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/2/00ee7...#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/i...iano-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!