foodwtogninis: Taormina

Taormina, June 30 2009, Beautiful 30 deg sunny

The 'jewel' of Sicily and rightly named so. This is one of the most beautiful parts of Sicily on the east coast - perched high above the Mediterranean. Sweeping views of the beaches below, the sea that blends into the sky just an azure haze. We are positioned perfectly in the Il Piccolo Giardino, just a few steps from the Corso Umberto which runs for about 1 km, the length of this gorgeous Sicilian village. We admire a view of the remains of Taormina's Greek Theatre ( the second largest in Italy) from our rooftop pool area. This is spectacular to say the least.

There is so much to love about this place - laneways of hidden treasures, art exhibitions , concerts in the ancient Greek Theatre, great Italian food and of course good shopping.

One little find was 'Dr Roberto', a specialist in the art of nougat and cannoli making. He claims to have the best cannoli in the world and we are inclined to agree. The freshly made ricotta mixture waits in the fridge to be filled on order into the crisp canolli shell - all hand made by Roberto. The shop has been there for 35 years and Dr Roberto learned his skills from his Papa - he seriously has a doctorate in cannoli making !

Found the best 'Maccheroni alla Norma' in an unlikely restaurant at our front door - a dish specific to this region - a hand made maccheroni pasta rolled to perfection, baby eggplant simmered in a fresh tomato sugo served with baked ricotta - just delicious. It's a favourite of our daughter Nastassia who had this dish on a recent trip to Sicily and has been trying to recreate it ev

er since. I think I now know the secret - the white baby eggplant .

Seafood is also in abundance as it is anywhere in Sicily and the variety and freshness is unbelievable . We particularly enjoy the grilled sardines in lemon and garlic. There are plenty of unusual offerings including sea urchin, 'goldfish', live crustaceans of all kinds and giant oysters.

Just down the hill (about 600 meters ), is the perfect swimming beach

of Giardino Naxo. We have a fabulous lunch at one of the many beachfront restaurants then swim all afternoon in the crystal clear , marble rock lined shores. Just perfect - where else in the world can you still be sun baking at 7 pm? Life is a bit tough in Taormina.

PS If you are thinking of making Taormina one of your stops check the concert schedule in the Greek theatre. We just missed Jose Carrera by one week. That would have been something to see and hear !

Life is too short to eat bad food!

For the past 15 years we have lived our dream of offering fine food to the people of Brisbane through Tognini’s Deli at Milton, Tognini’s BistroCafeDeli at Spring Hill and Tognini’s CaféWineBar at the State Library of Queensland.

So how did a builder and a nurse end up running three of Brisbane’s finest delis? We used to throw the best dinner parties our friends had ever seen. All too soon we exhausted their palates and expanded their waistlines so much we had to find a new group of passionate foodies. We began with Togninis Milton Deli Café and kept growing with the ideal of offering great food, a great experience and the opportunity to learn.

Mark says: The cheese connection started with a childhood passion for big Italian cheeses such as gorgonzola, taleggio and parmesan. I’m happiest surrounded by giant wheels of parmesan, blocks of cheddar and logs of brie, drinking in the distinctive aromas in Tognini’s cheese room.

Narelle says: While Mark grew up with pastas and ravioli making, in my home the emphasis was on traditional baking and preserving. Every weekend Mum would bake and preserve. She was a ‘Vacola’ expert. It was honest cooking where the most extravagant thing would have been spaghetti bolognaise, but I learnt the skills of cooking amongst the smell of freshly cooked scones.

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Taormina - Italy

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