where to eat? 10 (delicious) stages not to be missed – Italian Cuisine


A journey from North to South among enchanted villages, farms, trabucchi, terraces overlooking the sea. With the special addresses of Antonia Klugmann

The most sought after destination on the web, in this particular summer 2020, the Puglia continues to seduce for its irresistible mix of nature, archaeological beauties, beaches with Caribbean charm. It is on its coast that we focus, with small but (worth it) digressions in the first hinterland. About 865 km of route, between rocky spurs, cliffs overlooking the sea and beaches. A gustatory path studded with jewel-villages that becomes culture, through a wealth of food and wine products and traditions that here become art.

Puglia: restaurants to try

1) PESCHICI (FG)

This small enchantment in the province of Foggia, in the northernmost point of the coast, in the middle of the Gargano National Park, conquers with the remains of the Moorish era, the white sand coasts, such as the Bay of Manacora, with its fine sand framed by rocks. The historic center, between alleys of pale stone, offers the scent of maritime pines and caper flowers. With a short walk you will arrive at the castle, enclosed within the walls of the Baronial enclosure, a building founded in the year 1000 by the Normans, now partly open to visitors from which you can enjoy a breathtaking sunset. A gem are the seven trebuchets that can be admired along this stretch of coast, a traditional fishing system of Peschiciani, characterized by poles driven into the rocks and ropes that hold a net that, dropped into the water, traps the fish passing from the North to the South of the 'Adriatic: today some of these have been transformed into delightful restaurants. A curiosity: the last remaining Trabbuchists still living in the village, members of the Ottaviano, Marino and Fasanella families.

Stop here:

Porta di Basso Restaurant

Porta di Basso Restaurant
The restaurant of chef Domenico Cilenti (in the Michelin guide) is worth a visit, with a spectacular small terrace with 8 tables overlooking the cliff, 100 m above sea level with a splendid view of the Tremiti islands. Do not miss tubes with sea urchin foam, perhaps to combine with one of the 200 paper labels. The cuisine, which is very attentive to the materials of the territory, contemplates the use of many wild herbs, including glasswort, which grows in the nearby lagoon. An intimate place, in the historic center set up under the lime and stone vaults of an ancient oil mill. www.portadibasso.com

2) VIESTE

Framed by a rural landscape with natural woods and dry stone walls on one side and the blue sea, this pearl of the Gargano seems to merge with the coast. The Bay of Marina Piccola, in the center, is one of the treasures to admire, together with the Pizzomunno, an imposing limestone monolith that stands out on the beach south of the town. The historic center, enclosed by thick defensive walls of medieval times, with its white houses, stands on a spur overlooking the sea and extends from Marina Piccola to Punta San Francesco, the beautiful peninsula with the characteristic religious complex dating back to 1438. To do: a walk through the irregular alleys, dotted with lookout points and squares, with the characteristic terraced houses marked in the façade by small balconies (called “mignali”) and joined by characteristic arches.

Stop here:

Plain of Battle
Gourmet Pizza 10 minutes by car from the center of Vieste a small farmhouse immersed in a suggestive atmosphere given by the woods at the foot of the Umbra Forest. l well-cooked traditional dishes and more than 30 pizzas, cooked in an olive wood oven. Try the Fior di Zucchini with pumpkin, anchovies, rocket pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes. The same property manages Il Capriccio, a wine bar with raw seafood and a contemporary restaurant (in the Michelin guide) of chef Leonardo Viscero in the city's tourist port. Accents of fusion and local ingredients betray the chef's many experiences abroad. Must try Rice, potatoes and mussels: a whole different story where the Apulian classic becomes potato gnocchi with mussels, courgette caviar and rice popcorn.

To the Dragon

To the Dragon
The rooms of this restaurant (in the Michelin guide), once a stable, which takes its name from the ferocious privateer Dragut Rais, who made raids here in 1500, are set up inside a natural cave. Historic restaurant, run by Pasquale Troiano with his wife Rosetta, includes traditional local dishes (excellent, the Pancotto del Gargano and the Culatello di Faeto) revisited with calmness. Nourished the list of desserts, totally homemade. The restaurant also includes a small b & b overlooking the Romanesque cathedral of Vieste.

3) MANFREDONIA

Town overlooking the gulf of the same name, the largest in the central-southern Adriatic, in the middle of Tavoliere, owes its name to Manfredi di Sicilia, son of Emperor Frederick II, who founded it in the 13th century (the wonderful Aragonese Swabian castle and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Siponto), has a strong agricultural and fishing tradition. About 20 km of coastline and a large marina make it one of the most populated seaside towns.

Stop here:

Red Coppola
Vaulted ceilings and a family atmosphere for this historic family-run rustic restaurant (two generations in the kitchen: father and two children). On the menu, the classics of the Sipontine tradition and the fish of the Gulf as well as some local gems including the famous Caciocavallo Podolico del Gargano, Slow Food presidium.

Osteria Baccolicchio
Named after the arch of the same name under which the entrance rises, a typical tavern, not far from the old port, in a very suggestive alley to taste traditional dishes with an extra twist. Do not miss the burnt wheat orecchiette with broccoli, canestraio and crusco pepper, to eat first of all with your eyes or the "I want all seafood" appetizer with the chef's proposals of the day.
Vicolo Arco Boccolicchio n.15 Manfredonia (Fg) Tel. 0884 090317

4) TRANI

True gastronomic paradise, it has 6 restaurants in the Michelin guide, 2 of which are starred. Capital, together with Barletta and Andria, of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, it counts among its beauties the imposing Swabian castle, in addition to the Romanesque cathedral and numerous well-preserved noble residences. The enchanting port, for a stroll at sunset and an aperitif by the sea, perhaps with a glass of Moscato di Trani. Nearby, the Alta Murgia park, with its Mediterranean scents, dotted with farms.

Stop here:

Stefano Di Gennaro

Quintessence
A Michelin star, run by the 4 Di Gennaro brothers, this place shines with deep local historical-family traditions. Essential and elegant interiors offer irresistible reinterpretations of local products. An example? Sheep ricotta tortelli with Trani muscat bisque and Gallipoli red prawns or the sweet Farmer's Breakfast, a reinterpretation of the poor snack based on bread and ricotta, a typical shepherds' food.
www.quintessenzaristorante.it

MEMORIES by Felix Lo Basso
Another brilliant Michelin star. Also owner of a Milanese restaurant, in Trani this chef follows the course of the seasons and sweetly familiar memories «Memories is born from the nostalgia for my land, its products and the desire to go home, he explains. Not a menu but 3 tasting courses: "Traveling around the sea" where he enjoys citing his experiences abroad, "Tradition vs innovation" and "For meat lovers".
www.memorie-felixlobasso.it

Osteria Frangipane
«On the edge of the historic center, a tavern run by two young brothers, Sara and Ivan, with a very clear objective: to offer local fish products with taste and imagination; pleasantly informal environment. Three very nice rooms in the nearby bed and breakfast “Radici” .
osteriafrangipane.it

Le Lampare al Fortino
Here, in every season, the show is always guaranteed, whether you eat on the veranda with a 180 ° view of the beautiful harbor, or inside a former church converted into a fort. Wine list proposed with a selection of cigars, a tasting menu in tribute to the sea. Try the mullet in crust with Spanish panzanella and pepper from Piquillo, piccolapoesia.
lelamparealfortino.it

5) MOLFETTA

This town in the Bari area has a huge "liquid" square, the port, which has the high stones of the thirteenth-century cathedral with its tall towers as a backdrop. The sea itself has brought here the sense of elsewhere, of the continuous and centuries-old mixing of people and cultures, of techniques and goods. The ancient center, with the shelters of pilgrims leaving for the Holy Land, the beautiful Baroque churches, the Neolithic site of Pulo is perfect for wandering. The port neighborhoods, made up of narrow alleys, reveal a small casbah; the nineteenth-century city with its cafes, shops, the hustle and bustle is instead the site of the "sacred" southern promenade.

Stop here:

The Old Gazebo

The Old Gazebo
Indulge in one of the 70 gourmet pizzas in local sauce, served in wedges on wooden trays, of this rustic place also marked in the Via Michelin. La Salentina, Senatore Cappelli dough, with mixed salad, fennel carpaccio and raw Gallipoli prawns, and Alta Murgia, a mixture of multigrain flour with valerian, stracciatella from Andria, pony frays and Alta Murgia truffles, are not to be missed. Taste to believe.
tel 080.334.4877

TINELLI, perfumes of Puglia
This company, an oil producer, was also awarded the prestigious international World Olive Competition award on the land owned by Antonia Klugmann's cousins ​​(the cook's maternal grandfather, Antonio Bartoli was originally from here): their Fior d'ulivo Lagolungo is in fact considered one of the best extra virgin in the world. Early harvest by hand, two local cultivars (the Cima di Bitonto and Coratina olive) as well as biological and innovative techniques, make this small reality a jewel. Also try the almonds, cedar jam or cooked figs, delicious transformations of the fruit grown here.
tinellifarm.it

6) POLIGNANO A MARE

The white historic center, crouched on a spur of rock overlooking the sea, takes your breath away. A blue flag sea, as indeed everywhere on the coast, and ancient remains of Roman domination, make the rest of the magic. Among these, the bridge of the Via Traiana, still viable on which also stands the Lama Monachine, one of the most evocative places, in the fifteenth century a trading port during the Venetian domination. The numerous coastal caves around here are worth a visit, including the splendid Grotta della Rondinella.

Stop here:

Osteria Di Chichibio

Osteria di Chichibio
In Vito Bianchi's tavern (recommended by Michelin) 2020), inspired by the homonymous novel by Boccaccio, only fish caught and never farmed. Famous for raw seafood, it has an excellent wine list.
www.osteriadichichibio.it

7) MONOPOLY

Jewel of popular architecture mixed with noble buildings and sumptuous churches, Monopoli, surrounded by high medieval walls, is dominated by the Heart Castle and its Baroque cathedral. 40 km from Bari, overlooking a crystalline stretch of the Adriatic coast, this splendid town includes 91 districts ranging from the sea to a plateau of about 400 meters above sea level. A beauty that is embraced with a single glance, the belvedere from the Loggia del Pilato, on the road to Selva di Fasano, a natural terrace overlooking a landscape characterized by fortified farms, churches, rock settlements and villas.

Stop here:

Angelo Sabatelli (Putigano, Bari)
About 20 km from Monopoli, in the first hinterland, the unmissable destination is that of the Angelo Sabatelli restaurant, 1 Michelin star. The setting is a suggestive ancient residence, furnished with contemporary paintings, in Putignano. The chef, who moved from Monopoli (from Masseria Malaspina) works with his wife Laura (in the dining room) and an international brigade. Among the first in Puglia to focus on vegetables, he is an avant-garde. Like her beetroot and hard ricotta salad. A large cellar and an intimate garden with eight tables complete the poem.
angelosabatelliristorante.com/it

The tasting not to be missed: olive in sea water
Do not miss the Paranzane olives in sea water (patent of the company, the only one in the world to keep them like this) prepared byAgricola Piano by Raffaele Piano, in Apricena, near Foggia, inspired by the Greek tradition. Suppliers, among others, also of the chef Angelo Sabatelli the estate that also produces an excellent extra virgin olive oil.
agricolapiano.com

8) OTRANTO

Set in the aquamarine blue on the Adriatic coast of the Salento peninsula, it is the easternmost town in Italy. For centuries, a point of exchange and docking between the West and the East, the village, of about 5 thousand inhabitants, has a fortified historic center that is a delightful maze of streets and shops, where the Aragonese Castle stands out, today a cultural center. Not far from here, there is the famous Baia dei Turchi, with its Caribbean beach and the clear sea like few others. Also nearby, the Bay of Orte, where you can enjoy a splendid corner, away from the chaos of the busiest beaches, immersed in a wild nature.

Stop here:

Cristina Conte

The other Mustache
In the kitchen, the young chef Cristina Conte, daughter of Michele Conte, for years a reference in Salento cuisine, is as talented and sweet as her ricci carbonara. In the alleys of Otranto, between the Aragonese Castle and the Cathedral, there is his small restaurant that traces the traditional recipes of his land in a contemporary and revisited key. The restaurant consists of an internal room, an outdoor area and an intimate terrace. Main ingredients are vegetables and wild herbs and spices, not to mention fish. Here the East contaminates Africa, Northern Europe and Salento in a mix of great originality, which always departs from traditions.
laltrabaffo.com

Atlantis Bel Ami
In the 2020 Michelin guide, it is the restaurant of the Atlantis bathhouse, to eat, literally with your feet in the water.
www.atlantisbeach.it

9) TRICASE

A charming town overlooking the Ionian Sea, in the Lecce area, in addition to the memorable sea and excellent restaurants, it enjoys a small delightful historic center characterized by the so-called "tower-houses", ancient fortified houses built in the 16th century in Salento, a typical expression of the authentic history of Puglia . If you love uncontaminated nature then, keep in mind that Tricase is one of the 32 municipalities that make up the Costa Otranto – Santa Maria di Leuca and Bosco di Tricase Regional Natural Park which preserves breathtaking landscapes, including cliffs, arid meadows, and the rare beauty of carnations. Salento and the Leuca cornflowers.

Stop here:

Lemì

Lemì
Ippazio Turco, cook of this interesting place, says that "cooking is a kind of" macaria "(magic)" "and that he decided to carry out his job as a cook in Tricase, where he was born, trying not to ruin that that fishermen, farmers, breeders and nature deliver to them every day. Lemmi (acronym of the names of my sons Luca and Eugenio, of my wife Margherita and, lastly, of my Ippazio) is a family-run restaurant with a good km. On the menu, ingredients such as crypto from Salento, wild fennel, local seaweed, mint, legumes and vegetables from their own garden, as well as laurel, myrtle, sage and rosemary from the Tricase park. The dishes are mainly based on blue fish and shellfish. Delicious flavored breads and pizzas, cooked in a wood oven, a legacy of the chef's culinary beginnings.
facebook.com/lemitricase/

The Taverna del Porto

The Taverna del Porto
A delightful corner that the Coppola family, engaged in the fish industry for generations, first in fishing and, more recently, in commerce, decided to open a few tens of meters from the docks of Tricase Porto. Between cruditè (hairy mussels, cockles and clams) and delicious linguine garlic-oil and sea or a Gallipoli scapece, the menu is as enchanting as the landscape, in its simplicity and freshness. Do not miss the pizza with sea urchins: it would be a crime.
facebook.com/tavernadelportotricase/

G & Co, Tricase ice cream parlor
Three cones of Gambero Rosso, among the best in Italy and the best in Puglia according to the Rimini 2020 Sigep, is run by 4 girls. Between classic tastes and stylistic variations (the prickly pear taste deserves a cup of its own), you can also savor velvety granitas.
facebook.com/gelateriageco

10) PORTO CESAREO

Caribbean beaches that alternate with wild cliffs, this Salento town offers absolute pearls such as the Lido di Punta Prosciutto, white sand with dunes up to 8 meters high. Ancient Roman port on the Ionian coast, it is home to the Porto Cesareo Marine Protected Area and the Palude del Conte and Duna Costiera Regional Nature Reserve.

Stop here:

water
On the beach, facing the crystal clear sea and the fine sand of this protected marine air, the Aqua restaurant (in the historic Le Dune establishment, which also includes a hotel) is the stage for Cosimo Russo, chef from Taranto, born in 1984. Fra il padre butcher and mother expert in traditional cuisine, he grew up breathing the love for food. Among the unmissable, lobster cauliflower and licorice and the hot pasticciotto to be stuffed (alone) to your liking.
www.aquaportocesareo.it

Puglia: where to eat? Beautiful discoveries by Antonia Klugmann

Three young cooks, three unmissable restaurants according to the personal guide of the Friulian chef.

1) LECCE

Solaika Marrocco

SOLAIKA MARROCCO, Primo Restaurant
This 24-year-old cook, winner of the S. Pellegrino award as best emerging chef, 2020, is a real revelation. Her passion is born in the kitchen of her mother, her reference, and becomes talent. Passionate, stubborn and aware, she is considered a rising star in the well-fed firmament of Salento chefs. The atmosphere of the restaurant, also equipped with an internal patio, is essential but warm, when the flavors on the menu are pure and balanced: there is also a simple spaghetti with tomato sauce, its fetish vegetable, with yellow datterini tomatoes: "I love to rework the classics, making them mine, recognizable as a signature. But when I want broccoli pasta, I come back to her: hers is unbeatable . Here then is that the eggplant Parmigiana, another cult of his, is accompanied by a dark bechamel, partly prepared with burnt wheat, an excellence of the area. For suppliers it has a cult. There are those of always, the butcher and the fish market for example, a stone's throw from the restaurant. And those outside the city, carefully selected. Regular customers also include families with children, so if they are asked, Solaika also prepares an ad hoc menu "but usually they eat what's on the menu without any problems and sometimes even ask for an encore".
www.primorestaurant.it

2) Ostuni

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI, Masseria Moroseta
An enchanted place this farm, a few kilometers from Ostuni, which is absolutely worth a detour from the coast, so much so that it attracts a cultured and highly international public. A large house, built by the English architect Andrew Trotter, in a minimal style with traditional accents, which is also the realm of a young cook, Giorgia Eugenia Gocci. She moved from Milan to the Apulian countryside for two months in the summer of 2017, and has never left. His signature are dishes prepared with the products of his garden, cultivated according to organic principles. The watchword is luxurious simplicity, made up of details. Like the dish that best represents the chef who confides: «I have an absolute veneration for bread, butter and anchovies. Of course, the ingredients must be of extreme quality and maybe I would add a touch of acidity, like a quick marinating of anchovies in elderberry vinegar, szechuan pepper or citrus zest . Distinctive sign of the table, which Giorgia always looks after, are the ceramics of Grottaglie. “Traditionally they are very colorful, with almost excessive spots and patterns. My preference goes to natural tones, inspired by the colors of raw clay, earth and Lecce stone ".
masseriamoroseta.it

3) Ceglie Messapica (Brindisi)

ANTONELLA RICCI, Antonella Ricci-Vinod Sookar restaurant
It seems unforgettable (Antonella Klugmann personally recommends her) the classic orecchiette or burnt wheat, prepared by Antonella Ricci. The cook has recently re-founded the historic family restaurant, Al Fornello da Ricci, renaming it Antonella Ricci-Vinod Sookar, where the second name is that of the talented Mauritian cook as well as her husband. We are in Ceglie Messapica, a town in the province of Brindisi between centuries-old olive groves and karst caves. The restaurant is renewed in the tradition of an excellent family tradition (the Ricci are the longest-lived holders of a Michelin star in all of Puglia). In the dining room, as always, Antonella's sister and, in the menu, a novelty: fish, a legacy of Vinod's origins, in an area where meat and powerful grills have always reigned. Growing up in the kitchen, she decides late to devote herself entirely to food. Having just graduated in Economics and Banking, Antonella attended Paul Bocuse's cooking school in Lyon. In 1998 he started with Sandro Morari to represent Italian cuisine abroad with an all-female team; there she will meet Vinod Sookar, her husband and colleague, from there the return home. Since 2004 he has been a teacher at the prestigious Alma cooking school of Gualtiero Marchesi.

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