“Strat’a foglia” is an old food market in the San Rocco quarter of the city; it was originally a spot for the trading of wild and bitter herbs carried out by members of an association known as fogliamara (“the biter leaves”).
Marco Calabrese is the young and daring chef who decided to create here a spot of refined cuisine. Aria Ristorante is located in Via Tamburini, a small street in the market, a hop, step, and jump from one of the city’s principal traffic arteries, Viale Conte Testasecca. The locale itself is soberly decorated but, at the same time, welcoming, and the old stone walls and arches arches, now brought back to light, are shown to proper advantage.
For hors d’oeuvres: raw white shrimp and burrata cheese from Puglia on siccagno tomato water; then tartar of local beef with raw shrimp, herb-seasoned tomato drops, anchovy mayonnaise, and caper flowers. First course: fresh Sicilian hard wheat noodles with borage, cream of Ragusa cheese, Mazara del Vallo shrimp, and zest of lime. Main course: sea bass toasted in extra-virgin olive oil, red onion, and potato cream, artichokes seasoned with marjoram, wild mushrooms with ginger and strawberries. Elegant the last course with Cioccomod, a dessert of bitter chocolate with lemon sherbet, a salad of oranges, mint, and extra-virgin olive oil, a cream of pears cooked with Cerasuolo wine, and a biscuit of almonds with flakes of smoked salt.
The service is supervised by Santo Guttadauro. The wine list is limited, but goes well with the plates. The bottles offered are the wines of Francesco Cuccurullo’s Masseria del Feudo. We tasted, with the house’s consulting oenologist, Emiliano Falsini, the 2016 Grillo, crisp and savory in the splendor of its varietal fragrance; Rosso delle Rose, supple, elegant, and pleasurable; and, finally, a splendid surprise which we are not free to reveal.
Aria Ristorante
Via Tommaso Tamburini 63/65
93100 Caltanissetta
Tel. 0934 584955 | Cell. 324 8624209
Orari di apertura: Lunedì – Sabato: 20:00 – 22:30
Domenica: 13:00 – 14:30
Mercoledì: Chiuso
www.ristorantearia.it
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- Il pane è fatto in casa
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- Crudità di gambero bianco e burrata pugliese su acqua di pomodoro siccagno
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- I vini di Masseria del Feudo
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- La tartara di manzo locale con scampo crudo, gocce di pomodoro alla pizzaiola, maionese alle acciughe e fiori di cappero
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- I tagliolini freschi di grano duro siciliano con verdura borragine, crema di Ragusano DOP, gamberi rossi di Mazara e scorzette di lime
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- Il branzino tostato all’olio extravergine di oliva, cipolla rossa, vellutata di patate, carciofi alla maggiorana, funghi porcini allo zenzero e fragole
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- Cioccomod fondente con sorbetto al limone, insalata di arance, menta e olio extravergine di oliva, crema di pera cotta al Cerasuolo, sabbia di mandorle e fiocchi sale affumicato
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- Da sinistra, Francesco Cucurullo, Emiliano Falsini e Marco Calabrese
