Domus - Modica Bassa - Review

Today's lunch has been a firm favourite of mine for a while but was the first time Totó has visited Domus in Modica Bassa. I have been many times with friends and family and have yet to have anything less than fantastic experiences in the dining room. Domus opened some months ago, I was pleased to hear that the former chef of a restaurant I had once regularly frequented (but had gone downhill since his departure) had opened a place of his own. The Venezuelan family who own and run the restaurant have never failed to be anything other than extremely accommodating and hospitable and the food has always been of the highest quality. We are very fortunate in Modica, in that we have a plethora of fine places to eat but Domus offers something quite different to the other places in town.

Situated close to San Pietro on Modica's main street, Corso Umberto, Domus is a rather small but subtly elegant restaurant decorated in brilliant white and has a small outside eating space for the summer months.

The restaurant always serves warm, fresh home baked bread in various flavours, today we were treated to foccacia baked with rosmary, bread with porcini mushrooms, mini dough balls and bread with cumin and dried fruit. We ordered an appetiser of calamari served with puréed potatoes, it wasn't the first time I had had this dish and, as it has always been previously, it was delicately flavoured and just enough to whet the appetite.

For our main course, we both opted for grilled sword fish, served with prawns and (more) calamari with a side order of potatoes baked with paprika. It is precisely this type of main course which makes Domus different to the other places to eat in town,

it is less wholesome, traditional Sicilian food and more of an exoticly spiced, experimental dining experience. The huge slab of sword fish was cooked to perfection and the large prawns and calamari offered something tantalisingly tasty in between mouthfuls of the main part of the meal. Served with a tomato salsa and a creamy dip, the spicy paprika potatoes were just the perfect accompaniment to this lovely main course.

We usually opt for Sicilian wines but today we decided to go for a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc on the recommendation of our host. Los Vascos is a sharp tasting white that was able to cut through the spices and various fishy tastes perfectly. A great choice to go with our meal and a wine we will both endeavour to drink again in the future.

No dessert at the restaurant today, as I was a good little Sicilian girl this morning and popped out to a pasticceria for us to have something sweet once we returned home. That said, I have had dessert a number of times at the restaurant before and can highly recommend the chocolate fondant or the raspberry and prosecco jelly. My fellow ex-pat and former colleague Lucy and I have regularly talked each other into having a dessert here and marvelled at how cheap the bill would be in light of the quality of food we had experienced... if this restaurant were in our native England, neither of us would be able to afford to eat there, we are talking serious quality for a very low cost.

Very highly recommended for anyone visiting Modica, I will probably see you there!

Domus Restaurant and Grill
Corso Umberto I, 156, Modica RG

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Domus-modica-food/470829306382743

Caffetteria i Portici Review

I've been visiting Portici on average two or three times a week since I moved to Modica Bassa. It's in a really central location and is the ideal place to meet friends in the afternoon or in the evening before heading off somewhere else. I was first attracted to it because I wanted to sit underneath the stunning Modican arches and watch people passing by. It's become a favourite place, not only because of the arches and central location but because of the quality of produce and because of the friendliness of the family who own and run the business.

During the daytime, I've enjoyed excellent standards of coffee, delicious ice creams, addictive milkshakes (frappe) - seriously, some days I can't stop thinking about how much I crave one, and feasted on wonderful breakfasts of granite - a traditional crushed ice drink with various flavours, my personal favourite being gelsi (mulberry) and brioche. But the best reason to go is for aperitivo, which can be taken at pretty much any time of the day.

One of the best things about Italian life is it's wonderful café culture and with that comes the practice of taking aperitivo. This is usually taken in the early evening before a later dinner (but not exclusively) and consists of taking a glass of wine, a spritz or a cocktail, with which the bar will serve snacks. The quality of snacks produced at aperitivo o'clock varies, in some places, you will just be brought crisps and nuts, maybe a few olives but in other places you can expect a variety of treats. At Portici, you can expect crisps and nuts, along with bruschetta and other little treats to be washed down with your drink of choice. In Modica, Portici is certainly one of the better places to enjoy this joyous Italian tradition.

I usually take a prosecco or one of the local wines, all of the selections I have been served at Portici have been well received. Or if you are visiting, why not try an Aperol Spritz or a Campari and Soda, both very traditional Italian aperitivo choices and still fashionable.

The cafe is run by a couple and their two sons and, while the service can be a little on the slow side (we are still in Sicily, after all!), the family have always been extremely welcoming and friendly. I've been going for a few years and over time have developed a good rapport with them and when I have had family and friends visit from the UK, they have been so welcoming, thoughtful and enthusiastic about meeting my guests - my parents in particular were very taken with the place when they visited for the first time in June. While English is quite obviously difficult for them, they have really made an effort when I have had non-Italian speaking company with me.

The café also serves sandwiches and pasta dishes, I personally have not tried these but from what I have heard from other people, I'd suggest if you want a small snack the place is fine but for something more substantial, there are probably better places to eat.

Prices are very reasonable, for example, a glass of wine complete with the snacks served will cost €3.50 and is €3.50 well spent!

It's a real pleasure to have this place as one of my locals, I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I (frequently) do.

Caffetteria I Portici
Piazza Principe di Napoli 1, Modica