txtree

I have become slightly obsessed with our upcoming trip to Sicily (darn the internet). Everything I read makes me hungry or thirsty. Tell me: what was the best thing you ate (and where)? And what was your favorite drink (I assume some sort of wine, but I could be wrong!)?

SeaUrchin

Sounds strange but at mama rosa's in Taormina I had the best salad I have ever had. The waiter makes the dressing at the table and then puts in whatever ingredients you want for the salad in a large bowl and tosses it up. Soooo good, we still talk about it.

Local wines were excellent.

Sicilyforever

Sicilian talk about food like the English talk about the weather.Food is great part of our culture.

Food to take away apart the pizza you must try arancinno ball rice deeply fried.
Fish is fresh and as Pasta a MUST is Pasta con le Sarde.
When the weather is hot and you don't feel like drink a capuccino you should try GRANITA con caffè e panna mmmmm nice.
A great choice of Local wines

Zerlina

Let me see… Da Mariano in Siracusa makes a wonderful insalata di arance: orange sections dressed in oil with chili pepper flakes. (The owner is a real showman and some people have issues with him; I’ve always gotten along fine with him.) It is *not* a fancy place and service can be spotty; mixed appetizer arrives automatically, as does “dessert”: torrone (sort of like peanut brittle but with almonds), candied ginger or orange peel, no-label Marsala and Moscato (drink as much as you like).

Another salad that I’ve had as an antipasto in a few places is insalata di arance e alici: orange sections and fresh anchovy. Palermo’s classic pasta con le sarde (with sardines, wild fennel, pine nuts and raisins) is great. You can’t go wrong with grilled swordfish (cut thin but never dry) or seafood of any kind. Granita of whatever is in season is a terrific café pick-me-up. It’s worth trying any of the almond biscotti that come in 1001 varieties at pastry shops.

If you like dessert wines, Moscato (di Pantelleria, di Siracusa) is very enjoyable. Freshly squeezed orange juice anywhere is a revelation.

caroline_edinburgh

Best eats -

1) A meal at Maffei in Taormina where the maitre chose a selection of seafood starters for us - sublime

2) A small casual restaurant on the seafront somewhere outside Palermo where we had the most amazing seafood blowout for €13 each for 2 of us ! Something like 13 antipasti, 3 primi, 2 secondi, dessert, 2 bottles of house white & a bottle of water. Can't remember the name of the restaurant or the village but it was in the Michelin guide.

Drinks -

1) Almond wine (finished the last bottle brought home last time, at Christmas - time to go again !)

2) Planeta wines

baldrick

During our 2 weeks in Sicily, we liked everything we ate and drank. Just go and find an osteria or a trattoria where locals eat and you'll be ok.
White and red wines are excellent. The only thing I didn't find in Sicily was a LIGHT red wine to go with a plate of fish, because I prefer red wine in the evening, but we happily survived on a normal bottle of red...

Zerlina

Not really LIGHT but lightER than most Sicilian reds is Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG.

ekscrunchy

Pasta with ricci di mare(sea urchin) at Don Camillo in Siracusa.

And, on my first trip years and years ago, freshly opened ricci on the beach at Mondello.

txtree

Thanks for the replies. I'm making notes of everything in my Sicily book.

I have had a couple of Planeta wines here in NY - I love La Segreta. Are there other wines I shouldn't miss?

And tell me more about the pasta ai ricci!

thursdaysd

Great thread - I'm busy adding notes to my Sicily doc for my upcoming trip! I'd already seen a rec for Osteria da Mariano, but now I'll look for the orange salad as well.

baldrick

Thanks Zerlina.

Will be for the next time.
This year we will be heading to the Lecce area, Ionian side.

caroline_edinburgh

I think the amazing seafood blowout outside Palermo was at Il Delfino in Sferracavallo.

And how could I forgot part of our honeymoon at the Hotel Raya on Panarea - 3 courses of fantastic fresh seafood every night, from a choice of 3 or 4 per courses, recited by the waiter & different every day (for 8 days) even when we were the only guests.

crazyfortravel

Zibbibio sparkling white wine....yum!! Can't get my hands on it Canada but it is wonderfully fruity.

I also love Arancine (fried rice balls..sometime they have ground meat in them as well) and Panella which is a flat fried cake made from chick peas.

JQReports

Hi txtree,

Some food highlights (hard to choose, as there were so many):

Almond raviolis, and mint-flavoured raviolis, both on Pantelleria; best meal from beginning to end was in Agrigento--grilled pecorino, a juice-packed melon with paper thin proscuitto, a whole calamari grilled and a pistachio spaghetti.

Also, the fettucine trapanese in Trapani, and the pasta with asperagus and Gorgonzola in Palermo.

Shoot, now I've made myself hungry...

And the Passito di Pantelleria is definitely a must.

JQ

txtree

JQ - where in Agrigento did you have this fabulous dining experience? Pistachio spaghetti? Yum.

autodidact

Pasta con le Sarde at Arco dei Cappucini, a fish restaurant just outside the Taormina's Eastern gate.

Vignavella white wine at Don Camillo restaurant in Ortigia.

2004 Morgante Nero d’Avolo.

Dinner at Restaurant Il Duomo in Ragusa - chef's tasting menu - probably second best meal I've ever had.

JQReports

Hello again,

The pistachio spaghetti was at L'Ambasciata di Sicilia. This was 2001--hope it's still there. Depending on how many days you have, and if it's warm enough to eat outdoors, consider the Villa Athena. It's as close as you can get to the temples while they are all lit up at night. It's a great dining experience.

JQ

huddoshols

I loved the sopressa di polipo(steamed octopus carpaccio) at L'Arco dei Cappuccini in Taormina. Ate it 3 nights in a row,delicious. But everything we ate and drank everywhere was fantastic. The fish was sensational. The best food we have ever had in all our travels, was in Sicily.

spinesrgn

Arrancini -- fried rice balls stuffed with cheese

Cassata cake

Cannolis

Involtini (veal or swordfish)

Santa Anastasia Nero D'Avola, Passomagio -- One of the better Sicilian wineries near Cefalu. A beautiful place to visit. We stayed at the relais for a few nights two years ago.

travel_buzzing

pulpette di sarde (excuse muy spelling) and pasta with pistaccio.
I LOVE SICILY FOOD.