Eating the Boot: A Grand Tour of Italy

[pedalaforte]

tupac: when you get to any major city/tourist destination in Italy--or international airport--chances are you'll find Plotkin's book in English.  In Florence, for example, I'd try Edison's.

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Pontormo: I ordered Plotkin yesterday. I know you're a big fan, as was I in the early days of his first edition. I went to a lot of great places because of that first book!

Cheers

[MMerrill]

Whoops!  Answered my own question.  In the legend, it specifies the symbol to look for to distinguish the "Oscar for Quality and Price" places.  It's too bad the restaurant search function seems to be a bit inaccurate, making it impossible to search directly for such places, or even to search for restaurants in a particular score range correctly for that matter. 

I have the current guide and will look up the cities you said you were visiting and see if there are any "Oscar" restaurants listed there or nearby. Will get back. When are you leaving?

[tupac17616]

I have the current guide and will look up the cities you said you were visiting and see if there are any "Oscar" restaurants listed there or nearby.  Will get back.  When are you leaving?

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it. Leaving home tomorrow, but stopping over in NYC for several days, so I won't be leaving to Italy until next Monday.

[Kevin72]

'Pac, I tried responding to this thread once already and my post got deleted. Sorry for the delay.

Thanks for the kind words earlier, BTW.

Will you have a car? It may get problematic getting to all the corners and out of the way spots; our two trips to Italy both had big chunks of days taken up with laborious travel and frustrating delays caused by the Italian train system. Of course, you could still have a very full weeks just exploring the main cities you're going to!

If you have any room in your schedule, I'd consider incorporating Turin/Piemonte in, or maybe Friuli for a real off the beaten track side trip. I love Puglia, but it would be hard to get to easily from where you'll be.

I'd definitely find a way to get out into the hill towns when you're in Tuscany. We only went to San Gimagnano, but that slice of heaven was more than enough for us.

And you should make all efforts when you're in Bologna to go to Villa Gaidello, a farmstead a little less than halfway to Modena. Dinners usually incorporate the heavyweights of Emilia-Romagna cuisine and it is memorable. But a car here is pretty important.

That's all that comes to mind for now. I'll try and pipe in when you cover each region.

[Kevin72]

P.S.  Who knows if there is a general list of all regional sagre (festivals, including ones devoted to local food)?

However, this site has useful information for travelers, including food festivals in Italy that it lumps under the category of "Lifestyle": click.  Main page on Italy: here.

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Celebrating Italy: Tastes & Traditions of Italy as Revealed Through Its Feasts, Festivals & Sumptuous Foods by Carol Field is a very well-assembled resource and has a large listing of feasts and festivals in each region in the back. Quite a book.

[tupac17616]

[...] Will you have a car?  It may get problematic getting to all the corners and out of the way spots; our two trips to Italy both had big chunks of days taken up with laborious travel and frustrating delays caused by the Italian train system.  Of course, you could still have a very full weeks just exploring the main cities you're going to! [...]

Thanks, Kevin, for all the recs! I am definitely thinking of renting a car when the need presents itself (which I think it may in Sicily, for example). Even more so than trains/buses, I figure its the best way for me to get to the random, out of the way places that I'd like to explore. It may be kind of hard to get to off-the-tourist-beaten-path places without one. And for all I know, the train and bus systems could be ridiculously slow. It will definitely be a lot of learning as I go!

[Kevin72]

In between major cities, the train system isn't that bad, especially if you buy the (more expensive) express tickets with fewer or no stops. Once you start getting out into the smaller towns, though, the trains become a little more unreliable and make frequent stops, stretching the travel out even more.

[hathor]

Tupac, if you can, check into internet cafes and keep us posted as you go...that would be so much fun!

One very off the beaten track place in Sicily, on the north coast, is the salt flats. They are lonely, wild, gorgeous. We stayed at very small b&b, right on the flats, called Il Mulino. Incredibly photogenic, and the salt is outstanding. In the town of Valderice, near Trappani, here's the link

Buon viaggio!!

[MMerrill]

Here are the "oscar" restaurants I found that I thought you might be able to get to. You could look them up on Gambero Rosso for more info, and many have web sites. On the GR web site, look under the heading "Weekend Gourmet" for other interesting food suggestions in different locations.

In Emilia Romagna:

Trattoria di Strada Casale , Emilia Romagna, Brisighella (RA)- via Statale, 22,tel 054688054 - fax 054688095, Giorno di chiusura mercoledì Ferie 10-25/1; 10-20/9 Prezzo medio Euro 35.00 vini escl. (In the hills above Faenza)

Numero Sette, RastignanoPianoro (BO)- via A. Costa, 7, tel 051742017 - fax 051742017. Giorno di chiusura martedì a pranzo e lunedì Ferie variabili Prezzo medio Euro 35.00 vini escl. Cucina 47 Cantina 14 Ambiente 8 Servizio 8 Bonus 1 Totale 78 (13 kms n.e. of Bologna. We had dinner here several years ago. Food was excellent and the proprietors delightful.)

In Lazio:

La Parolina, Acquapendente (VT)- via G. Pascoli, 3, tel 0763717130

Giorno di chiusura mercoledì a pranzo e martedì Ferie mai Prezzo medio Euro 35.00 vini escl. Cucina 48 Cantina 15 Ambiente 8 Servizio 8 Bonus 1 Totale 80. (small town, just n.w. of Orvieto)

In Campania:

Papavero Eboli (SA)- c.so Garibaldi, 112, tel 0828330689. Giorno di chiusura domenica sera e lunedì Ferie variabili Prezzo medio Euro 30.00 vini escl. Cucina 48 Cantina 14 Ambiente 8 Servizio 8 Bonus 2 Totale 80. (Eboli is east of Salerno. We ate here several years ago while staying near Paestum. It's very modern, decor and food, delicious and somewhat experimental. Quite a surprise for the location. A bit out-of-the-way unfortunately.)

In Lombardia:

D'O San Pietro all'Olmo, Cornaredo (MI)- via Magenta, 18, tel 029362209.

Giorno di chiusura domenica sera e lunedì Ferie 1-10/1; Pasqua; in agosto; tutti i festivi Prezzo medio Euro 40.00 vini escl. Cucina 48 Cantina 14 Ambiente 7 Servizio 8 Bonus 3 Totale 80 (We just returned from a trip to Piemonte and Milan a few weeks ago. Had dinner here for the 2nd time. Owned by young chef, Davide Oldani, who's very charming. His food is more experimental and can be sensational. You need to book way in advance and call around 10 in the morning. Located 14 kms west of Milano.)

Cagnola Milano (MI)- via D. Cirillo, 14, tel 023319428 - fax 023319428

Giorno di chiusura domenica Ferie dal 26/7 al 24/8; dal 23/12 al 3/1 Prezzo medio Euro 40.00 vini escl. Cucina 45 Cantina 14 Ambiente 7 Servizio 7 Bonus 2 Totale 75. (We also ate here. It's a neighborhoody place, very traditional Milanese cooking. The risotto was superb. Nice.)

In Milan, there's a gelato place I wanted to get to but didn't. It's called Grom, 16 Via Santa Margherita, not far from Piazza della Scala. They started in Torino and have spread out, very artisanal, but prepared in Torino not in house. Supposed to be great. They've also just opened in NYC! Just looked up their web site. They're in Bologna and Florence too.

Have a great trip!! We'll all look forward to your reports.

[tupac17616]

In between major cities, the train system isn't that bad, especially if you buy the (more expensive) express tickets with fewer or no stops. Once you start getting out into the smaller towns, though, the trains become a little more unreliable and make frequent stops, stretching the travel out even more.

Thanks, Kevin. Very good to know. Maybe the easiest way to access the smaller towns will be to take trains between the major cities and rent a car to drive to the smaller ones. I imagine there will be a lot of trial and error trying to figure out transportation on the trip.

Tupac, if you can, check into internet cafes and keep us posted as you go...that would be so much fun!

I'll certainly do my best to keep up! And thank you for the Sicily recommendation!

Here are the "oscar" restaurants I found that I thought you might be able to get to. [...]

Wow, I owe you one! Thank you very much for taking the time to do that. I really appreciate it.

In Milan, there's a gelato place I wanted to get to but didn't.  It's called Grom [...]

Yes, indeed! I've been to the one in NYC a couple of times, and I enjoyed it (not, perhaps, as much as Il Laboratorio del Gelato, but that's another thread...). But that certainly won't stop me from trying it again if I run across them in different cities this summer. For research and comparison purposes only, of course.

As far as gelato goes, I'm still kind of ignorant about which places I should be seeking out. So far all I know is Vivoli in Florence and Corrado Cosenza in Noto, Sicily. I also read some good things about a place called La Sorbetteria in Bologna today, so I may check that out. I foresee a lot of gelato in the coming weeks.

[Pontormo]

tupac: I thought I had sent a PM about the trains, cars, etc., but many of the towns you think of as "little" are not to Italians, so there will be reasonable train rides to most of your destinations. You really, really would benefit by picking up a used copy of last year's Rough Guide to Italy or something along those lines to read the basic information up front at least. For the faster trains, you'll have to pay a surcharge if you have any sort of rail pass or a regular ticket. (Make SURE you've paid full fare before you board the train, including the "supplemento" or surcharge since there are financial penalties for not doing so.) In addition to the paperback train schedule (orario) you can buy, you'll find big posters in just about every station w info concerning all trains that stop there--sometimes next to the platform for each track (binario) in larger stations--which will help you judge which trains are worth taking.

If you don't have a good general guidebook, you'll catch on quickly enough or learn from fellow travelers you're bound to meet or perhaps share meals and excursions with. At any rate, there are many Italians who rely exclusively on the train and bus systems to get just about anywhere they don't travel to on Vespas or Zio Mario's motorized three-wheeler. As in the U.S., there are municipal buses and bus services (such as SITA to get from Florence to Siena) that link other cities and towns more conveniently than certain train routes such as the ones that Kevin warns you about.

As for gelato, there are write-ups here somewhere about Rome, surely. And look at Divina Cucina's Web site if you don't have a chance to meet her; you should go to Vivolo's natch--it's traditional and at this time of year still open, I'm pretty certain (I think it closes mid-July or some ridiculous time for a gelato place), and try the pear (pera). But many believe there are better gelato places in town and I kinda think it's your duty to eGullet to compare. As is the case with pizza in Naples. Mozzarella di bufala. Olive oils. Cheeses and cured meats you can't get over here. At markets, look for cool fruits and vegetables you've never seen before and take pictures of those in addition to the gorey and gross.

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And to demonstrate just about EVERYTHING is online, look what I just found: Cliff Notes on Italian Trains.

Then to get you psyched about the fact that it is one of the alternate years (? I think that's how these things go) for pistachios in Bronte, you can watch YouTube and listen to 'Retha. (Would that be 'nretha? )

And ya, here's Professor Fenton's lecture on Roman gelato

* * *

Have a fabulous time!

Edited June 9, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[tupac17616]

Once again, thanks Pontormo. Incredibly helpful stuff! With all the great help you and the other eG'er have been providing already, I'm becoming less confused and more excited!

[hathor]

Oh! One last bit of train advice...you have to stamp your ticket BEFORE you get on the train. Little machine, looks like the kind of thing that you put your employee time card in, makes the same noise and stamps the date and time. I almost always forget...or remember at the last possible second and then have to frantically look for the damn machines.

May the Goddess Serendipity be your very best friend!!

[cbrezi]

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When you come to rome, come visit me at the Abbey Theatre Pub, if you're happening to strolling through piazza navona and you'd like to speak with a fellow egulleteer, hint, it's directly across from Pizzeria Bafetto, maybe i spelled that wrong.

i'll recommend going to Monte Carlo restaurant near piazza navono rather than anyplace in the piazza, it's a place where the italians at my job suggest to everyone, though i haven't tried it yet.

buona fortuna

[tupac17616]

wow wow wow. palermo is amazing. the achitecture. the mosaics. the food!

ricci, sarde, milza, cassata siciliana, cannoli, gelato, tonno, pesce spada, granita di mandorle, ecc

will add more when there is time!

[Pontormo]

[tupac17616]

Ah. A break. Time for some more detailed thoughts on Palermo.

Getting here was not easy. My flight out of JFK was delayed 7 1/2 hours, by far the longest delay I've ever endured. This made me miss my connection in Milano, so I had 5+ more hours to kill there. Not fun, though the bo ssam I ate at the airport leftover from the night before at Momofuku Ssam Bar in NYC, and the time perusing the Ferrari store in Milano almost made it bearable.

I've been here since late Tuesday night now, and I'll be taking an overnight ferry later to Napoli, where I'll arrive (not so) bright and (very) early tomorrow morning.

It was kind of a last-minute decision to add Palermo to my itenerary. Originally, I'd thought of starting in Napoli. In retrospect, I'm quite glad I was able to get a taste of Sicilia, as it's been quite enjoyable.

For the most part, I've explored the city on foot. At one point, I considered renting a moto to drive up to Monte Pellegrino, but decided against it.

I've taken the time to see many of the sights in and around the city, and it's all been quite beautiful. A quick bus ride to Monreale led me to the beautiful mosaics at the Duomo there, as well as a phenomenal view of the city from its terrace. The Cattedrale here in Palermo is also quite nice, if a little less extravagant than the one in Monreale. A little off the beaten path, I also checked out the Convento dei Cappuccini, a 16th century catacomb housing more than 8,000 corpses. I'd never seen anything like it. And more place that really sticks out in my mind is Chiesa Santa Caterina in Piazza Bellini, a beautiful baroque church.

There is amazing diversity apparent everywhere here - in the architecture, the language, the people, and the food. Norman and Arab influences are everywhere.

As expected, I was bit shaky trying to communicate at first, but I'm getting the hang of it and feeling more and more comfortable with the language by the day. The Sicilian dialect, at least here in Palermo, is not as difficult to comprehend as I had been told it might be. Getting around the city has not been a problem at all. The bus system here is quite reliable, and thankfully, air-conditioned.

But enough about all that stuff for now, let's talk about the food!

I've gone to both markets, the Ballaro and the Vucciria, every single day. For someone who has never experienced a European outdoor market before, they are amazing and eye-opening. They put any farmer's market I've ever been to in the US to absolute shame. I prefer the Ballaro, which I find to have much more selection in general.

Breakfast the first day was a basket of tiny, sweet fragoline and two wonderfully ripe fichi from the Ballaro market. Return trips on other days yielded more fragoline, a warm square of foccacia con acciughe, caciocavallo and primo sale cheeses, and a panino di polmoni. Yes, a lung sandwich, bought from one of many gentleman at the markets and all around the city which I endearingly refer to as the "Offal Men". Greasy and tasty, though I preferred the spleen sandwiches I had other days.

At the Vucciria market, I bought some pulpa di riccio di mare, apparently some kind of sea urchin paste in brine that is used to make the local specialty spaghetti con ricci. Though I've not seen any ricci here this trip (they must not be in season, perhaps?), I'm still excited to be able to try this out at home in my own kitchen.

Later that first day, I also had a mid-afternoon snack of pane cu' meusa (€1.50), at the eponymous small shack at Via Cala 62 near Porta Felice. Very much a local specialty, this calf's spleen sandwich is served by gruff old men from massive vats the size of half a trash can full of boiled meat. Often served on sesame rolls, simply sprinkled with salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and sometimes with grated caciocavallo added, they are quite tasty. Not for everyone, perhaps, but I certainly enjoyed it. It's a very rich flavor that, to me, seems reminiscent of liver. Not very fatty, but quite greasy, if that makes any sense. But the acidity of the lemon and the salty top-note of the caciocavallo cut right through the grease. And the bread acts as a tasty sponge for all of that flavor.

I much preferred this sandwich at Pane cu' Meusa to the one at the older, bigger, and more well-known Antica Focacceria San Francesco (Via Paternostro 58). The bread there was fairly fresh, but lacked much flavor or character. Kind of lifeless, if that makes any sense. The spleen was flavorful, but a bit dryer than that of Pane cu' Meusa. In addition to the pane cu' meusa at Antica Focacceria San Francesco, I also had a nice, fat arancina con sugo di carne (€1.50), and a briosce con gelati di pistacchio e fior di latte (€1.70), which was good but not great.

Wait a minute...did somebody say gelato? Man, oh man, the gelato here is just PHENOMENAL. The first place I tried was Gelateria Lucchese, right off the Vucciria market near Piazza San Domenico. Pistacchio is the base flavor on which I rate gelato places, and this one did not disappoint. Very creamy, and served neither too cold nor too warm, this was a great intro to gelato in Sicilia. The next day I returned for granita alle mandorle, the very Sicilian summertime treat of almond granita. It was delicious, and a far cry from the rock-hard sno-cone imitations I'd had before.

I also quite enjoyed the gelato from Spinnato. This place is clearly an institution here in Palermo. Open since 1860, they now have five locations in the city. Having had something from four of those five locations nice, I can vouch for their consistency. And, as far as I can tell, it is consistently good. From the various locations, I've had briosce con gelati di pistacchio e cassata (€2), a disappointing chunk of caramella di pistacchio (€2.60), a very tasty arancina con sugo di carne (€1.30), a good but not great arancina al burro (€1.30), a tasty small cassatina siciliana (€1.60), and a slice of a larger cassata siciliana (€2.50) which is still yet to be eaten ( ).

[tupac17616]

Before I move on, let me devote this entire post to one place that certainly deserves a special mention...

Pasticceria Alba

Piazza Don Bosco 7/c, Libertà, Palermo

091/309016

Website

I cannot say enough good things about this place. Possibly the best bakery/gelateria/bar I've ever been to. Granted, one visit doesn't provide the largest sample set for such a bold claim, but this place really blew me away. I started with a fresh, hot arancina con spinaci e besciamella, far and away the best I've had thus far on the trip. Then it was time for a slice of cassata siciliana, which was clearly very fresh and quite tasty. This traditional Sicilian treat certainly caters to those with larger sweet tooths, so I certainly enjoyed it. Next, I saw a sign advertising another distinctly Sicilian treat, latte di mandorla, almond milk, which was a cold, sweet, and refreshing way to wash down the cassata.

Then, the gelato.

A moment of silence, please, for this incredible treat.

I can say, without ANY hesitation, that this is the finest gelato I've tasted in my life. Un cono with two ridiculously delicious flavors, pistacchio di Bronte and Il Siciliano (mandorle siciliane e pistacchi di Bronte). Words cannot describe the flavor, but I'll try. The pistacchio had a distinctly roasted flavor, tasting of the purest natural essence of the nut, rather than any color or flavor additives. Il Siciliano was a wonderful symphony of flavors and textures. The slight bitterness of the Sicilian mandorle, countered by the sweetness of the tiniest shards of candied almonds and pistachios. The perfectly creamy texture of the gelato, countered by the tiny intermittent crunches from chunks of roasted almond and pistachio. I was practically brought to tears it was so good.

If you ever find yourself in Palermo, or anywhere near it for that matter, this place undoubtedly warrants a special trip. It was only quickly mentioned in passing through my old Fodor's guidebook, but this place is now bolded, underlined, and starred in my book, that's for sure. Hands-down, the best food experience of a week spent eating quite well here in Palermo.

[tupac17616]

A few more thoughts before I move on to Napoli. The dinners:

Sant'Andrea

Piazza Sant'Andrea 4, 091/334999

Dinner the first night was at this place recommended on Mario Batali's website. I stumbled on it during the day as I was wandering around, and I thought the name sounded familiar from some of the research I'd been doing before the trip. So I planned to return for dinner. Easier said than done, since Piazza Sant'Andrea was so small that it was on neither of the two maps I had. No worries, though, as I just trusted my sense of direction and ability to remember landmarks to guide me there. Five minutes late, but it worked. (It's just off Piazza San Domenico, for those who are curious.)

I started with a selection of typical antipasti siciliani: olive, panelle, melanzana, and I can't even remember what else. It was okay, but not the least bit, well, memorable. My primo, though, was quite good - tagliatelle con triglie, mandorle rostate, pomodorini, e pesto di tenerumi. Tenerumi was a new food to me - the leaves of zucchini lunghi, a vegetable one can find at all the markets here. This was quite tasty. I enjoyed the pasta with a glass of white wine, the name of which I can't seem to remember. Dessert was a decent semifreddo di moscato e uve. Things were off to a pretty good start here in Palermo. The damage: €30. Not bad.

Ai Cascinari

Via D'Ossuna 43-45, 091/6519804

Thanks, DocSconz, for the recommendation! This was a very solid meal, one of the best I had in Palermo for sure. I started with a phenomenal selection of antipasti siciliani: panelle, bollite di carne con olive, pomodorini e acciughe, zucchini fritti, melazane fritte, polpetta con sugo di pomodoro, a quenelle-shaped potato fritter, and an incredible piece of fried dough stuffed with fresh ricotta e acciughe (I asked the owner what it was called, and his reply sounded like "cazzo in cina", but somehow I doubt that's it! ). I also ordered a primo of bavette dal pescatore, long fresh noodles tossed with gamberi e pesce spada. A glass of Moscato di Pantelleria to finish the meal, and I was out the door. An absolute steal at €16.

Osteria dei Vespri

Piazza Croce dei Vespri 6, 091/6171631

This place was recommended both in my Fodor's guidebook and I think elsewhere online. More modern rather than traditional Sicilian cuisine, this place was quite different than the other places I sampled here in Palermo. An amuse bouche (come si dice questo in Italiano?) came first - zuppa di pomodorm e arancia and millefoglie di melone con bottarga. Nothing special, though I enjoyed the soup. I don't know what they were going for with the millefoglie. For my antipasto, I started with 6 Variazioni di Crudi di Mare, a selection of six different raw fish preparations: calamari, pesce spada affuimicato, tonno, gamberi, tartare di tonno, e ricci con patate. Most of these fell flat, with the exceptions of the tartare di tonno, which was served with a nicely aged aceto balsamico, and the gamberi, which was flat-out amazing, and rivaled the best sashimi I've ever had. My primo was some kinf of ring-shaped pasta al nero di seppia con pomodoro. This was okay, but the flavor got old as I ate the dish. The tomato was not enough of a counter-point to keep me interested in competing with the richness of the squid ink. As far as wine goes, though, this meal yielded a nice discovery. The white wine I had with the fish was unmemorable, but I really liked the red they gave me with the pasta. Nero d'Avola, a Sicilian wine which is new to me, was quite delicious, and I'll certainly be looking for it on wine lists from now on. This place is not cheap, and in my opinion, not really worth it either. €45.

Casa del Brodo

Corso Vittorio Emanuele 175, 091/321655

Another recommendation from my guidebook, this place is right on the edge of Vucciria, on one of the main streets of the city. The restaurant dates all the way back to 1890, and they've got pictures of various Italian celebrities scattered all over the wall. I passed up the unappealing buffet of antipasti, and instead, opted for two primi (probably marking myself distinctly as a tourist in the process! ). There were two important traditional Sicilian dishes which I had still yet to try. I started with maccu, a very tasty soup of fava beans and wild fennel. I also had their rendition of bucatini con le sarde, wonderfully toothsome strands of housemade pasta with sardines, fennel, currants and pine nuts. Nothing amazing, but it certainly hit the spot. No wine tonight. Total for the meal was €17.

[tupac17616]

Oh, and one more thought...

The sweets here are aboslutely amazing.

Cassta siciliana, cannoli, gelato, cartoccio di crema, cartoccio di nutella, granita, sfogliatella, pasta reale, ecc, ecc.

Heaven.

[hathor]

Good lord!! What fun!! What food!!

I would have given anything to see you wander thru your first European market, especially in Palermo.

Those 8,000 corpses still visit my dreams!

We stayed at a lovely little hotel, right near the big prison. Seems that because so many mafioso were imprisoned a lot of very good restaurants opened up near there. The families either brought food to their loved ones, or had to have a meal after visiting someone. Makes sense.

Can't wait to hear about Napoli!

[Pontormo]

This report promises a wealth of information for other eGullet members. I also look forward to more news inspired by a happy stomach.

[tupac17616]

The Napoli/Campania wrap-up will be coming soon. So much pizza, so little time.

[tupac17616]

A long-overdue update on things here in Italia....

Napoli & Campania

I spent 6 nights / 7 days in the area. It felt so different than Palermo in so many ways. I look forward to uncovering these same kinds of differences in the areas I am still yet to check out. I spent about 3-4 days in the city of Naples itself, and then used it as home base to explore Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, Capri, Vesuvius, and Pompei. The city is probably not for everyone. During the day it's great, but at night the dark alleyways and deserted areas of the city aren't the most desired companions for an after-dinner passeggiata. This is a big city, the third largest in Italy, if I'm not mistaken, and there is definite signs of urban decay -- loud, dirty, trash on the streets. With my love of NYC (which, I must admit, is not the cleanest city around), I quickly grew attached. I liked the energy that Napoli had, and I certainly plan to visit again sometime.

The Amalfi coast didn't really do much for me. The scenery was incredible, don't get me wrong. Absolutely breathtaking, in fact. But all the places on the coast and nearby that I visited -- Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, and Capri -- you know the names. I know the names. And, unfortunately, so does everyone else. They are absolutely overrun with tourists, and the ridiculously inflated prices that follow. Lots of natural beauty to be found, but not easy getting away from the crowds (and the English language!). Once I actually managed to in Capri (a trek to the arco naturale and the nearby belvedere), I really apprecaited the beauty of the place. And the same could be said for Pompei and Vesuvius. The moments you appreciate it those places are not the moments when you're in line to check out the next "must-see" attraction, but the moments when you pull off to the side of the path, rest on an out-of-the-way tree stump, or hike up to the highest point you can see and just sit there and appreciate what is around you.

Ah, and of course I enjoyed the food. I'll try to recap all that below. Here goes...

[tupac17616]

I'll start with the sweet stuff...

Fresh off an overnight boat trip from Palermo to Naples, I headed to the Caffeteria Ferrieri on Corso Vittorio Emanuele for local specialty, sfogliatella. I had tried these sweetened-ricotta and candied fruit filled pastries before, but I was caught off guard when the guy behind the counter handed me a smooth pastry that reminded me of the empanadas I know and love in Texas. I would soon come to find out there are two kinds of sfogliatelle -- riccia and frolla -- the former with a crisp, layered exterior and the latter with the smoother exterior. Same filling, and both quite tasty. If you find yourself unsure which to get, no worries. Just get both. Problem solved. Oh, by the way, this sfogliatella was decent, but the filling was a bit dry. No worries, though. There were more where that came from.

On a walk up Via Toledo, one of the major streets of the city, I stumbled upon Gay-Odin, where I sampled the foresta caprese, a milk chocolate piece in the shape of a log. Not bad. Kinda crystalline and not as smooth as I would have liked, though. Eh. On that same street, I stopped in Tarallificio Leopoldo, since I had never had taralle, another Neapolitan specialty. They are ring-shaped cookie-like things. They come in both savory and sweet varieties, and I had one of each, the former with almond, fennel seed, and pepper, and the latter not unlike a basic shortbread. I much preferred the savory one, although neither must have made much of an impact on me, as I didn't sample any more taralle during my time in Napoli. After pizza later that evening, I stopped in G. Mazzaro on Via dei Tribunali to try a biscotto all'Amarena, a cookie filled with a dried fruits & nut paste, I think. Very tasty. I may try making them when I get home.

On another afternoon, I checked out Scaturchio in Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, which was mentioned in my guidebook as being a very nice pasticceria. Here I sampled another local specialty, a pastiera, a type of cake made with ricotta cheese that is popular around Easter, but eaten all year around. This was quite tasty, and not overly sweet. And of course I had a sfogliatella riccia, my preference between the two types. Here the sfogliatella was quite good, among the better ones I had in Naples in terms of flavor. The texture though, still had room for improvement. Not as crisp as I would have wanted.

The following morning, I tried Pintauro on Via Toledo, which is apparently the birthplace of the sfogliatella. Here they are available warm all day, which is nice. I sampled a sfogliatella riccia, which was very good for both flavor and texture. I would've liked it a bit warmer, perhaps, and I find the extra sprinkle of powdered sugar on top unnecessary, but this was certainly a winner. Continuing a walk up that same street, I stopped in Caffe Roma for a very tasty babà alla nutella, a sponge cake soaked in simple syrup and filled with nutella. Hard to go wrong with that combination. It was at least past.

Another afternoon, I had undoubtedly the best sfogliatelle from R.M. Attanasio (Vico Ferrovia 2/3). These were piping hot. The texture of the riccia was perfectly crispy on the outside. The texture of the frolla was exactly the way you always want pastry crust to be -- smooth but slightly crumbly and flaky at the same time, buttery, delicious. The filling, too, was incredible. If you only have time to try sfogliatelle at one place in Napoli, this is absolutely the place to do it.

My last day in Napoli, I also tried Antica Pasticceria Carraturo on Via Casanova. There I had a babà al limone, which was that same syrup-soaked sponge cake, this time covered in a nicely tart lemon icing. Very tasty. I washed it down with a small glass of limoncino, a lemon liquer. Not really my cup of time, but again, a local specialty I was glad to have tried.

When I ventured out of the city, I still managed to find some sweets too, of course. In Amalfi, I went to Andrea Pansa right in the main piazza, and had a delizia al limone and a granita di limone con acqua. The delizia was a small dome-shaped cake that was covered in a lemon icing. The cake was good, if maybe a tad dry. The granita was hardly that -- it was more like iced lemonade. But very tasty and quite refreshing on such a hot day. Small treat, small dessert. €10. Ouch. Gotta love tourist areas.

Speaking of tourist areas, the granita di limone stand in Positano offers a cup of fresh-scraped lemon ice deliciousness for a mere €1.50. Good stuff. Other than an absolutely terrible sfoglia con nutella (a folded, completely dry pastry filled with hard milk chocolate) in Sorrento, the sweets in Naples and Campania were generally quite good. Not quite as amazing as they were in Sicily, but Palermo spoiled me and set a high benchmark that will be hard to reach elsewhere.

Edited June 27, 2007 by tupac17616 (log)