Licata, an incredible synthesis of the cuisine of Italy, 38,007 inhabitants in the province of Agrigento, vineyards and hillside agriculture on one side and the sea on the other. Many are the recipes handed down from previous generations, fine typical dishes, ones from the countryside, with the additional advantage of the finest fish of the Mediterranean seashore.
But Licata is much more, it is the synthesis of Italy’s finest cuisine. Here truly delicious dishes are created. Far from the limelight of grand gourmet restaurants (which deserve our compliments) or of legitimate traditional interpretations, there is a cuisine which is one of fantasy and intriguing as well. It is the cooking of a rock and roll host, timid and impassioned, who has found refuge along with his wife in a narrow alley of the city’s historic center or, better put, in the sacristy of the Sant’Andrea church. The place is so small that two persons are capable of guaranteeing good cooking and good service, twenty covers in all. It is a happy cuisine, abundant, not codified or one restrained by rigid rules which – as the chef notes – are as useful as an icicle at the north pole. Imagine a glass of sparkling wine with a crunchy bonbon of Parmesan cheese, then a red shrimp with buffalo mozzarella seasoned with the liquid which floats on a tomato sauce. Imagine a tin of luscious mackerel or a stuffed pasta, tasty and pervaded with the aromas of the sea, filled with buffalo cottage cheese and drops of lemon. As far as fish is concerned, here is one caught on the line and enriched with an artichoke mayonnaise and fresh garden vegetables. And, to conclude, a strawberry cake with a crème anglaise sauce made more savory with the addition of tangerine juice and the chocolate of the city of Modica.
There is nothing more to say. Enjoy the mild summer breeze in this narrow alley of the province of Agrigento, here you will find is pure Italian poetry. Chiara will take care of your needs and nothing will be lacking. And if you behave properly, as a final reward, Peppe, your host, will come visit you at your table.
Peppe e Chiara Bonsignore
Ristorante L’oste e il sacrestano
Via S. Andrea 19, 92027- Licata (AG)
Ph. +39.0922774736
osteriabonsignore@yahoo.it
http://www.losteeilsacrestano.it
Closed Sunday and Monday (only in wintertime)
