Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of scrumptious seasonal antipasti and divine main dishes. Save room for homemade ice
cream and outstanding desserts from Palermo's beloved Pasticceria Cappello.
Piccolo Napoli
( 091 32 04 31; Piazzetta Mulino a Vento 4; meals €25-34; lunch Mon-Sat, dinner Tue-Sat)
Known
throughout Palermo for its fresh seafood, this bustling eatery is another hotspot for serious
foodies. Nibble on toothsome sesame bread and plump olives while perusing the menu for
a pasta dish that catches your fancy, then head to the seafood display (often still wrig-
gling) to choose a second course. The genial owner greets his many regular customers by
name.
SEAFOOD
€€
DON'T MISS
PALERMO'S STREET FOOD
If you were taught that it was bad manners to eat in the street, you can break the rule in good company
here. The mystery is simply how Palermo is not the obesity capital of Europe given just how much
eating goes on! Palermitans are at it all the time: when they're shopping, commuting, discussing busi-
ness, romancing…basically at any time of the day. What they're enjoying is the
buffitieri
- little hot
snacks prepared at stalls and meant to be eaten on the spot.
Kick off the morning with
pane e panelle
, Palermo's famous chickpea fritter sandwich - great for
vegetarians and a welcome change from a sweet custard-filled croissant. You might also want to go
for some
crocchè
(potato croquettes, sometimes flavoured with fresh mint),
quaglie
(literally trans-
lated as quails, they're actually eggplants cut lengthwise and fanned out to resemble a bird's feathers,
then fried) or
sfincione
(a spongy, oily pizza topped with onions and caciocavallo cheese). In summer,
locals also enjoy a freshly baked brioche filled with ice cream or
granite
(crushed ice mixed with
fresh fruit, almonds, pistachios or coffee).
From 4pm onwards the snacks become decidedly more carnivorous and you may just wish you
hadn't read the following translations: how about some barbecued
stigghiola
(goat intestines filled
with onions, cheese and parsley), for example? Or a couple of
pani ca meusa
(bread rolls stuffed with
sauteed beef spleen). You'll be asked if you want your roll
schietta
(single) or
maritata
(married). If
you choose
schietta
, the roll will only have ricotta in it before being dipped into boiling lard; choose
maritata
and you'll get the beef spleen as well.
You'll find street food stalls all over town, especially in Palermo's street markets.
Drinking & Nightlife
Palermo's liveliest clusters of bars can be found along Via Chiavettieri in the Vucciria
neighbourhood (just northwest of Piazza Marina) and in the Champagneria district east of
