Dining

Italians call breakfast, colazione and it is not a very important meal in Sicily and usually comprises of coffee and a pastry or some other baked goodies grabbed at the nearest coffee bar. Pranzo or lunch on the other hand is a relaxed sit down meal and most residents return home to have it. Restaurants will usually set up a fixed menu for lunch, which is generally displayed for all to see outside the restaurant. If the menu reads like Italian it is because it is written in that language. Please ask inside for an explanation if you wish.

Sicilian drinking and eating establishments are of four different types. Ristorantes come first and are generally restaurants in every sense of function and service. Smaller self-service restaurants are called Trattoria and these generally work for a part of the day, serving one or two meals. Then there are wine bars called osterias or housterias that mainly concentrate on wine but also serve snack-type food. The last and probably the most internationally recognized is the pizzeria. The formal meal has three courses. The first is of appetizers and snacks divided into cicheti and antipastis. Then comes the first course or Primi Piatti followed by the main course or Secondi Piatti. A meal like supper is followed by dessert called Dolci.

Pasta and pizza preparations are very popular with tourists, but you need to remember that they are not all what Sicilian cuisine is about. A variety of grilled and roasted preparations especially in fish, vegetable and fruits also feature high on the list of Sicilian edibles. A Sicilian specialty is ‘babbaluci' or snails that are used to prepare soups and side dishes.

A. Top Restaurants

Il Mulinazzo

Location: SS121, Località Bolognetta Nord,

Villafrati,

Palermo

Phone: 091 8724870

Note: Closed on Monday and no dinner on Sunday

It is amazing how the typical foods of the poor rural have become delicacies for people in Sicily as well as for those around the world. This restaurant exemplifies this with items such as macco or fava bean puree and speck or cured ham. However, this place is also ready to experiment and perhaps you should try their ‘fillet of pork', which is incidentally laced with pistachios and dribbled with chocolate sauce. You can also indulge in some wine tasting.

Archimede

Location: Via Gemmellaro 8,

Ortygia,

Siracusa

Phone: 0931 69701

Note: Closed Sunday

A small but endearing place that offers a fabulous seafood menu. Specialties include pesce spada and risotto di mare and the ‘tagliatelli all'Archimede', which combines fish and pasta.

Monte San Giuliano

Location: Vicolo San Rocco 7,

Erice

Phone: 0923 869595

Note: Closed on Monday

The traditional, intimidating Sicilian interior is what makes this restaurant special. You are immediately reminded of Don Corleone and the guy in the suit sitting with a scared businessman could very well be a real-life version. The food is equally tantalizing with spicy Arab and Greek influences.

A Castellana

Location: Piazza Monumento 4,

Cáccamo

Phone: 091 8148667

Note: Closed on Monday

A simple menu, but visit this place for a wonderful medieval atmosphere.

Pani Ca Meusa

Location: Via Cala 62,

Kalsa,

Palermo

Note: No phone, so no reservation and unpredictable closing and opening timing. But visit it any way or you will miss a treat.

Just imagine a place where just one chef has been cooking for the past fifty years. Either it is entirely hopeless or completely traditional. Pani Ca Meusa, is thankfully for the latter and has been serving delicacies like calf's spleen sandwich, for half a century. However, if you go to this place looking for seating arrangement, don't bother, because there are no chairs - just counters.