from Dublin to........Mirissa, Sri Lanka: Surprising Palermo, Italy

I think it is challenging to describe Palermo in a few words. Some had said it is just a bigger version of Catania (or vice versa). That didn’t sit too well with me given my dislike for Catania. Despite saying that, they also said they liked it. How was that possible?

Sure, it had the dirty, dark, dingy streets of Catania but many of these were transformed into busy markets during the day selling fresh fish and vegies, or in the evening selling street food where unassuming roller doors unveiled small bars and cafes.

Palermo, being the capital of Sicily, also has its ritzy side. Expensive fashionable stores lining major boulevards, pleasant neighbourhood and white linen restaurants. Most impressive was the quality of the food. Almost everywhere is good. The food is a bit unusual at times. A strange mix of Italian and African influences. For the most part it worked, but you will invariably get a few surprises. Seafood, eggplant, capers and almonds dominate menus, with a peasant style to it all.

Some things to look out for are caponata (an eggplant dish that I have seen described in English as sweet and sour, that I think would be better served warm) and its many variants (try the swordfish one), stuffed calamari, parmigiana (eggplant of course), baked pastas, stewed calamari, almond anything…..just not pizza with chips on it! Even had a parmigiana pizza. The pasticcerias are something else, loaded with so many colourful treats. I don’t know where to begin with recommendations. Try something different every time (I haven’t been doing this unfortunately as I can’t get past the ricotta cannolis!).

A couple of ‘must-do’s’ are:

- Piazza Caracciou / Piazza Carraffello at night (near the intersection of Via Roma and Vittoria Emanuele). Full of pop-up street food vendors and bars (even a random DJ under some scaffolding on the Friday night). In Piazza Caracciou there is a vendor selling fried seafood. Select what you want. They will then dust it in flour and drop it in the oil. Pay by weight. €5-7 for a decent sized plate for one. Careful with the tiny cuttlefish – they still have their hard cuttle in them – I was wondering what that crunch was (all edible I assume and a good source of calcium). And next to them you have the ‘grilled meat’ men. Again, select your poison and it will be grilled on the spot. Warning, the long skewers with breaded round things on them are in fact goat’s intestines. The girls ordered them without realising. Quite tasty but pure fatty goodness. Maybe try just one. They also make a schnitzel roll which gets my thumbs up. Plenty of places sell cheap drinks, including one place between Piazza Caracciou and Piazza Domenica that has glasses of decent prosecco for only €1.00! Absolute bargain!!! The hostel owner who kindly showed us these places (and paid for it all!) said the same drink would cost €5.00 at a decent bar. The bar is only a few doors up from Piazza Caracciou on the right. It should be easy to spot at night as it will be the busiest place there. Very basic inside….no tables that I recall seeing, just a standing bar and the scummy outside path. Other outdoor bars sell large beers for €1.50. For around €10.00 you can have a good feed and half a skin full. What could be better?

- Via Bora, a laneway running between Teatro Massimo and Via Roma. Packed with cafes and restaurants. A great place to escape from the chaos of Palermo. Has some very inviting restaurants….too many to choose from, and plenty of cafes, come bars, in the evening. The hostel owner Giuseppe walked me to his favourite place (Da lilla e totuccio, about halfway down – at least that is what I think it is called as that was written on the wall next to the door) along that street where he takes his family. There is no seating inside – you sit on the laneway under umbrellas. It’s a buffet restaurant (which always raises an eyebrow for me), with all the food carefully displayed outside over no less than eight tables. Must have been around 30-40 different dishes to choose from. Ridiculous amount of food. Everything looked really tasty. The senora brought around a fresh batch of lasagne when I arrived and proceeded to fill up a plate with it. This turned out to be mine. Guess I was eating there. I hadn't even sat down yet. €10.00 all you can eat. I’d had a buffet lunch that day too….two buffets in a day….this was going to hurt. The spread included:

o Sardines done four ways

o Eggplant three ways

o At least a dozen vegie and salad options plus olives, capers, anchovies etc

o Whole fried fish

o Calamari four ways

o Swordfish

o Octopus

o Baked potatoes

o Mussels

o And of course the lasagne – the best I’ve ever had! Had a second helping that pushed me over the edge.

o Oh, and schnitzel (Milanese)

Eat here on an empty stomach and you won’t be disappointed. It’s home cooking at its best.

- The lunch buffet I referred to was at Antica focacceria San Francesco, opposite Chiesa San Francesco. Established in 1834, it must be good if it is still running amongst so much competition right? Stand in line, grab your tray and order the specials of that day. Separate to the buffet counter was a guy making stewed meat rolls. I couldn’t work out exactly what the meat was, but a guy in front of me was hoovering one down and it looked vaguely like tongue which was quite possible in Sicily. The locals were knocking them back thick and fast. Had the eggplant caponata and a baked rigatoni pasta (think was cauliflower and perhaps artichoke). Both were ok but see what is available if passing by. Somebody please try that roll. It looks so good and I wanna know what is in it!

- Ballaro Market. It seemed to just snake its way through laneway after laneway. Most of it looked of reasonable quality as well. You could buy everything there….fish, meat, veg, deli stuff. Great if you are self-catering. You can watch the old school butchers preparing cuts of meat exactly to the buyers specifications and listening to the fishmongers joking between each other. Liked it, even though I couldn’t buy anything. Why would I cook for myself here anyway?

Some suggested day trips (that I didn’t do as the weather was too cold and miserable):

- San Vito lo Capo Spiaggio – Supposedly the best beach in all of Italy. Photos looked quite amazing.

- Cefalu – A fabulous looking seaside town (saw it from the train) with a decent stretch of beach to boot.

Other things I didn’t get to try:

- Ice-cream made with ricotta

- And some wines: Malvasia (a sweet wine from Salina in the Aeolian Islands – dip in some sesame biscuits); Rosolio; Nacatuli and Spicchitedda (sweet)….all Sicilian.