"Restaurants near me" and some high recommendations from a guidebook took us to the Trattoria Ai Cascinari, famous for its old-style Sicilian cuisine. It was here we ascertained for sure that Sicilians also observe Mothers' Day, and on the very same day as in the USA. The restaurant was large and sprawling, half a dozen different rooms, it was mid-afternoon and packed with multi-generation families, but it seemed like the kind of place that merited a half hour's wait to be seated. Under ordinary circumstances, the table we got would have been objectionable--in the entry way, right between Vito's kitchen and Piero's service command center--but 50 yard line seats for a noted restaurant on a busy day, and thus both entertaining and educational. Piero spoke enough English to help us order and understand and make us feel welcomed. Throughout the afternoon, there were hugs and kisses as people left, and more than once Vito was called from the kitchen to be thanked and complimented.
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The amuse-bouche--"to welcome you," Vito said--deep fried
patates, some with mint, a couple of pizza puffs; about 1700
calories by my reckoning; each |
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| We split a Palermo pesto pasta...walnuts and pistachios instead of pine nuts |
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I had the grilled tuna, of course (Sorry, Charlie); grilled with mint leaves;
wonderful; a revelation |
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Vicki's Sicilian meat roll, beef, cheese, ham, egg, breaded and
deep-fried; I got to eat most of it; not pictured: the Sicilian
contorni, the wine, the espresso...all of it totaling 40E |
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We've never gone wrong with a restaurant proud of its history;
and in English, too |
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| For dessert later, we walked to Cappello pasticceria, near the Royal Palace |
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Cannolli, of course, and Sicilian pistachio cake; a pretty good
food day all told |
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