Monday, Sept 23
Our first dinner was at Ruffiano, where we had made reservations – they were busy on a Monday night, and we were seated at an outdoor table. Little did Leandra know that the mosquitoes had a reservation for her feet that night!
They didn’t have a list for wines by the glass, but the waiter asked what we were interested in. Leandra tried her first Primitivo of the trip, and a Susumaniello rosé for me. Since we had skipped lunch Leandra started with the beef tartare cones, then the traditional orecchiette with turnip greens (orecchiette alle cime di rapa, bitter and a little fishy). I went simple with the cacio y pepe followed by the five flavors sorbettino (cherry was a standout).
Tuesday, Sept 24
Our Airbnb host recommended Umbertina for pizza so we asked her to make us a dinner reservation, and again, they were quite busy on a Tuesday. They didn’t have a wine list, so we simply asked for glasses – red Primitivo for Leandra, and a dry white for me. I started with the bruschetta with pine nut and pesto (delicious!), then the fume (smoked) pizza with scamorza cheese and speck (also very good). Leandra ordered the crudaiola with goat cheese ricotta, cherry tomatoes, rocket and mozzarella. Note that they had a 2€ cover charge.
After dinner we stopped at Ottone for a glass of wine. This was my first chance to try a Puglia Verdeca and I quite liked it – floral notes on nose, lovely stone fruit, mineral too, bracing acidity and long puckering finish. Leandra was happy sticking with Primitivo, and this one was fruity and lovely (the best of the trip so far). Note they had a 1€ cover charge per person, even for just a glass of wine.
Wednesday, Sept 25
Wednesday was sunny and warm, so during my midday walk I stopped for gelato at Se Ti Va where I ordered the chocolate with hazelnuts and coffee flavors. Delicious, and good value at 3.20€!
For dinner we went to Pieno o Ripieno, a panini place we had walked by that looked interesting, had great reviews, and where we could make a reservation via Whatsapp. There are only a handful of tables and we sat outside with a lovely light breeze as the day started too cool off. The owner was very helpful describing our wine options, and we opted for a bottle of Apollonio Diciotto Fanali Rosado (1 yr in barrel, strong oak flavor. Light burnt sugar/creme brulee, cognac. Lots of tannin, like a fruit peel. Pleasant coating mouthfeel medium length, finish with nice acidity.).
Once our wine choice was made we turned our attention to the panini options. I went with the Pancetta della Daunia which had pecorino cheese (Piacentinu Ennese DOP), pear, walnuts, pesto and honey. It was delicious! Surprisingly sweet and I loved the light bread too. Leandra ordered the Artisanal Mortadella with fresh Ragusano caciocavallo, pistachio pesto, and caramelized onions. Excellent overall, we wanted to get sandwiches for our train ride to Rome but sadly they were closed Mondays. We definitely recommend!
Thursday, Sept 26
On Thursday we stayed in for dinner, with Leandra cooking the local orecchiette with a pesto sauce and crispy pancetta we got at the market. It was a good time to try the Berlucchi franciacorta rose too – a little sweetness, lots of red fruit, very easy to drink.
Friday, Sept 27
After work we walked down toward the water and stopped at Enomezcala for a glass of wine. They have outdoor seating on a corner with lots of people walking by. It is rather loud given the busy traffic, and featured some interesting parking shenanigans: woman parked in bike lane, came back after two cars left and moved up to park in the cross walk (after crossing the street directly in front of a cop car). After that a couple parked their car on an angle with the hazards on and simply got a table next to us. Oh, Bari… I got a Verdeca “Sette Lune” (a little less fruity than other night, but nice body and pleasant) while Leandra had the Pinot Nero “Carillo”. Our server ghosted after we asked for our check, then a second server tried to overcharge us for Leandra’s wine. Cover charge of 1.5€ was annoying since we received bad service and no ‘apertivo’ snacks, wouldn’t return.
Next we went around the corner to Bugiardo Vineria, which was much quieter. Here I tried a Masseria Altemura Zinzula Bianco (lovely tropical notes, med body – we ended up stopping at the winery to try some of their other offerings) and a Masseria La Veli Susumaniello for Leandra.
For dinner we had made a reservation at Madò | Vineria di quartiere. When we arrived it was packed and the host didn’t have our reservation… Ugh, now we were without a reservation on a Friday night. We walked back to Bugiardo, but they only had a few small plates unlike menus posted on google from a few months earlier). We wandered to the Murat part of town but La Baresana pizza had a line 30 people deep so we went back to Ruffiani.
Leandra had the same Primitivo and this time I went for the Verdeca (grassy, some mineral). I tried the Bombette (which were fairly small) and Leandra had the octopus (spicy). This time it felt pricey for what we got (40€, and the glass of primativo was 1€ more on Friday than on Monday). Even though she had sprayed herself with bug repellent, the mosquitos were still bombing Leandra and the neighboring table so it was not worth it to stay for more.
On the way back to our apartment we stopped at Se Ti Va for gelato, where Leandra was happy with the pistachio and rhum, while I had the milk chocolate and their excellent coffee.
Monday, Oct 7
After we dropped off the rental car, I waited with the luggage while Leandra went to get focaccia at Bakery Santa Rita – it was a long line, but she was successful!
