Page 57 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

at €15–30.

Traditionally, lunch (pranzo) or dinner (cena) starts with an antipasto (literally
“before the meal”), at its best when you circle around a table and help yourself to a
cold buffet selection. If you’re moving on to pasta and the main course you’ll need
quite an appetite to tackle the antipasti as well. Otherwise, the menu starts with soup
or pasta, il primo, and moves on to il secondo, the meat or fish dish. Note that fish will
either be served whole (like bream or trout) or by weight (usually per 100g, all’etto,

like swordfish and tuna), so ask to see what you’re going to eat and check the price
first. The second course is generally served unadorned, except for a wedge of lemon
or tomato – contorni (vegetables and salads) are ordered and served separately, and
often there won’t be much choice beyond chips and salad. If there’s no menu, the
verbal list of what’s available can sometimes be a bit bewildering, but if you don’t

hear anything you recognize just ask for what you want: everywhere should have pasta
with tomato or meat sauce. Dessert (dolci) is almost always fresh fruit, fruit salad or
ice cream, though restaurants may also have a choice of cakes, tarts and puddings –
unfortunately, though, many of these are mass-produced (by such brands as Ranieri),
and a restaurant tiramisù or cassata, say, can be a poor substitute for the real thing.

Although Sicily has hardly any specifically vegetarian restaurants, most pasta
sauces are based on tomatoes or dairy products, and it’s easy to pick a pizza that is
meat- (and fish-) free. Pizzas are also available without cheese, though soups are
usually made with a fish or meat broth.

In many places, the bill (il conto) doesn’t amount to much more than an illegible
scrap of paper so, if you want to be sure you’re not being ripped off, ask for a receipt

(una ricevuta). Nearly everywhere, you’ll pay a small cover charge per person for
the bread (pane e coperto); service (servizio) will be added as well in many
restaurants – it’s usually ten percent, though fifteen or even twenty percent isn’t
unheard of. If service isn’t charged, leaving ten percent would do, though most
pizzerias and trattorias won’t expect it.

SICILIAN TIME

Sicily is a part of Europe where time is still a fluid concept, so giving accurate
opening hours for bars, cafés and restaurants is difficult. In general, daytime bars

and cafés open around 7.30am for breakfast and close at 8.30–9.30pm, depending on
how busy they are. Restaurants will usually be able to feed you if you turn up at
noon, but expect to be eating alone – traditional lunchtime is 1–3pm here. In the
evening, most restaurants open around 8pm, and are at their busiest at around 9–
9.30pm. In winter most restaurants continue serving until at least 10pm, but in
summer – especially in holiday places – they will carry on for as long a there are