The interior courtyard open to the any is a very unusual layout for the US. The interior stairs that are technically still outside remind me of the Bradley building, somehow.
We strolled over to the start of today's street food tour. The guide took us to various Palermo-specific (and not even just Sicily specific) food traditions and dosed out history and context along the way.
1. Frittola
Boiled and then fried beef offal. As usual with tripe, the first taste is extremely pungent. But once you get going, the aroma stabilizes and you can enjoy the beefy umami flavors. It was a hit for me much more so than the rest of the group. Apparently, there's few vendors left who sell frittola, and it's mostly family traditional business supporting people who work at the open markets.
2. Sfincione
A dish similar to pizza, but again very Palermo specific. The street vendors make a version without anchovies, and just a dusting of cheese over the tomato paste, which itself isn't that thick.
3. Panelle and arancine
The arancini you might be familiar with is adapted from the Sicilian original, which was an Arab risotto-like creation turned into street food via rolling into a ball and frying a crust on.
The specimen we tried was really good, with a filling of carrots, peas?, and ground beef. The couple from Milan was puzzled by arancine being a feminine noun instead of masculine.
The panelle were adequate, but the chickpea flour is too dry and bland on its own to work taste miracles.
The shop in the Capo market has run out of crochette, a potato croquette. We found some later to try, and it was also a bit bland.
4. Spleen and lung sandwich
This was a huge hit for me. Far less organy than other organ meats I've tried. Unlike the frittola, this food is popular beyond the working class. The grated Parmesan really helps modulate the gaminess that can happen with organs. The texture is quite like roast beef -- not unusual at all.
Glad these were fried in pork fat (another way to mellow the flavor?) so that I could get Muslimah's portion.
5. Gelato
Nothing crazily different here. I think it's hard to mess gelato up, and these were easily satisfying. The shop we went to offered many fruit flavors, all of which used actual fruit in season. I had a pear and dark chocolate, and the pear grittiness was definitely there.
Cannoli
There was no cannoli on the tour. I asked the guide for a rec, and we went to that place. The cannoli that we have in the US are the Sicilian variety, which are labeled Cannoli Siciliano in the other places we've been. The regular cannoli apparently uses some flaky dough and cream. The guide emphasized that getting the ricotta cream right was crucial to a good cannoli. The ones we tried were really good, but still a touch on the sweet side for me.
After the tour, we went back to the AirBnB, checked on our laundry air drying on the balcony, and took a long unplanned nap. A couple hours later, we woke to early dinner time. We decided to try both a seafood place and a pizza place.
We walked over to a seafood restaurant that the food tour guide had pointed out. They hadn't quite opened for dinner, so we went over to get some grilled lamb offal.
This was truly delicious for me. The flavor was very deep and rich. The tough soon gave way to a mealy/grainy inside. The texture made Muslimah a non-fan. I might get some more tomorrow.
After that snack, we walked back to the restaurant and ordered the 5 course tasting option. Or gustation, as our waiter called it. The restaurant definitely had some modern pretentious trappings about it, like a bar directly across the prep area, relatively haute menu writeup, and lengthy wine consultation.
1. Yellowtail tartare
Delicate and at just the right temperature. There was just a dot of horseradish sauce, which worked really well with the delicate fish, but I ended up wanting a lot more of it.
2. Grilled octopus
This came with a few drizzled sauces, but the octopus was grilled too hot, leading to a tough skin - undercooked core gradient. It was good, but I've had much better.
3. Spaghetti with tuna and lemon sauce
The sauce was good, even if lemon still seems too strong of a note when it's a primary flavor. The pasta was too far on the al dente side, even with my expanded tolerance for that while traveling in the Gallic state. It would have been excellent if it was just ordinary al dente.
4. Fish soup
A mix of shrimp, squid, clams, and fish. Nothing tricky here, just a generous sprinkling of saffron to bring the sauce home. It's a dish that anyone could make if they were willing to shell out for the spice. In Palermo, it's dirt cheap, according to our food guide.
5. Brownie and almond parfait
The brownie had some ridiculous name on the menu, so I didn't know what I was getting until I saw it. It was a solid combination of sweet and soft, with a dense, fine flour baked just right.
Muslimah's almond parfait was extremely almond tasting, but I'd consider that a success.
When we left, we ran into the friendly Milanese couple from the food tour. I felt like I had to render judgment on the restaurant when they asked us how it was. I guess I would say it was great for the price (50 Euros for 5 decently portioned courses), but it wasn't perfect. The highlights outshined the lowlights, though.
The pizza place was not good enough to spend time with up. The walking around a very bustling nightlife in the streets was worth it, though.
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