Taormina Eats, Sicily

The next stop in the East was Taormina. Gorgeous place that relies heavily on tourism, it is perched high on the mountains with views of the ocean and Mount Etna. 

We stayed in a B&B that is away from the main high street which means that we had to use the local shuttle. Not too ideal but we were richly rewarded with stunning views of the ocean and Mount Etna from our room. Truly luxurious. 

As this is a tourist town, the vibe is immediately different from the previous places that we've been too and prices are slightly more expensive. That doesn't take away its charms though and walking through its winding streets, we were engulfed and enamoured by our surroundings. 

We experienced the worst and also the best culinary meal in Taormina in this Sicily trip. 

Being enticed by the name, we entered Cafe de Artist for dinner. 

Maccheroni Al Pomodoro €6

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Catania Eats & a sweet stop in Siracusa, Sicily

Catania is a good base to be to travel around the east of Sicily. After touring the west, we arrived in Catania to continue our travels. 

A walk around the area found us walking into a shop that sells fresh pasta, Leantichearti Della Pasta. They looked so tempting but it was not possible to buy any being only midway through the holidays. The shop is family run and we managed to get by with our minimal Italian. The papa offered us some fresh raw pasta to try and having never tried raw pasta before, it was definitely an experience biting into thin and semi frozen pasta shell before tasting the pistachio and cured meat filling.  Disappointed that we couldn't buy any pasta as they looked awesome, we consoled ourselves with getting a bottle of pesto each. We left with a dessert pastry courtesy of the papa and son who said that the mama makes them every morning.

We found ourselves at U Fucularu for dinner.

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Agrigento pit stop, Sicily

After Palermo, the next stop was a brief one at Agrigento to visit the Valley of the Temples. It is truly an amazing place; the weather was perfect to soak in the serenity and tranquillity of the place.

Stopping for only one night, we ate at two places.

For dinner it was at a restaurant called La Corte Degli Sfizi.

Overall, this place caters to the tourist. Standard fare which will not leave a mark in the memory bank.

The second place which I highly recommend is the snack bar located at the end of the main street. You would not have high expectations coming in here but boy was I delightfully surprised. I don't know the name but this is a photo of the entrance.

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Palermo Eating

I went away on holiday in Sicily and the first stop was Palermo. It was a good way to start and the people had a matter of fact friendly charm to them.

Food was also another factor and we had some good food that we enjoyed.

Canelle

This was a side street stall that we were brought to by our lovely B&B owner. These were fast food made to order. The first was Canelle which is made from chick pea flour. Freshly fried, it was soft and melting in your mouth with the crunchiness oath exterior from being deep dried. This was cooked so fresh that even having eaten it halfway, there were still steam vapours emanating. It was different to have carbs as a filling rather than meat or vegs and I was starting to feel like carb overload.

The croquettes had a light glutinous texture, almost starchy with a crispy deep fried skin. Tiny bits of mint add a refreshing and minty taste.

We had a cooked dinner of pasta with zucchini with a sprinkle of nutmeg. It was wholesome and good. Simple ingredients with a well balanced flavour that could not go wrong. The zucchini was refreshing with a slight juicy creaminess to it. Our lovely B&B owner also made us lunch, well we chipped in and it was the first time I had to handle or knew what to do with artichokes. So much effort for such a tiny amount but it was worth it!

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