Ciotola Pizzeria, Ragusa - Review

I have new favourite pizzeria! There are loads of places to get a good pizza around here, they say Sicily is second only to Naples when it comes to pizza and I have had some great ones in the few years I have been here but since I tried La Ciotola for the first time a couple of months ago, it has shone through above all others.

From the word go I was keen on the decor, a real mix of styles, perhaps they weren't going for quirky but that is what we have. Over sized objects, 1950s red bench seating, ceramic ducks, there's a lot going on... and basically, I want all of it in my house.

The pizza menu offers a rather different selection of pizzas from the usual. Over the last couple of months my friends, colleagues, boyfriend and I have managed to work our way through a good portion of the choices and we have yet to be disappointed. Fabulously crisp bases, just as they ought to be and beautifully cooked on top with extraordinarily delicious, fresh ingredients.

My favourite pizza so far has been Donna Sicilia, which is tomato sauce, mozzarella, fried aubergine pieces, olives and ricotta salata. It's just perfect in every way. Whether you prefer meaty toppings, fish or vegetarian, all tastes are catered for, whatever you choose, you are in for a treat. And, if you don't feel like pizza, there is also a restaurant menu which changes regularly with the seasons.

On my last visit, we also had a mixed fried fish and seafood platter as a sharing starter, which was absolutely delightful. Beautifully cooked, perfectly seasoned. Just great.

I can also recommend the restaurants selection of desserts... particularly their boozy choix pastry concoctions.

(Above: Group shot of my friends and I enjoying La Ciotola)

There is a good selection of wines but on a couple of occasions we have simply opted for a litre of the local red, which has always been satisfactory.

Getting a good pizza in Sicily really isn't difficult, in fact, you would probably find it more difficult to find a bad one. That said, I really feel La Ciotola has something special to offer. Also the staff are fabulous, there is one waitress in particular who is possibly the most bubbly, positive and attentive member of service staff I have come across since I came to live here - a very wonderful woman. One of the things I love so much about Sicily is the pride people take in their work and this is really evident here, the fabulous waitress and if you watch the guys in the kitchen, making the pizzas, even when they are cleaning up at the end of the night, you can see that they really care about what they do.

Not at all expensive either.

Top marks!

La Ciotola
Via Archimede, 23,Ragusa

Sud - Marina di Modica - Review

First off, apologies for the long gap between blogs. October was a particularly busy and personally difficult month, which meant not so much wining and dining and life preventing blogging, social networking and the like. Things have calmed down a little and I hope this means reviews with more frequency this month and onwards.

Yesterday was All Saint's Day, a public holiday here in Italy, so my lovely boyfriend and I decided to make the most of the sunshine and head over to the seaside in Marina di Modica for a stroll, a sit by the sea, to enjoy some food and, mostly, to relax and enjoy some quietness and a slower pace than our days have allowed in recent weeks.

This summer we have spent a few lunchtimes at the beach bar, Sud, plus the occasional evening visit when we have enjoyed a pizza and a cocktail. So it was the obvious choice of where we would have lunch during our visit to Marina yesterday. The regular lady, who has served us well throughout the summer, promptly told us that yesterday was the final day of opening for 2014, the bar now being closed until spring 2015... we felt pretty fortunate to have stopped by one last time after our many visits there over the course of what has been an unforgettable summer together.

On past visits, we have enjoyed great pasta dishes and lovely salads but for both of us the firm favourite has been the mixed fried fish, so naturally this was the dish we both ordered yesterday.

The is usually made up of whole prawns, calamari, small whole cod and an assortment of other locally caught mediterranean fish (some of which I have no idea of the English translation for, having never seen or tasted them outside of Sicily). It is an ample platter for one and has never failed to be anything but deliciously wonderful. All the dishes are reasonably priced, this particular dish is just €10.

We washed our last lunch at Sud of 2014 down with some of the local white wine, served in half litres or litres. Around these parts, drinking the local wine is always pleasing and the cost is rather lower than buying by the bottle.

We have always been served by the same lady, who is so friendly and welcoming and has recognised us and chatted to us as friends throughout, what must have been, an extremely busy working period. I have heard her speak in English to tourists very adequately too, also the menus have an English translation for tourists.

The bar is open in the evenings as well, serving pizza and drinks. While during the daytime in the summer months, it also acts as a lido, hiring out sunbeds and parasols on the beach in front.

It has been an amazing summer. And I'm glad that Sud got to play a part... we will certainly be back as soon as spring arrives!

Sud
Marina di Modica

www.facebook.com/sud.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/