Page 137 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

“nubile”) or topped with fresh ricotta and caciocavallo cheese (maritatu,

“married”). Meanwhile, any old-fashioned friggittoria (deep-fry takeaway) – and
there are still plenty in Palermo – serves up arancini (savoury rice balls), pane e
pannelle (chickpea-flour fritter served in a bread roll) and crocchè (potato
croquettes with anchovy and caciocavallo cheese). I Cuochini wins our vote for

street food, but markets too are a great place to sample all these kinds of street
food, especially at Ballarò market (in Piazza del Carmine), at Vecchio Borgo and
along Via Sant’Agostino. The Ballarò market, in particular, has a few very basic
hosterie – wooden tables scattered around the market stalls – where you can
accompany your snack with a beer or two.

CAFÉS AND SNACK OUTLETS

Casa Obatola Via Alloro 16 091 982 4442; map. Relaxing little bar with seats
outside on a piazzetta below Via Alloro, good for a rest before or after visiting the
nearby Galleria Regionale. Delicious sandwiches (from €3) and salads, and good
pastries. Mon–Sat 8am–9pm.

I Cuochini Via Ruggero Settimo 68 091 581 158; map. Diminutive, spick-and-span
frigittoria – all gleaming white tiles and zinc – founded in 1826, and concealed within

an arched gateway (the only sign is a small ceramic plaque). Panzerotti (deep-fried
pastries, stuffed with tomato, mozzarella and anchovy, or aubergine, courgette and
cheese), arancini (with ragù, or with cheese and ham), pasticcino (a sweet pastry
with minced meat), timballini di pasta (deep-fried pasta), besciamelle fritte
(breadcrumbed and deep-fried bechemel) and the like – all at €0.70 a portion. Mon–
Sat 8.30am–2.30pm.

Franco ’U Vastiddaru Piazza Marina (no phone); map. Palermitani street food such
as pane e panelli, arancini, crocchè and pane con la milza (pane ca meusa in
Sicilian) – which you can eat at plastic tables on plastic plates with plastic knives and
forks, on the busy corner of Piazza Marina and Via Vittorio Emanuele. Daily lunch &
dinner.

Friggitoria Chiluzzo Piazza Kalsa (no phone); map. Stand under a canopy, drink beer

from a bottle, and eat pane and pannelle from a paper wrapping. Daily from morning
until late.

Ima Sushi Rinascente, Via Roma/Piazza San Domenico 091 610 7811,
www.rinascente.it; map. If you want to pretend you’re not in Palermo for a while
(and it happens), head up to this sushi bar on the fourth floor of the Rinascente
department store. Colour-coded plates of sushi, California rolls and sashimi on the

obligatory conveyor belt, priced at between €2.50 and €7.50. Daily 9am–midnight.