Tag: pizza

Postcard from Naples, Italy: Always on the prowl for vegetables

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Large mixed vegetable plate, changing daily, at Un Sorriso Integrale

As seen in an earlier post, seafood often dominated our orders in restaurants. Great seafood often proved easier to locate than the vegetables we found ourselves craving.

Un Sorriso Integrale – Amico Bio Napoli was our salvation. We probably ate there five or six times for vegetable catch-up days. The selection is diverse and always changing to take advantage of the best vegetables of the season. And all are amazingly inexpensive. Always start with a dish of their spicy, truly spicy, fried chickpeas. Rather than make up my mind, I loved getting their mixed plate, which comes with a bowl of soup and six different vegetable combinations. The Mister was hooked on the wok plate. Oh, and a little picante chocolate soufflé to round out the meal.

Trattoria Scugnizzi Vomero antipasti part I
Anonymous Trattoria Gourmet bruschetta
Trattoria Scugnizzi margherita pizza with eggplant
Sorriso Integrale chocolate souffle picante
Trattoria Scugnizzi Vomero antipasti part II
Trattoria Scugnizzi Vomero fried pizza
Anonymous Trattoria Gourmet pasta e patate
Sorriso Integrale vegetable stirfry
Godot Restaurant
Anonymous Trattoria Gourmet paccheri alla bufalina
Antichi Sapori Partenopei eggplant
Anonymous Trattoria Gourmet contorni
Godot Restaurant eggplant parmigiana
gelato
Olio & Pomodoro salad
Olio & Pomodoro split pizza
Sorriso Integrale spicy fried chickpeas
L’Ostricaio zucchini
Sorriso Integrale eggplant
Re Lazzarone chocolate mousse
Re Lazzarone ravioli
Re Lazzarone oriccette with broccoli and speck
Re Lazzarone pearl-like pasta with vegetables
Godot Restaurant croquettes
Sorriso Integrale gilled eggplant, stuffed peppers, fried pumpkin cake
Pizzeria Errico Porzio Vomero genovese and margherita pizzas
Sorriso Integrale falafel

Paccheri, an extra-large tubular pasta, seems to be a favorite regional pasta, with good reason. Antipasti combinations, such as the five-plate selection spread over two photos at Trattoria Scugnizzi Vomero, invite exploration. Two distinctively Neopolitan dishes we tried once but failed to understand their popularity were pasta e patate (pasta and potato is quite a starchy overload) and fried pizza (way too much fried dough).

Most of these restaurants are frequented by locals and were mentioned in the seafood post, so this time around I will just post their links to click in case a photo inspires you to investigate whether to add them to your list of places to try. Since most of these are not tourist-dependent, I am hoping they will survive the current slow-down.

In the Vomero neighborhood:

Trattoria Scugnizzi Vomero

Godot Restaurant

Olio e Pomodoro

Pizzeria Errico Porzio Vomero

In the historic center:

Re Lazzarone Trattoria Contemporanea

Anonymous Trattoria Gourmet

Antichi Sapori Partenenopei

Ristorante L’Ostricaio

 

 

 

 

Postcard from Malaga, Spain: Flavorful alternatives add depth to food scene

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Mariscal, Peruvian-style marinated seafood at Aborigen Restaurante

More than any other location we visited in Andalucia, Malaga seemed willing to embrace global food influences. There were several South American restaurants in the center of the city that took full advantage of the city’s fresh seafood, translating into great ceviche. We made multiple visits to and recommend both Aborigen Restaurante and Andino Gastrobar.

Alexso Restaurante delivers an intimate contemporary experience with excellent service on a level that should soon merit stars, yet without the high prices that characterize those discovered restaurants. Our lunches there included such dishes as moist sea bass perched atop seafood rigatoni, succulent suckling pig and white chocolate flan with violet ice cream.

U Siciliano salad with goat cheese
Vegetariano el Calafate vegetable couscous
U Siciliano vegetable pizza
Aborigen Restaurante fish with root veggetables and quinoa
Andino Gastrobar veggie nachos
Andino Gastrobar tuna ceviche
Andino Gastrobar lamb burger
Canadu apple and pine nut croquetas
Restaurante Alexso smoking amuse bouche of creamy papaya curry
Canadu Persian rice
Andino Gastrobar coconut custard
Vegetariano el Calafate roasted green tomato salad and garbanzo soup
Canadu curried couscous
Andino Gastrobar grilled pulpo
Canadu asparagus and mushroom risotto
Canadu chickpea caldo
Restaurante Alexso sea bass perched atop seafood rigatoni
Aborigen Restaurante steak
Restaurante Alexso brownie
Canadu salad with fruit
Vegetariano el Calafate stuffed eggplant
Radici Osteria Italiana albondigas de tuna rojo
Radici Osteria Italiana spinach ravioli with sage butter
Aborigen Restaurante seafood stew tapa
Radici Osteria Italiana trofie with pesto
Radici Osteria Italiana bruschetta
Restaurante Alexso couscous salad
Andino Gastrobar grilled salmon
Restaurante Alexso suckling pig
Restaurante Alexso white chocolate flan with violet ice cream
Aborigen Restaurante gnocchi with vegetables
U Siciliano eggplant

The Italian restaurants we tried were good as well. The pizza and the saucy eggplant emerging from the oven at U Siciliano Bar Ristorante; the only disappointment was the supply of arancini had run out when we visited. The bruschetta and pastas at Radici Osteria Italia were perfect and the outside tables on a primarily pedestrian street were pleasant, but do not expect lightening-fast service.

Plus Malaga has some vegetarian options. Locals pack Vegetariano el Calafate for their multi-course lunch specials, so reservations are advisable.

The biggest surprise was hidden amongst a row of restaurants lining one side of Plaza Mercedes. The outdoor umbrella-shaded patios provide pleasant people-watching spots so attract a high number of tourists and drinkers. The fresh vegetarian dishes emerging from Canadu were a higher caliber than the offerings of many of its neighbors and inexpensive for such a prime location. Apple and pine nut croquetas, Persian rice, asparagus and mushroom risotto and mountainous fresh salads made us repeat customers.

Postcard from Ronda, Spain: Best croquetas and pizza award?

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croquetas at Gastrobar Deja Vu

Ronda’s hilltop setting is drop-dead gorgeous (photos to come in next post). Unfortunately, that means it is no secret. Hordes of day-trippers from Seville or Malaga descend upon it. Tourists have taken over the old town to the point of forcing most locals to abandon it to live in somewhat “newer” neighborhoods down below.

So most of the restaurants in the historic center cater to tourists, with little need to worry about repeat business. Normally, in places we stay only a couple of days, I do not post separate restaurant reviews.

At this point in time, we had been in Spain about seven weeks. But here, in petite Ronda, we were shocked to find two “bests” in a pair of restaurants. The best croquetas, in our admittedly amateur opinion, and the best pizza we had found in Spain so far.

Gastrobar Deja Vu presented an assortment of croquetas. I think there were squid ink, traditional jamon and two more varieties. The presentation with numerous sauces and salad greens was handsome, and the croquetas were incredibly good. And we tried them twice to make certain.

Everything we had at Deja Vu surpassed expectations, from gorgeous salads to a bison burger. Perfectly cooked salmon with an imaginative combination of vegetables. Remember Fruit Roll-Ups? Deja Vu employed a beet version to wrap up a truffled-up barley risotto like a enchilada. The understated dessert described as a “brownie” consisted of rich chocolate multiple ways. And we enjoyed the hospitably-offered finish of Licor de Hierbas.

If Forno a Legna goat cheese salad
Gastrobar Deja Vu truffled beet and barley risotto
Gastrobar Deja Vu bison burger
Gastrobar Deja Vu salmon
Gastrobar Deja Vu “brownie”
Il Forno a Legna pizza
Gastrobar Deja Vu salad
Gastrobar Deja Vu Licor de Hierbas
Il Forno a Legna bruschetta
Il Forno a Legna vegetable pizza

And pizza? We cannot blame Spain for not living up to our unrealistic expectations for that. If we want pizza, we should go to Naples (where I am now typing this). But here, in little Ronda, we encountered the first one to appeal to us on that trip. Prepared by an Italian on the main tourist row of restaurants, the pizza at Il Forno a Legna hit the spot.