Plan Your Trip Eat & Drink Like a Local - Sicily - page 75

» Friggitoria - These street food venues range from portable carts pushed through local markets to hole-in-the-wall eat-
eries with small kitchens and limited, informal seating. The common denominator is the emphasis on simple fried
snacks and the ultra-low prices, usually no more than a euro or two.
» Tavola calda - A simple canteen-style eatery serving pre-prepared pasta, meat and vegetable dishes, along with
snacks and panini (bread rolls with simple fillings).
» Bar- caffè - Typically varying its functions depending on the time of day, a bar- caffè will serve coffee and cornetti
(Italian croissants) in the morning, drinks in the afternoon and evening, and sweet and savoury snacks all day long.
Many also serve ice cream.
» Pasticceria (pastry shop) - Typically serves a wide selection of pastries and cakes, including classic Sicilian treats
like cannoli and cassata . Some have a caffè attached, others do not.
» Gelateria (ice cream shop) - One of the best reasons to come to Sicily, generally with a vast rainbow of flavours.
Don't miss gelato e brioche (ice cream served on a roll), a common Sicilian treat.
COFFEE, SICILIAN STYLE
Sicilians take their coffee seriously, and order it in the following ways.
Espresso A tiny cup of very strong black coffee; usually called a caffè or caffè normale
Caffè macchiato An espresso with a dash of milk
Cappuccino Espresso topped with hot foaming milk; only drunk at breakfast or in the mid-morning
Caffè latte Coffee with milk that is steamed but not frothed; an extremely milky version is called a latte macchi-
ato (stained milk); again, only drunk in the morning
Caffè freddo The local version of an iced coffee
Menu Decoder
While tourist-oriented restaurants sometimes provide bilingual menus, you'll be better off
learning some Italian food terminology. Below are a few key terms that will help you de-
cipher Sicilian menus.
» Menu a la carte - choose whatever you like from the menu
» Menu di degustazione - tasting menu, usually consisting of six to eight 'tasting size' courses
» Menu turistico - the dreaded 'tourist menu', a fixed-price, multi-course affair that often signals mediocre fare aimed
at gullible tourists
» Piatto del giorno - dish of the day
» Nostra produzione or fatta in casa - made in house, used to describe anything from pasta to olive oil to liquori (li-
queurs)
» Surgelato - frozen, usually used to denote fish or seafood that has not been freshly caught
» Antipasti - hot or cold appetisers; for a tasting plate of mixed appetisers, request an antipasto misto