September 7, 2011

Cefalù, Sicily. May, 1988


I’m not angry. On the contrary. I’m posing. Nick and I had just arrived in this town on the northern coast of Sicily, checked into our hotel and headed into the centro to have lunch. I had remembered from an earlier trip this waterfront (actually its terraza is perched out over the water) restaurant that was inexpensive and good, Lo Scoglio Ubriaco. I can’t remember what we had to start, but I do remember the excellent pesce fresco alla griglia, the freshest fish, grilled and served head-on, natch. Evidently the ristorante, whose name translates as “the drunken rock,” continues to be a good bet; it’s rated #14 among Cefalù restaurants on TripAdvisor as I write this. And it still specializes in the local fresh grilled catch. The place is easy to find: just follow the Corso toward the water and you’ll wind up at the front door. If you decide to go, have the fish. And maybe the 3”x3” sheets of deep-fried chickpea dough, too. Oh, and the insalata mista. And....

1 comment:

  1. Hi Sandy,

    You're a natural! That Look would have any properly informed gentleman in Rhode Island diving to the floor, phoning home for a few last words with the kids and smoothly propelling the evening's bimbo to the front so she can serve her natural God-given role as a bullet-proof jacket.

    However, as regards your Sicily photo, I do must say that the seating location and attire somewhat undoes the effect.

    Years ago, I loved going to The Arch restaurant in Providence. The food was Italia Mia, I never was once informed of the name or court status of my waiter and the only way you knew there were specials was to know that you needed to ask. Best of all, I could always find my favorite seating location -- by the window -- where I could watch the rest of the world parade by.

    Then, right outside of my favorite Arch window, the mob performed a mercy killing. This means, in case you were wondering, that the victim ate first. I wish I had been there. According to the media reports, the shots were spaced within a quarter inch within the skull. A nice professional killing, so I would have been in no danger. And it would have added a certain -- how shall we say -- cachet to this story.

    Nevertheless, I still learned a few things that they didn't teach me in college:
    1) I mean, sitting in sunlight on a pier - are you out of your mind?
    2) Blue shirts don'e hide the bulges. That's why gentlemen wear jackets.
    3) If you're really so smart, figure out a way to keep three walls to your back. All the rest of us do two. Strive for excellence!
    4) You had the snails. He had the snails. You are alive. He is dead. Life is good.

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