Things have been super busy over here lately and I haven’t been able to even come close to keeping up with the travel posts here. Im going to try to at least get the big trips posted soon. This post is going to be part 1 of 3 for our trip to Prague. I took a ton of pictures there and didn’t want to cram it all into one post. I actually took all the pictures with my iphone as well. I didn’t want to lug Continue reading “Prague 1 – Intro to Goulash Country”
Ricotta Cheese Farm
We decided to make some cheese…haha.  There was an outing to a local cheese farm that has some of the best Ricotta in Sicily. Part of the deal was that we were able to watch and get involved with the whole process, which was pretty cool.
Agrigento Sicily – Valley of the Temples
Agrigento is a place that every visitor of Sicily should try to make. Especially if you are into archeological things. Agrigento is well known for its well preserved Greek temples that date back to 580 B.C. !! Now I understand why they call America the New World.  Wikipedia has a page about Agrigento that has a lot of information (LINK).
We stayed the weekend in Agrigento to make sure that we got all the sights in. Plus its about a 2 hour drive from where we are on the island. I was excited because one of the few surf stores was supposed to be in Agrigento, but after searching Continue reading “Agrigento Sicily – Valley of the Temples”
Cooking Lesson: Pesce al Sale
There was an outing organized for a cooking lesson at a downtown Catania restaurant called Ristorante Crociferi. I was lucky enough to get the day off of work, but Jess was not able to join in. The lesson was Pesce al Sale (Salt Fish), which is a very traditional Sicilian dish. This marked the first time that I tried the dish let alone made it.
Surprisingly it is very easy to make. You basically make a salt paste with coarse and fine salt mixed with water. You then cover a cleaned out whole fish with the paste and bake it. The coating of salt traps all of the moisture and fish flavor and makes for a very tasty dish…. surprisingly the fish does not taste salty!
We had a great lunch paired with our fish. Thanks to Ristorante Crociferi for allowing crazy Americans to come into their kitchen.
Ristorante Crociferi
Piazza S. Francesco 14 Catania
http://www.ristoranteicrociferi.com/
Murgo Winery
The weather in Sicily is perfect right now. The island is turning green very quickly with all of the vegetation starting to grow. Also it is too early in the year for the tourists to start their occupation of Sicily. With all this in mind, Jess and I really wanted to explore and find a new winery. We heard of a winery that was pretty close to where we live. We tried to organize a little group to share in the experience, but it turned into an episode of herding cats. 🙂 . So we decided to just fly solo and serve as the guinea pigs for the group. Luckily we were greeted very warmly at Murgo winery and Continue reading “Murgo Winery”
La Curva – Capo Mulini Sicily
Jess and I actually went to this restaurant back in January, but Im just getting around to the post. Its not easy having all these places to go and then actually writing about them…. its a happy problem. 🙂 .  Im going to keep this short and sweet and say that this restorante is a great nearby restaurant for seafood. Its a bit pricier than your local pizzeria, but you have to change it up from time to time. This restaurant is in a town called Capo Mulini, which you can see from our porch looking down at the water.  Its in between Acitrezza and Acireale. During the summer this town is swamped with people since its right on the water and all the tourists are in town.  We figured this would be a great time to try it out and we got lucky with a very sunny and warm January day.
La Curva’s food is all about seafood, so if your not into that.. “foget abaat ittt.” Luckily I have gotten Jess to drink the seafood kool aid so to speak and she is now a legitimate seafood person. Especially after this meal where I had her try “Alici Marinate” (Marinated sardines) and “Insalata di polpo” (Octopus salad)… and she liked it!!! The food was prepared so well that it is easy to like. The highlights of the meal for me were the antipasti that I mentioned above and the Donna Fugata wine that we had.  My entree, “Cous Cous di Mare” (Seafood cous cous) was good, but I was really expecting something out of this world. Jess had “Ravioli di pesce spada” (Swordfish raviolis), which she liked.
http://www.trattorialacurva.com/menu.htm
Trattoria la Curva – Via Nissoria – Capo Mulini – Acireale – Catania
Click on the first image for the slideshow.
La Banchina – Nighttime Pane Condito – Catania
My hockey teammates have a ritual of going out to get food after practice during the week. Keep in mind that our practices usually end around 11pm. This is another example of the difference in culture in that most Americans dont have a regular midnight meal. 🙂 One of the favorite spots is La Banchina where we get a delicious Pane Condito. Pane Condito translates to “Seasoned Bread”, but the reality is that its a huge doughnut shaped sandwich that is thrown in the pizza oven. You have all different options in terms of the contents of the sandwich that range from all the usual Italian suspects like pomodoro, prosciutto crudo, salame, and mozzarella. Pictures of menu are below.
You can find many places that serve Pane Condito around Sicily and the Catania area. La Banchina (Translates to “the pier”) is located just outside of downtown Catania (Via del rotolo 42, Catania) My teammates seem to prefer this particular place and I can see why. The Pane Condito has a great balance of flavor between the bread and the fillings. If I need to be rolled off the plane when I return back to the States 300 lbs. heavier, this will probably be one of the reasons.  When in Sicily right?
Click on the first image below for the slideshow
IL Tocco – Acireale
Our friends Aaron and Ashley told us about this place and we were excited to try it with them. IL Tocco is in a great location of Acireale, the neighboring town to ours. (Via dello ionio, 38 ) The restaurant is perched up high on a point along the coastline and has some amazing panoramic views. Also adding to the ambiance is the feeling that you are in a giant tree house. There are big trees that are growing right in the middle of the restaurant.
The food was on point and the pizza was the best that we had so far in Sicily!
Here is a link to their website:Â http://www.iltocco.it/
Click the first picture below for the slideshow:
Ristorante Al Cavalier Roxy – Catania
Im trying to catch up on posts. I have so many pictures over the past few months that I haven’t been able to get to…. Slowly but surely. This post is about a visit Jess and I did to Catania one afternoon and evening. It was cool walking around town in the evening because the stores really come alive. If you were to walk around Catania between the hours of 1-4pm you would only see closed storefronts for the most part.
We had a late lunch at a place called Ristorante Al Cavalier Roxy. (Piazza Federico di Svevia, 51  95121 Catania) This place was in a great location right across from the Castle that is downtown Catania. Right when you walk in you’re greeted by a super long antipasto buffet with all different types of items. Good start. Also of note is that there are many pictures of celebrities that have visited on the walls… sometimes a good sign. It was a good lunch … not the best but not bad. It was crazy how busy it got during our meal… when we first arrived we were the only customers and by the end the place was jammed and I couldn’t get a hold of the overwhelmed waiters. It must be a pretty popular place.
Seeing the duomo and other sights at night was a completely new experience in our nearby big city.