilicata in May, but I was thinking of just taking the Slow Food guide for osterie and for locande, along with some Fred Plotkin xeroxes. I was planning to stay in masserie that serve dinner and eat in Slow Food/Plotkin recs for lunch. Do you know if they give any bum steers I should avoid?

Also, will I be inundated with meat if I stay at masserie inland? I don't expect to get fish for dinner, but I'm really a vegetarian at heart.

Two more questions:

Would it be too cold to eat at Grotta Pallazese in early May? Food medicore?

Anybody ever been to Pisticci? I am sentimental about going because I am sentimental about the restaurant of the same name on La Salle in Manhattan.

So glad you will discover the joys of these regions. I will take a longer look later, but for now, the one place that I felt was a bad restaurant call in the SF guide is Masseria di Parco di Castro near Fasano. I had a mediocre dinner there and would not return.

Franco felt the same about Masseria Gattamora outside Otranto; you can read his comments here (See #8, OTRANTO). I had an excellent dinner there and would return.

You will certainly find baccala in inland Basilicata, or at least I saw it on menus in Matera. I do not recall seeing fish on the menus at the few inland Pugliese masserie that I tried, although these were but 3-4 miles of the coast. I'm not a big meat eater in general, and even less of a meat eater than usual when I travel in Italy; I think you will be fine, as I was, subsisting on their superb vegetable creations when you do not find fish. (But do try the donkey if offered; it is such sweet meat and my guess is that it is remotely healthy as well!)


I think you ought to read more about Grotta Palazese before deciding. Might be chilly on the water, and therefore in the restaurant, but not on land in early May.

I plan to visit Pisticci in September, staying at an agriturismo nearby. But the website says that they serve meals only on weekends.

http://www.santeodoronuovo.com/

Also look at:
http://www.masseriacardillo.it/



http://www.ortodilucania.it/


There is an upscale rural hotel serving meals owned by Italo-Canadians outside Pisticci, but it looks more of a design-masserie than an agriturismo:

http://www.hoteltorrefiore.com/



Nearby Bernalda would appear to have at least one SF restaurant listing and perhaps more since I am working from the 2006 English guide. And of course, Pisticci itself will also have eating opportunities.


I will take a look at Plotkin later today and offer any relevent comments.

Thanks, thanks, eks, for the tips and the links. Right now I'm unsure if we are going to include a swing through the Gargano peninsula, but otherwise I am thinking of overnighting in Altamura, Matera, somewhere around Pisticci/Bernalda (but I hadn't been thinking Pisticci chic!), and then many days in the Salento. Eventually we have to get back to Bari to fly to Genova (nifty direct flights, several times a week) and need to make a decision whether we want to be part of Bari's blow out annual celebration of San Nicolo or avoid it like the plague.

I'm actually not much interested in the sea views and certainly not sea resorts, so I had hoped to stay inland and just make forays to places like Otranto and Gallipoli. But I don't like baccala, so I'm not sure what we should do. Maybe big seafood lunches and lighter dinners? Maybe staying in odd small towns with Slow Food eateries instead of masserie so we have more control in picking and choosing from a menu? Maybe we'll decide when we get there, based on the weather and mood.

I'm still making my way through both your trip reports plus Franco's trip reports. I see he had a nice meal at L'Orto di Lucania. (Cardillo looks lovely but they are only doing half-board starting in June. )

Grotta Palazzese looks so damp and chilly to me that the food would have to be the best in Puglia for me to want to go.

ciao * thanks

PS -- about the donkey

There is a local donkey who keeps everybody cheerful with his extremely loud laughing and braying that rings through the hills at all hours. I am not eating any of his relatives. It would be too sad.

Random thoughts: Thinking about route planning for the moment, you will not want to miss the Andria/Minervino area (after Gargano?) which seems to be quite the food mecca. I only had the chance to try the 2 restaurants mentioned in my report, but do look into the town of Minervino Murge for other restaurants. And there is this one, very close to the famous Antichi Sapori in Montegrosso:


http://osteriamassari.altervista.org/

Lama di Luna makes a convenient base for this area, but there would be other options, I'd guess.


Several of the restaurants mentioned by Plotkin seem to be closed, including the two he mentions in Otranto.

I do not have a good impression of Grotta Palazzese, based on my brief visit only as far as the hotel lobby and a look at the exorbitantly priced menu.

Tell that braying neighbor that his southern relatives are safe for the moment!

I had high hopes of eating in Antichi Sapori until I read that reservations are required "far in advance". I had even higher hopes of doing this trip without any reservations. I certainly don't want to be locked into a plan to go to the Gargano peninsula if it is raining. Maybe I can stick on the end of my trip, since I have to swing back up to Bari to fly home.

The idea of staying in Altamura appealed to me because I imagined waking up to the smell of a whole town baking bread. But maybe that's just me dreaming. But in addition to staying agriturismi, I think I would like to overnight in at least some small interior towns and see what the local small town culture of that far south feels like. I don't think we are going to stay right in the Sassi, but I have heard that the passeggiata in Matera is tremendous. Did you join it?

Thanks for the heads up about Plotkin be out of date for Otranto. I better double check all his recs before I leave with xeroxed pages.

I'll let you know if I break down and make a reservation at Antichi Sapori.

Z: I commend you for doing the trip without all that advance planning!

I wish I could help on Altamura. We got caught up trying to find a particular bakery (di Gesu) outside the old town walls (there is a considerable area of modern sprawl that you have to drive through once off the Bari road) and after several minutes of driving back and forth along this road, we canned that idea and decided to stop at another bakery, which then entailed long minutes of driving around looking for parking. We then drove toward the center city as far as the walls, but did not get out of the car again, sad to say. What I do know is that that bread is made in Matera as well.

Yes, we joined the passegiata in Matera and it is a sight to behold. There is no reason to actually stay in the sassi and, in fact, if I am lucky enough to return, I would stay in the "newer" town up above the ravine, because this is the center of the local life while the sassi are mostly taken over by B&Bs, restaurants, and other tourist oriented businesses, although without compromising the haunting beauty of the place. There is a hotel that I considered for this next trip, before we decided to stay near Bernalda instead, the Relais Ridola, which has easy parking, no small advantage in this city. Note that while the sassi areas are not large in size, they do entail lots and lots of steps and uneven pavement (I know you are an old hand at steps!) And the new city does sprawl quite a bit so some locations might require a walk of 20 minutes or so from the main piazza.

I'm thinking that you should start a new thread so we can natter on about your trip (??)

Here you go:

http://www.lefornacibb.com/

Even better, with nearby parking:

http://www.donnaeleonora.net/index.asp

back to lecce please?



any other restaurant suggestions since Le Zie is closed on Sundays?

the palazzo personne, where we are staying, is recommending their own restaurant.

any ideas about these:

La Magiada corso v Emanuele 48

il Due Corte

Osterian della divina provvidenza

thanks!

First of all, do not despair. Le Zie serves solid home cooking and there have got to be quite a few others in the city that do the same. I've read often about the last two of those 3 restaurants, especially the second.

Alle Due Corte is in the SlowFood guide but the listing tells me that it is closed Sundays. So you might ant to check that in an e-mail or phone call:

http://www.alleduecorti.com/

I just read a very good review of Divina Providencia and if I can find it, I will post it here.

Have you tried this well-known place?

http://www.osteriadeglispiriti.it/il-ristorante/

This is open Sundays and it looks like it has possibilities:

http://www.villadellamonica.it/

Apologies dina for diverting your thread and thanks for starting it because I picked up so much info. I will now desist with a parting thanks to eks.

Thanks eks for the further great tips, especially about where best to stay in Matera. As for my lack of planning, I think weather will really play a huge part in whether I enjoy touring Matera, or the Gargano peninsula, so I don't want to be locked into anything. Don't have anything more to natter about!

Osteria degli Spiriti is also recommended by mario batali.

i've sent an email off to alle due corti, but haven't heard back.

meanwhile, eks, i found masseria barbera is not serving dinner the two nights we were at lama di luna due to weddings. pietro booked us both nights at antichi sapori. what were the other restaurants on your list in that area? i remember you mentioned there were 5 or so on your list.

thanks!
dina

Dina: Two nights at Antichi Sapori would be wonderful, so you can try different items on their menu. You must get the mixed vegetable antipasti on one of the nights. If you want to try another place, this one is just down the road from Lama di Luna. I did not try it but it looks very good and online reviews are excellent:

http://www.osteriamassari.altervista.org/

And in the town of Minervino Murge, which is about a 10 minute drive as I remember, there is this SlowFood restaurant that I tried (and failed) to reserve.

http://www.osterialatradizione.net/

Just wanted to add a note that I spent a few minutes last night with my Kindle downloading the limited amount of material about Puglia available. I'm still sorting through it, and most appears to be fairly low-quality, but if I find anything of value, I pass long the info.

One .99 cent offering on the unique foods of Puglia -- especially mouth-watering descriptions of seafood dishes -- re-kindled (ha-ha) my enthusiasm for going in May - which was flagging because suddenly we are seeing such an uptick in posts from people planning imminent trips to Puglia. I am still concerned I will find the seaside too developed for sun-seeking British tourism, but the lure of that seafood is impossible to resist.

I've got to find some fish restaurants that are "ottimo."

I agree Zeppole - all of a sudden it seems like everyone is heading to Puglia on this board! ok, maybe not everyone...but there are so many posts this year!

Glad we are going this June before it becomes another tourist trap (maybe I exaggerate a bit...but you know what I mean!)

I do know, and agree. All of a sudden, many articles in the press and posts here about Puglia. The coastline is not yet "too developed" as far as tourism, although there is plenty of ugly concrete all over the place inland and on the coast in the Bari/Brindisi corridor, not just hotels but all sorts of industry/commercial structures. The typical failure to delineate any sort of zoning, I guess. Not so uncommon in the South, and not only in Italy.

In Salento, there seem to be many "villagi" resorts catering to domestic tourists outside Otranto, and on the western/Ionian coast which is lined with good sand beaches, but much of the eastern Salento coast is still pristine, and gorgeous.

eks -- Puglia has been on my places to see list for several years, but really decided it for me was your TRs. U make it sound like such a wonderful place with fabulous food, how could anyone resist??

I promise to tiptoe through Apulia and leave it pristine. Not even bringing a camera. Will spend hours inside the museum in non-quaint Taranto. You'll never know I was there.

Well I plan on eating as much delicious food, and drinking as much delicious wine as I can...I hope to leave some for the rest of you...but I cant make any promises hahahaha!!!

Happy Travels!

But, zeppole, u'll come back here and share, pls.

If I have anything to add. Most of my trip will be using the Slow Food guide to lodgings and eateries, plus seeing the known historic attractions. If I disagree with any recommendations, I'll come back with warnings but if you don't hear from me, it will be because Pugiia and Basilicata are as interesting and delicious and largely unspoiled as people say.

great, zeppole! can't wait to hear about your trip!

well-- we'll know it's too late to go when rick steves does a book on it. got the most recent italy guide from the library and there's not a single word. good news. i do like his advice-- but the places he recommends just become overrun! he does take a tour group into puglia (mostly northern, i think) so the book will surely be coming soon, i'm sure.

we leave in just over a week. will post when we return.
thanks again for all the help from everyone.
kawh

Indeed! Rick Steves in the Gargano!

http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours/south-italy

Nooooooo!!!!!!

have a great trip, kawh! can't wait to hear about it.
we don't leave till mid-june!

haha, kawh! Thank goodness his show on Sicily was so boring no one would want to go there.
We will be in the Salento in early October, so thanks all for the resto recommendations.

ekscrunchy,

I think this hotel belongs on your list of Puglia possibilties in non-swim season. It's in Canosa di Puglia

http://www.hoteldaltavilla.it/index2.html

You are not kidding! I could care less about the charmless rooms..that pool makes my heart sing!


http://www.prolococanosa.it/

The town appears to be known for pastry, too, or at least has lent its name to a pastry.

http://panperfocaccia-grianne.blogspot.com/2011/03/le-rose-di-canosa.html

It also has an extensive archeological site, one of the most important in southern Italy and of the Magna Graecia

But I am probably going to stay here

http://www.cefalicchio.it/

I wanted to stay on an olive farm in Cerignola, because I adore Cerignola olives, but I can't seem to find one that has rooms

http://gustiamo.typepad.com/gustiblog/2010/11/bella-di-cerignola.html

Or maybe I'll stay here. It's a Slow Food editore pick

http://www.terreditraiano.it/Home2

Terre di Traiano looks very, very promising!!! Good find!

But I cannot decipher the Italian text on the restaurant page. Are they offering special events in conjunction with Le Brace in Andria? What is the connection between the two ventures?


Take a look here:

http://www.unisg.it/download/viaggi_didattici/viaggio_didattico_puglia.pdf

Terre di Traiano is listed in the Slow Food editore 2011 Locande & Osterie guide, and it says it has a restaurant, but makes no mention of La Brace. This website also describes it as having a restaurant, which we would lead me to think it is onsite:

http://www.iltaccodibacco.it/puglia/guida/3568/menu

I'll have to solve the mystery, though, because I certainly don't want to stay there if it doesn't have a restaurant.

I'm also going to check out of Masseria Barbera has got guest rooms now.

If I could find any raves for restaurants right in Canosa di Puglia, I might consider staying there.

I'm so happy to read your comments on "my" land ^__^

Ciao Vito!

Do you know of any good restaurants near Ugento? Where would you eat with your family if you were traveling to that area?

No, sorry Ekscrunchy I've no idea

So it looks like many restaurants are closed on sundays in lecce.

I have found these four, and was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on them...
The first I found on Mario Batali's website, and the last three I found on TA with excellent reviews. A few pop up on il tacco di bacco, but not much else...

La Magiada Locanda

Vico dei Sotterranei

Il Rifugio della Buona Stella

La Torre di Merlino

Thanks!
dina

Dina: I don't know them. I did look at the TA reviews for the first and those, along with the mention on the Babbo site, would be enough to convince me.

I have a copy of the Nancy Harmon Jenkins FLAVORS OF PUGLIA, in which she recommends a few hotels and restaurants in the region.

In the Lecce area, there is (in addition to Le Zie, closed on Sundays) Trattoria Acaya (you will need to drive or take taxi). This looks promising, but I don't know if it is open on Sundays.

http://www.originalitaly.it/ristoranti/puglia/lecce/acaya/trattoria-acaya.html

The link comes from a site that looks interesting in itself:
http://www.originalitaly.it/focus/ristoranti-lecce.html



The same book mentions an agriturismo near the sea in Salento that might appeal to those (Zeppole?) looking for lodgings in that area:

http://www.torrecasciani.it/



And in Taranto, she recommends Trattoria Gambrinus, on Via Cariati, opposite the docks in the old city.

I'm curious -- do many/most of u make your restaurant reservations prior to arrival? If so, is this just for a few places not to be missed or pretty much all the restaurants u plan to eat at? R the restaurants that crowded in the Fall?

If there is somewhere I really want to go to then yes, I make the reservation. If I know we are going to be a particular place for only 1 day and want to eat somewhere then yes, I also make reservations in advance

Me, too.

me, three!

and thanks again eks for the recs. i'll check them out.

i just heard back from the batali restaurant and they gave us a reservation. so at least i have that for now.

More attention to Puglia by none other than Fodor's
http://www.fodors.com/news/story_5452.html?ref=news_fd_042512

More reviews, from a local newspaper, in Italian:

http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/lecce/agenda/ristoranti/

Good site, eks. and i got to practice my italian.

i got a reservation at La Magiada Locanda, so i think we'll try that. i have a nice list now, though, so we'll probably check out a few on our passegiata.