[Silicon Valley]

If you enjoy Italian, Boca de Sicilia, in Morgan hill, is excellent……... the place is a little “rough", but the chef is a graduate of Palermo’s culinary inst. and always does a great job..the lightest tastiest calamari you'll ever have, the Sicilian sea salad is as fresh a salad you'll get this side of the Atlantic...bow ties with chopped basil sausage, fresh daily- lobster ravioli, Braciole Sicilian style of course rolled up), his sauces are very well done, Sicilian wine selection…etc.…..

[Il Buco (Sorrento)]

Matthew,

thank you for the very interesting review. Another place on my "to try" list for my next Neapolitan visit. The list is getting quite long though, I'm almost starting to think I should move back 

How did you come across this restaurant? Through the Michelin guide? I had seldom seen it mentioned in the Italian or even local Neapolitan papers.

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It came form both the concerierge and the receptionist at our hotel. The receptionist was very enthusisatic about food and according to her the best restaurant was Il Buco followed by Caruso. Apparently there were only 4 restauranst in town worth eating at and Il Buco and Caruso were way ahead of the other two.

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ahhh Caruso's....frankly we thought they had it all over il Buco's..we spent 5 days there last June, we ate at Tasso's our first night, it was, well, good.

Next night, we stopped to book at Il Buco's earlier in the day and they were full, Ship was in, when we asked for an alternative, they suggested Caruso’s.....and thank god, we ate there 3 nights out of 5, we did get to Il Buco's but imho, and our friends as well, Caruso’s food was; tastier, the presentation was spectacular

( god how I wanted one of their monogrammed plates, which the always placed very careful with the seal facing you), the osso buco was, well, the glaze was sweet and had a hint of raisin, which surprised me, new taste, but was excellent, not cloying either like some glazes can be.

My wife had the salmon in champagne, which I just had to have the next night..anyway,the service was impeccable, the décor is fantastic as well, great photos of Caruso (naturally), they also turned away person in shorts and tee shirts which I liked, (I don’t think I am snobby, just like to dress for dinner)…the desserts , if I could post a pic. I took some shots…....( I had 2 desserts, what can I say)……when we had paid our bill the 3rd night, the matre ‘d insisted on buying us several, actually many, sambuca’s, ( which was a class act considering they might not ever see us again, which they will anyway) we must have sat for another 45 minutes, which in a high end rest. is rare, allowing you to just doodle and on their dime and their drinks..….we finally forced ourselves to leave….its our fist stop next trip. One our top culinary treats all time……..

Oh, and I won't get clinical,but they also had the, cleanest, best appointed restroom in Italy...private too....

After reading the posts here, we will give Il Buco another shot next trip...maybe they had an off night...it happens...

[Amalfi Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations]

I agree with Vinobiondo that Don Alfonso is an exceptional restaurant.  My lunch there in June '05 was spectacular.  Highlights were a duck breast appetizer with star anise and apple puree, a broth with little riccota cheese morsels and fresh fish, great short thick maccheroni pasta (paccheri) with a type of blue fish and green pepper sauce, and a goat dish with  herbs, little potato balls, thin slices of zucchini, and little onions. And there were several other delicious small courses and great desserts.  Glasses of wines were paired with the meal (including sparkling Falanghino from Benevento, Bigaró from Piemonte, a great Greco di Tufo from Benito Ferrara, a rich fruity Terre del Principe from Caserta, and a sweet dessert wine from Benevento -- sorry if I misspelled some of these).  Service was extremely friendly.  After the meal, I was given a tour of their impressive wine cellar, which is said to date from Roman times.  The total cost for the gastronomic menu and all wines (not including tip) was 152 Euros, which is a blowout expense for me, but was worth every Euro.  This was my second time at Don Alfonso and it is one of my very favorite restaurants in Italy (To put this in perspective, I'd put it right below my two favorites:  Le Calandre and Dal Pescatore,  but in my opinion well above Al Soriso, Da Caino, La Tenda Rossa, and far superior to my meals at Gambero Rosso and San Domenico.)

Far less costly (but still not inexpensive) is another great place, La Caravella, in Amalfi.  I first ate there over 30 years ago. It had a Michelin star then, and it has retained it to this day.  Ownership has passed from father to son, and the place has a much fancier aura now, but it is still a very comfortable friendly place to dine.  I ate supper there last June, a few days before my meal at Don Alfonso.  A 70 euro tasting menu included a pate of crustaceans with cream of pumpkin,  pesce spada with fennel in olive oil, pasta with shrimp, red pumpkin sauce, and saffron,  a version of zuppa di pesce, and a nice piece of very fresh boiled spigola.  Again, I had glasses of wine (sparkling Asperina di Aversa, a Falanghino from Sannio, a nice red wine from Salina from Hauser, and a Greco di Tufa from Avellino, and a dessert wine from Sicily).  Wines were 28 Euros.  This was an outstanding meal, and well worth the cost.

Both of these restaurants make an effort to feature local fresh seafood.  Don Alfonso also has good meat courses.  And both serve a nice selection of wines from Campagna and seem to enjoy having their customers discover new wines.

In contrast, I did not particularly enjoy my meal at Quattro Passi. A very nice appetizer of a spring roll filled with triglia (red mullet), tomatoes, basil and capers, was followed by a good dish of cannelloni made of eggplant filled with ricotta and mozzarella, then a very very undercooked plate of paccheri with a mix of seafood [i do like pasta al dente, but this was an error of the kitchen I am sure], then a very rich thin pasta with thin sliced vegetables, which I didn't care for -- too buttery, and finally a plate of 3 types of fish, which was good. Rolls and dessert were unexceptional.  Wine was not served by the glass -- I had a half bottle of Greco di Tufo from Feudi S. G... at a reasonable 15 Euros). Annoying was an overcharge for an unasked for second they large bottle of mineral water opened while I was eating dessert.  The cost of the food was about 90 Euros. (They do have a nice garden, but dining there on a hot night was not that comfortable.)

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I too ate at Don Alfonso was, agreed excellent.....

[All About Pizza]

we went last June, about 1/4 mile from the National Archeological Museum , large blvd. our driver took us to a place for pizza....well done..I have the darn menu around here some where...