The restaurants reviewed in this report are the following.
Corte in Fiori in Trani
Salvatore Cucco in Gravina in Puglia
Al Buco Preferito in Trani
Antiche Sapori in Andria
Pasha in Conversano
La Puritate in Gallipoli
Le Lampari in Trani
Il San Lorenzo in Roma
TRANI
CORTE IN FIORI
This is a nice seafood restaurant where one can sit in an internal courtyard among trees and flowers.
They have a set of crudi and non-crudi antipasti which are quite good. Tuna and sarago crudi were fresh, ombrina with peach and mint was interesting, the calamari with papaya and cucumber combination worked, but the salmon with mango and fennel combination was ordinary.
The best crudi was “il battuto di gamberi Gallipolini e il Limone Candito”. This should not be missed and can only be tasted in Italy.
We were less impressed with the set of five warm antipasti. Smoked swordfish with purslane and strawberry was the only one that made a mark.
One very nice pasta has freshly de-shelled sea urchin: “gli spaghettoni di gragnani alla polpa di riccio”.
The fried calamari was under average.
In contrast was the impressive “scampi al sale”. Excellent sweet scampi from the rocky coast near Peschici are cooked whole in the shell. The cost is 60 Euro a kilogram.
The best white wine on the list is 2006 Benanti Pietramarini. It is 100% Carricante. The volcanic soil is evident in the smokey minerality. It has nice acidity and is lean with remarkable nervosity. 40 Euro. 94/100
Ranking: 14/20
GRAVINA IN PUGLIA
SALVATORE CUCCO
Maybe it is not as good as Antichi Sapori, but it is not too far behind. This is a true Osteria.
The set of antipasti included salsiccia, pancetta, pecorino, ricotta, and pickled artichoke.
We had fried peporino, cherry tomato, and melanzane, and also fried bitter green tomato. Additionally, we had bruschetta with local white bean puree and polpo with pancetta and potatoes.
Everything was tasty and made with natural products.
The “orechiette” with salsicce and rape greens was good.
The shapeless handcut “pasta with fava and fungi cardoncelli” sounded simple but was stunning.
Homemade desserts were delicious: local cream puffs and crostata di ricotta.
The house wine is from Primitivo and Montepulciano grapes and displays nice blackberry fruit.
RANKING: 14/20
TRANI
AL BUCO PREFERITO
This is a place to have an above-average wood fired oven pizza in Trani by the port. The crust is quite good, and they have nice stracciatella cheese in some pizzas. The non-pizza courses are not of any culinary interest.
ANDRIA
ANTICHE SAPORI
This restaurant was as good as always. It is one of the best for price/quality in Italy. It is also one of the best Osterias of Italy.
The antipasti score high in terms of both quality and quantity: sour dough bruschetta with olive oil, fried zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and basil sauce, capocollo with pickled zucchini, incredibly sweet big white onion baked in the oven with breadcrumbs and grated soft cheese, super fresh ricotta with candied celery, flavorful pecorino with pickled red onions, focaccia from grano arso flour with cherry tomatos, scamarzo and pomodoro salad with bread which is like their version of panzanella, and a great example of dried fava bean puree and wild chicory with olive oil.
Pastas are great, so we ordered three of them in the list: “troccoli di grano duro con melanzane, filetto di pomodoro, finocchietta selvatico e ricotta salata”; “orecchiette di grano arso con germogli di zucchini, pomodoro ristretto e profumato e ricotta dura”(this featured candied tomato sauce, zucchini leaves and also zucchini shoots, and intense ricotta dura); “orecchiette di Semola Italiana con Ragu di agnello e maialino cotto lento con la Nostra fassato di pomodoro e pecorino canestrato”.
Instead of a main course, we had grilled caciocavallo: “caciocavallo di Venosa alla Brace con le Nostra Confetture”. This is a very good cheese with cherry marmalade. On the side, they served carrots and cucumbers, excellent potato cooked in salt crust with olive oil, and a garden fresh salad of rucola, purslane, onions, and carrots, seasoned with olive oil and red wine vinegar.
Desserts kept coming, and surprisingly, they too are distinctly good: cassata with chocolate sauce, outstanding tiramisu, and baba au rhum.
We finished with candied almonds with homemade reglisse liquour and limoncello.
We tried a 2011 Gianfranco Fino Primitivo. This was certainly not a good match, but perhaps it is the most interesting Primitivo di Manduria. It carries its 16.5% alcohol well with sweet raspberry liquor, cinnamon, and mace aromas. It is concentrated and has more character due to high acidity than a typical Turley Zinfandel. 92/100.
CONVERSANO
PASHA
Two years earlier we ate here like a “Pasha”. This time we dined like an underling of the Pasha, albeit, a high level underling.
Nothing was disappointing, but nor were the dishes as exquisite.
We had a fine “vintage Pasha” antipasti without the highlights of the past. “Zuppa fredda di mandorle, tartare di sepia e gamberi” was still good, but too tame. “Gnocchetti alle olive nere, scampi, pepperoncino e basilica” was refined, but not too exciting. This was followed by “maccheroni di pane, patate, vongole e polvere di cruschi (red pepper from Basilicata)” which would have been better had the vongole not been deshelled.
We had two secondi: an above average “battuto di manzo with salsa du burrata” and “boiled sheep with raw spinach”. They have actually done a good job with the sheep, but especially the baby spinach and the spaghetti cooked in the sheep broth were the highlights.
We had a fine fig sorbet with cherry and crumbles as the pre-dessert. Then we had peaches in gelee de muscat de Trani and veloute d’amandes grille, granite au café and crumbles. They sound interesting, but they were just OK.
We had an excellent Negroamaro: 2004 Monaci “Le Brace”. It has a spicy, earthy, blackberry aroma. The meaty palette is dominated by black cherry, blackberry, and blueberry. Unlike many hot climate wines, the fruit character is not jammy. It has nice acidity, is still tannic, and is slightly rustic. The finish is long and spices unfold. 55 Euro. 93/100
Make sure to ask for the single table on the terrace for a most romantic dinner. Conversano is a wonderful, non-touristic town in Puglia.
RANKING: 13/20
GALLIPOLI
LA PURITATE
This is the “must” seafood place in Gallipoli, Puglia.
Don’t miss the wild and deep sea red oysters. They have a very strong flavor.
Ask for the “linguini with zucchini, parsley, swordfish eggs, cherry tomatos and a salsa of crustaceans”. It is normally not on the menu.
“Gamberoni al sale” is a must here. Ask for one portion per person
“Grilled swordfish”, which unfortunately has been cut thin, was the only non-remarkable dish.
They have a nice “sorbetto al limone with prosecco” and fine almond cookies with café.
The 2012 Calafuria Negroamaro Rose from Tormaresca was a good rose with 12% alcohol. It is quite crisp and has a good acid-sugar-fruit balance.
RANKING: 15/20
TRANI
LE LAMPARI
This is the best seafood restaurant in Trani and is at the harbor. It is slightly more expensive than the Puglia average, but it still has below average prices when compared to the rest of Italy.
The only problem is that the music they play is a little too loud. The view of the well-lit harbor and Cathedral from the terrace is quite special.
Delicious fat fried alici with grilled red peppers and violet potatoes are brought as the amuse.
Make sure to order the raw “seafood” platter. It featured local ricci di mare, clams, gamberi rossi, scampi, French oysters, excellent mussels, squid, sarago with carrots and celery, tonno with capers and purslane, umbrina with carrots, sea salt, and olive oil.
We liked the ricci di mare so much that we requested a dozen more. Six of them were quite big.
The pasta that we chose was the “amatriciana di Gambero Rosso”. The red shrimps were caught in Gallipoli. The dish featured both raw and grilled red shrimps in a tomato-shellfish broth. This was a good pasta, but this is by no means a substitute for savoring the Gallipoli shrimps at Puritate.
The whole baked fresh “scarfano” fish with tomato, potato, and olives was very well handled.
The dessert was good: “Variante alle nocciole, praline roche e gelatino di fregole”.
2009 Capichera, Vermentino di Gallura is an intense and full bodied, high alcohol (14.5 %) Vermentino, dominated by tropical and citrus fruits, with a saline finish. The oak is evident, but does not dominate. 38 Euro. 92/100
RANKING: 15/20
ROMA
IL SAN LORENZO
This is one of our favorite restaurants in Roma because of the fresh seafood. The amuse was simple but tasty: fried anchovies, croquetas of cod fish, with mayonnaise and tomato dips served on the side.
We also started with an artisanal beer for an aperitif: Per Ale, Bionda Collesi. It was excellent.
We started with the tartar dish: tuna, merluzza, and riccioli, served with just salt and pepper.
The carpaccio of red shrimp was excellent. It was marinated with orange juice and served with orange peel, a little paprika, and basil.
Next we were served red shrimp with raw porcini and wild selvacio, which is a bitter green.
Then we had the “no miss” pasta: spaghetti with a good amount of sea urchins.
The other pasta was also excellent: spaghetti with tomato and lobster.
We finished with Pezzonia, cooked in a salt crust.
Finally, we also loved the zabaglione on top of pistachio puree and infused with marsala.
We drank a 2008 Benanti Pietramarino. This wine has very intense flavors with only 13% alcohol, including very intense minerality, salinity, great concentration, and a very long finish. It has citrus, especially lemon and orange, and mineral flavors, and is lean and straight. 46 Euro. 94.5/100
RANKING: 17/20