L'oste Del Borgo, Modica - Review

Today I made my second visit to L'oste del Borgo in Modica Bassa. My first was some time ago with my friend Lucy, who sadly no longer lives in Modica, so today I decided to suggest somewhere different to Totó for our special lunch (today is a public holiday in Italy and therefore an opportunity to slot some extra time together into our very busy lives), so we wondered through a very crowded Modica, filled with lots of people enjoying the Chocolate festival, which has been going on all weekend (very entertaining and enjoyable it has been too).

The restaurant is in one of the side streets, a very pretty little stairway, just a few minutes walk from the main streets in the centre of Modica Bassa. It's a pretty place with lots of interesting decor and local artwork.

There is the option to have four courses (either a fish menu or a meat menu) for €25, we decided to opt for this option today and had a few fish choices to select from. A lot more food than we would ordinarily order but the price was good, my previous visit had been grand, it was a festival day and, well, why the hell not?

For our antipasto course, we ordered a dish of Polpo é Patate (Octopus and Potato) and Baccalá (Salt Cod) to divide between the two of us.

The Octopus and potato dish was beautifully delicate, used a good olive oil, a little lemon juice and, my favourite ingredient, saffron. While the baccalá provided us with a fuller taste, crispy batter and a wholesome, homely feeling. A lovely start.

We both opted for the same primi, a seafood ravioli with the meat of small crustaceans that have a similar taste to the sweetness of lobster.

Fabulous handmade pasta, stuffed with lovely fishy meat and served in a fragrant broth with the beautiful sweet meat. An absolute delight. And served with a nice little batch of focaccia bread.

Then on to our main courses, Totó opted for Pesce Spada (Swordfish) Palermitana with a tomato and caciocavallo cheese from Ragusa. While

I went for Ricciola (Amberjack) pieces with a typically Sicilian, orange and fennel salad. Totó's dish was well cooked, tasty and the cheese on the salad was amazing but I think i definitely made the right choice. My char-grilled fish was so, so tasty and the salad was a refreshing accompaniment. By this point we were both feeling pretty full, we made good attempts to finish both dishes, tried each other's but neither of us were able to completely empty our plates, so much food!

After a short, much needed break, we ordered dessert. A mixed chocolate plate in honour of Modica's famous chocolate.

We were treated to a gorgeous piece of Modica chocolate, a refreshng jellified chocolate pudding, one of Modica's traditional mpanatigghi - a pastry filled with chocolate and meat, yes actual meat! They are a delicacy around here, however, Totó had to eat both of ours due to my abstinence from meat. And finally, a wonderful, yet potent shot of chocolate liquor. Totó order a second lot of dessert, it really was THAT good!

Slightly unusual for us to opt for the house wine but we did just that this afternoon. And a litre of lovely local insolia left us lavishing in peachy tasting goodness. A great decision.

A fantastic meal, such good value, pleasing atmosphere, jazz playing softly in the background and friendly service with a smile. Just perfect.

L'oste Del Borgo
Scalinate di Pozzo Barone, 30
Modica

Review - L'Orizzonte Pizzeria Ristorante

This was my second visit to L'Orizzonte since its opening a year ago. We are spoilt for choice with pizzerias in Modica, so sometimes you forget about places and there is a tendency to find a favourite and stick to it.

Yesterday evening, we were a group of eight people, a mix of locals and people, like me, who have now made Modica their home. We were greeted and seated within minutes, which was excellent given that we are still in August and there are many tourists around. We opted to sit outside given the pleasing evening temperature and had plenty of table space for our party. The inside of the restaurant is nicely decorated in a modern style, although perhaps the lighting is a little harsh (as with many restaurants in the area!).

The restaurant offers both pizza and an a la carte menu. For this particular evening, we were all about the pizzas and the menu gave us a plethora of choice. We could choose from the usual choices such as the classic Margherita, traditional Sicilian favourite Norma, Capricciosa and so on, plus a number of L'Orizzonte specials inspired and named after local places.

I opted for the Sampieri pizza, named after the nearby seaside resort. The topping for this was salt cod (baccala), potatoes, onions with mozzarella and the restaurant's tomato sauce. The thin pizza base was excellently cooked in the traditional stone oven and was a true Italian triumph. The toppings were wonderfully combined with just the right amount of each ingredient, every mouthful was a delicious reminder of how lucky I am to live in Sicily with so much fantastic food on offer. Both my Italian and British friends within the group made noises of tasting pleasure throughout, along with the standard Sicilian hand gesture of twisting the index finger into their cheeks to remark that they were very much enjoying their dinner. The group had a mix of the pizza choices on offer and there was not a single complaint or grumble.


While some of our party opted for bottled beers, a few of us shared a litre of local Inzolia wine and while it wasn't the most fantastic local I've ever tasted it went pleasingly with the fishy pizza and was all appreciated and heartily washed down by both Brits and Sicilians alike.


The restaurant was pretty quiet, which I suppose meant we had more personal and attentive service than usual but by Sicilian standards, everything came pretty quickly and the waiting staff were helpful and pleasant.


We paid just €12 per person including the beers and wines. This is a pretty average price for pizza in Modica but the standard was above average... definitely worth every centesimo.


A definite recommendation to people visiting the area who are looking for an excellent pizza away from the crowds.


8/10


Pizzeria Ristorante L'Orizzonte
Via Vittorio Veneto, 141 Modica Ragusa
+39 0932 196 1511
http://www.pizzeriaorizzonte.it/