Rome, Naples, Sicily restaurant suggestions

We’ll be off to Italy later this spring, and I’d be grateful for any dining suggestions folks might have for the above-mentioned places. There’s very good stuff in the archives, I know, but am greedy for any additional information people would like to share. In Rome, we’ll be in the Piazza Navona area. In Sicily, we’ll be staying in Piazza Armineria, Siracusa, Modica, Agrigento, Selinunte, Scoppelo and Palermo. Many thanks!

Don’t miss Don Camillo in Siracusa! Fantastic food and an amazing wine list:

Oh, and in Noto:
Trattoria del Crocifisso da Baglieri
Via Principe Umberto 48

I did not manage to eat there because it was closed, but it is highly recommended.

Thanks much!

Trattoria Nenella, Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo, 105 in the middle of the Quartieri Spagnoli in Napoli.
A very amusing experience!

In Rome, we enjoyed Cave di S. Ignazio da Sabatino, Armando al Pantheon and La Osteria de Gusto. The first two were near the Pantheon and the third a bit up the street from that area. Armando and Gusto also had great wine lists (we had a bottle of 2011 Occhipinti at Armando and a 1998 Mascarello Giuseppe e Figlio Barolo Monprivato at Gusto). We did well following the recommendations of Michel Abood. Rome Questions - Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum - WineBerserkers Happy to discuss with you at any time.

Thanks!

I appreciate the info, Howard (and Mr. Abood!). Getting very psyched about this trip. Will be meeting some Aussie cousins in Rome and Sicily, and want to take them one night in Rome to a classy place.

http://www.salumeriaroscioli.com/

Randy, in Rome, check out Roscioli - a number of your fellow Board members have visited (including myself twice), and reviews are always good. The Burrata appetizer with cracked black pepper and sun-dried tomatoes may have been the single best thing I consumed my entire trip , and you can literally feel your arteries hardening while eating the spaghetti carbonara .

High praise, indeed!

If you go to La Osteria de Gusto, there is a wine store kind of behind or to the side of the restaurant. My recollection is that you can browse the shop (wife permitting) and buy a bottle from there rather than the wine list (with a small upcharge if I remember correctly).

As I think we told you last week Randy, for tours in Rome, try Through Eternity. http://througheternity.com/

Randall,

one more suggestion for Sicily. By chance I just read a recommendation of this restaurant in an Italian wine publication. I have never been there, but the restaurant has two Michelin stars and has been recommended also by the Wall Street Journal:

so it sounds like it’s worth a try. It is located in Ragusa Ibla, another beautiful town of the Sicilian baroque.
You have only Modica listed in your tour, but Noto, Ragusa Ibla, Scicli are all worth a visit.
Yes, I know there are time constraints…

Are you interested in the high-end, price-is-no object places in Roma?

Randall, you are going to some of my favourite places on earth.

As Goethe said Sicily is the true Italy and Napoli has a similar magnificent, atavistic feel. As these places are a blend of cultures, the cuisine is excellent.

Off the top of my head, three memorable meals (I may be able to add more later if I can find more names in my photos and notes):

Catania, Antica Marina: a historic fish restaurant on the edge of one of the oldest and best fish markets in Europe. Only (superb) seafood dishes and desserts (rustic setting) http://www.anticamarina.it

Palermo, Antica Focacceria di San Francesco: one of the oldest restaurants in Sicily, once Sicily’s Parliament. Eat inside on paper plates with the locals, not outside with the tourists. If you dare try the speciality (spleen sandwich, disgusting) http://www.afsf.it/

Naples, Ristorante Bellini (Via Costantinapoli 79/80), have the house speciality linguine al cartoccio, photo below:

Looks interesting, Howard–thanks! Understand Context Rome also is good for walking tours.

I certainly am, Bill! I’m hoping to persuade my wife to go to at least one, but that’s always a tricky negotiation.

Thanks again! We’ll be in Modica for two nights, which I’m hoping will give us enough time for good looks at Scicli and Ragusa. We’ll
see Noto on a day trip from Siracusa, if all proceeds according to plan.

Thanks, Howard–that’s quite an appealing photo! Not sure about the spleen sandwich concept……

Anthony Bourdain liked it, me not so much. His programme is worth a watch: