A Mare/A Tavola! Ristorante Ida, Barano, Ischia (Na)

And what if I get off at the wrong stop?  I wrote...
Impossible, responded Ivan (Maresca).  Maronti is the last stop!

I was seated on a window seat on the air conditioned Linea 5 bus heading from Ischia Porto towards Maronti.  And during that 20 minute or so bus ride, I found myself shooting off a few Whatsapp© messages to Ivan Maresca. He along with Angelo Pesce were expecting me at Ristorante Ida, the tavola to Bagno Ida's mare.

A simple  bus ride , but that didn't seem to calm down the butterflies that were accompanying me on the  way.  Though I haven't been to Ida before, I felt as if I had already hung out with the team since I am a faithful follower of Pesce and Marsca's Instagram Stories© and Facebook© live posts.  Check the latest out here.

 The bus stopped at the small piazzetta of Maronti and I along with everyone else got off and headed towards the beach. Maresca's instructions included to make a left and they'd be the third restaurant on the beach.
Arrivata!  I headed straight to the tiny kitchen to say hello, chat a bit, then check out the catch of the day.  Today codfish in the house!

I'd hook up with it later...at lunch time.

I had a couple of hours or so to check out the beach.

A Mare! The Pesce family has been running this slice on the sand  since 1959 which not only includes the ristorante, but a bar and private beach as well.  It didn't take long for me to feel at home, and those butterflies?  Well, they flew away a long time ago.

1:15 pm, lunchtime. I headed into the restaurant, but before sitting down in the dining room featuring that cool sea breeze and floor fans, I decided to head back into the kitchen.  Nearly 100 degrees F, but that didn't matter.

 Chef Angelo Pesce

Ivan Maresca

Chef Angelo Pesce was preparing spaghetti with fresh shrimp and he didn't mind taking the time to share a couple of tips and suggestions on how to replicate the dish at home.

At this point I was more than hungry.  A Tavola!
A small pitcher (or two) of white wine and peaches added that touch of home.

Beginning with the appetizer of the house - and since we were a mare...

Marinated anchovies, green sauce and Campari orange gealatin;
Lemon marinated castagna fish (from the sea bream family), bonito (marinated three times) and wild salmon on marinated red onion and lemon;
Silver scabbard fish parmigiana  with olive oil powder;

Pistachio shrimp on buffalo ricotta cheese;
Tuna tataki with burnt eggplant sauce;
 Stuffed anchovies with provola with citronette dressing;
Salmon fried in airbag flour on orange sauce


This was just the beginning.  It seems as though the world knows about my love for spaghetti, so Pesce sent out a hearty serving of the house specialty.  Spaghetti alla Ida.

This dish has been a popular menu item for quite some time and I could easily see why.  Clams, cuttlefish, toasted pine nuts, breadcrumbs, and lemon make this dish one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time.

A piece of bread or two to soak up the flavors that remained on the plate.

Remember that cod fish that I met in the kitchen earlier?  Well, it arrived next.  This time filleted, breaded and lightly fried.

It shared space on a beautiful sea green ceramic dish (made by Maresca's mom - Anna Barone) with seasonal vegetables such as green peppers/frigitelli, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes.

As I was eating, I noticed the environment around me.  Diners like me who were sitting down to full lunches, or those who preferred tomato salads, bruschettone, or  the popular zingara sandwich.

Dessert? I was asked?
How about some fruit? I suggested as I eyed the peaches that had been soaking in the house wine for at least a couple of hours.

Fantasticaaa!

Clockwise from the top - Andrea Di Iorio, Pesce, Me, Carlo Di Scala and Maresca

Grazie Ivan for the 'end of service selfie!!!

“Te le do io le Bollicine”, 16 July, Nabilah, Bacoli (Na)

 AIS Napoli presents the 10th edition of the party of the summer season - Te le do io le Bollicine.  A vast array of spumante, friends, music, fun and food to help AIS salute a sparkling summer!  Here's what you can expect on Monday evening at Nabilah! 

A star studded dinner featuring some of Campania's hottest chefs - Lino Scarallo, Pasquale Palamaro, Marianna Vital, Domenico Iavarone and Luciano Villani.

Dozens and dozens of food stands including Oyster Experience a cura di Vincenzo Supino, Old Friends, Tarallificio Tonino, Malafronte Panificio, Olio Guglielmi, ONAF Napoli con i formaggi della famiglia BUSTI e i salumi LEVONI , Carmasciando, Tempio dei formaggi, Kuma 65, La Locanda del Testardo, La Fescina, Liv Bistrot, Mamma Elena, Le Lune Bistrot, Il Falangone, Maria Rosaria canò, Masseria Guida, Masseria Alaia, Locanda Rei, Mosè a Ridosso, La Playa.

An area for street food - Chamade, Macelleria Hamburgheria Da Gigione, Da Pasqualino, Happy Hours, Caseari Cautero, Casa de Rinaldi, Olio e pomodoro.

Dessert! - Sweet Emotions, Pasticceria Lisita, Kiwi SunGold Zespri

And of course, wine!

Metodo Classico:

Rosè Brut S-ciopét – Pelaverga – Castello di Verduno

Bianco Dosaggio Zero – Erbaluce, Timorasso, Cortese, Moscato – Erpacrife

Groppello Brut Nature Paxtibi Bianco dal Nero – Zuliani

Blanc de Sers Brut Nature – Vernaza, Valderbara, Nosiola – Casata Monfort

Vernaza Belle – Pravis

Raboso Rosato Brut Redentor – Tessère

Pignoletto Millesimato 1877 – Lodi Corazza

Lambrusco di Modena – Paltrinieri

Pas Dosé Dalnero – Montepulciano, Sangiovese – Strologo

Vinudilice – Alicante Grecanico, Minnella – I Vigneri

Nerello Mascalese Rosé Extra Brut – Murgo

Metodo Martinotti:

Timorasso Terre di Libarna Colli Tortonesi Brut - Poggio

Prosecco Superiore Brut Conegliano Matiù – L’Antica Quercia

Ribolla Gialla Brut – Komjanc

Metodo Familiare:

Schiava Belle Frizzante Sui Lieviti – Francesco Poli

Silvo Frizzante Sui Lieviti – Varietà resistenti – Villa Persani

Naturalmente Frizzante Sui Lieviti – Glera – Casa Belfi

Roncaie Frizzante Sui Lieviti – Garganega – Menti

Boschera Colli Trevigiani Frizzante Sui Lieviti – Zanon Eros

Z Frizzante Sui Lieviti – Vermentino – Quartomoro

Bellavista, Foss Marai, Fontanafredda

Cantine Carputo, Franciacorta Turra, Ca' del Bosco, Tenuta Cavalier Pepe, Cantine del Mare, Cantine Astroni, Contratto, Ferghettina, Montelvini, Feudi di San Gregorio, Fontanavecchia, Piatti, Sella&Mosca, Vino&Design, Cava Segura Viudas, Braida, Dogliotti, Cantine Iovine 1890, Capri Moonlight, Balter Trento DOC, Domaine D' A - Blanquette

AI Napoli will also hand out diplomas to the new sommeliers. I can remember my night a few years back.

It all kicks off at 7:30 pm, right before that amazing Nabilah sunset!
Tickets info - 

€ 35 at the box office

€ 30 in presale

€ 25 in advance for AIS members

Glass available with a deposit of € 5

#bocciaecastello - A Cool, Tasty, Fun Photo Contest

Pasquale Raicaldo and Ivano Veccia

As you may have seen, I visited Ischia a few weeks ago - you may have read about it here...and here.  That visit sparked quite a bit of attention; a newspaper article and a couple of articles published online focusing on my American  experience on the Isola Verde.
It also sparked an exciting Instagram photo contest thanks to a post on amicone's Ivano Veccia's Facebook wall. Veccia ( practically a rock star on the island thanks to his pizza and jam-packed evenings where he is one of the hottest djs around ) noticed that  many of his friends were posting pics while they were enjoying a panello, a sandwich, on a bench in front of the spectacular medieval Castle Aragonase.

photo by Lisa Divina

A few chats later, a contest  was born complete with its own hashtag #bocciaecastello.
So, Ischitani and tourists alike have until the end of the month to share their sandwich moments on the spectacular location of Ischia Ponte and post it using the hashtag #bocciaecastello.  The photographs will be judged by myself, Ivano Veccia and Crescenzo Scotti.  The winner will receive a grande sandwich fit for four friends complete with beer, and tickets to the amazing Castello Aragonase!
So what are you waiting for??
Let's head out to Ischia!!!
Boun appetito!!!

Fantastic Firsts, Chef Mimmo De Simone, Il Bikini, Vico Equense (Na)

After ordering a bottle of sparkling water and a glass of Fiano di Avellino,   I turned to my server and told him I'd have the Mimmo, pensaci tu tasting menu.  A lunch menu that Chef Mimmo De Simone of Il Bikini would choose especially for me.  I've always been a fan of De Simone's pasta dishes, so I  was secretly looking forward to his pasta dishes.  I'm a big fan of  his choices of quality products, blend of terra e mare/land and sea, and fusion of colors, energy  and flavors.

De Simone ha pensato,thought, to send out two of his latest pasta dishes that fit the bill.  

 Gragnano pasta, tomatoes pesce da zuppa, and green peppers.

Next up? Spaghetti using a fruit from the sea that is not seen  on dining room tables in the area. It stars limoni di mare, sea squirt in English and is surprisingly saporito/flavorful. 

The chef added fennel to the sauce to produce a first that  was not only unforgettable...

it was fantastic...

Appetizers on the Beach, Chef Francesco Sardegna, Ristorante Marina Grande (Sa)

In Campania, the sun rarely looks at the calendar to decide when to come out and play.  And that's a good thing for those off season tourists like me who prefer hitting the winding roads of the Amalfi coast before the heat of the summer. I chose a Saturday afternoon for my trip to Amalfi...for my lunch prepared by Chef Francesco Sardegna and his brigade at Ristorante Marina Grande. 

Warm sunny sunshine. Great. 
A table on the terrace overlooking the beach.  Perfect
Three amazing appetizers. Even better. 

Number One:

Sauro in poke, tarallo, puttanesca sauce. citrus yogurt and, burrata cheese

Number Two:  

Three scallops wrapped in-wait for it-bacon...and a third little bundle of fried mozzarella in carozza.  All on top of a playful rubic's cube made with zucchini and yellow bell peppers.

Number Three:  

Roasted octopus and barley salad.

Lunch on the beach???
Who say's you've got to wait for summer!!

Lunch on the Beach, Chef Vincenzo Piacente, Hotel Parco Dei Principi, Sorrento (Na)

The first time I met Chef Vincenzo Piacente, it was a breezy summer evening last June.  He prepared for me a tasty appetizer on the dark grounds of a medieval castle.  As tasty as the dish was, I told the chef that hopefully the next time I taste his cuisine, the lighting would be a little better.
Fast forward several weeks and I found myself parking across the street from Hotel Parco dei Principi in Sorrento.  I had an appointment for lunch, with Chef Vincenzo Piacente...on the beach, where the lighting was much better than that evening at the medieval castle.

Hotel Parco dei Principi is a 5 star almost unnoticeable from the road, but hard to miss from the sea.  A short walk from the main gate took me through cool green gardens that lead up to the reception.

 I opened the door and entered the lobby decked out in blue ceramic tiling designed by Gio Ponti. (And for the occasion, I traded in my usual blue jeans and sneakers for a blue dress and black heels) After a short walk around, I decided to relax in the lobby before lunch and look over the menu.

 I was curious as to what the chef hand in store, excited about sharing the dining room tourists from all over the world who flock to Sorrento and this hotel year after year.

But as 1 pm rolled around, I noticed that I was pretty much alone waiting for my table. Alone, until a member of the chef's brigade came out of the main kitchen.  
Ciao, Karen! 
It was Gaetano Borelli, who I also met earlier in the summer.  The chef said you'd be wearing a blue dress.  Chef Piacente is down at the beach.  I'll show you.

Beach?
I'd forgotten! Piacente had told me that in the summer, lunch is served at the Poggia Siracusa Restaurant on the hotel's private beach.  Dinner, instead, at the Gio Ponti Restaurant, where I was waiting.

Basile took me down...way down to the beach by way of a series of elevators/labyrinths until finally we arrived to Poggia Siracusa where Chef Piacente and staff were in the midst of a hectic lunch service. A lunch service that focuses on light lunches with popular dishes to please the international traveler who desire something quick and easy before heading back to sunbathe or for a swim,

Chef  Vincenzo Piacente

On that particular day, however, Piacente decided to serve some of the dishes that are usually found on the evening menu to see how it would look on the beach.  

So while I waited with a glass of Fiano di Avellino 2013 by Terredora, the chef sent over his welcome dish.  An assortment of fresh seafood include shrimp and oysters. 

Next, an appetizer of lobster cooked in infused black tea with red berry mayonnaise and crispy rice.

This was soon followed by breaded swordfish stuffed with Italian parsley, garlic, pecorino romano cheese, raisins and pine nuts.

It was then time for a couple of first courses.  Fantastic first courses.
The first, mezzi paccheri pasta from Gragnano with amberjack fish.  The fish was presented in two versions, raw and cooked.

Next, the chef's cacio pepe pasta dish with vermiciello bucato pasta from Gragnano, mussels, and a creamy sauce made with yellow pachino tomatoes.

Second course -   sea bream cooked in lemon with sweet potatoes had that 'tocca in piu' thanks to the addition of marinated caper leaves from dottoressa Alfonsina Longobardi of the restaurant Nonna Giulia.

Between each course, I looked out to the sea, watched bathers and fish enjoying the early August vacation period, sipped on water and wine.

Time for dessert. 
Poggia Siracusa's version of delizia di limone with strawberries.

A perfect ending to my lunch.
A lunch in which the chef impressed me once again as he had that summer evening at that medieval castle.
But here, at Hotel Parco dei Principi...
on the beach...
the lighting was much, much better.


Hotel Parco dei Principi
Via Rota 44
 80067 Sorrento (NA)
081 8784644