From the Archives: Restaurant review - Lu Disiu, Castelvetrano, Sicily

This was on our list of "to do" restaurants as recommended by the wise and helpful TA (Trip Advisor) forum member, vagabonda, and I am so glad we found it. The food is really lovely, the service gracious, the restaurant itself is very charming. It was the best restaurant we visited in Sicily by a mile. If you are visiting Western Sicily, please take my advice and eat there. You will eat one of the most delicious Italian meals of your life.

Tucked away In a side street adjascent to a church on a tiny piazza (we would never have found it if I hadn't been given directions) you are welcomed into a intimate space painted in a sunny yellow. Rather smarter than some of the seafood restarants we ate at, it definately has a town rather than a beach vibe, but not so formal that you would ever feel uncomfortable. On the contrary we received the warmest welcome from a very handsome and charming young man, and the service was great.

Between us - his basic English and our phrase book Italian - we decided on a meal of meat rather than fish (we were totally fished out by this point !)

In the traditional Italian way we ate antipasti - divine marinated, baked and pickled vegetables, parma ham wrapped around a smoky mozzarella, a delightful stuffed mushroom and a little baked radicchio stuffed with rice. Then tagliatelli with the addition of almost meaty porcini mushrooms (my husband thinks it was the best pasta he has ever had !) and then a meat course of two baby lamb cutlets, served alongside layers of ham stuffed with cheese and walnuts, crumbed and baked alongside onion and pepper. It was just the most delicous meal. Seemingly simple, but really complex and extraordinary subtle flavours than made our taste buds burst. I love the way Sicilians use fennel - just barely there but it transforms some of their food.

Finished our meal off with a semi frozen lemon mousse, on the lightest flan, which was topped with a heavenly lemon granita. That pudding is one of the most memorable I have ever eaten.

We eschewed our normal Planeta (delicious Sicilian wine from the region) and drank a simple vino di tavoleh which was 10 Euros and nicer than many of the "smarter" wines we had been buying on our trip.

I can't recommend this little restaurant highly enough - a real taste of Sicily, a warm welcome from our hosts (the lovely chef kept popping out of the kitchen, delighted to see how much we were enjoying his food).

87 Euros for 2 inc tax and wine. We pay 3 times that in some of the UK's smart restaurants which are often style over substance. This was stylish, more than satisfying, yet still remarkably traditional.

Ristorante superbo !

Lu Disiu
Via XXIV Maggio, 14
91022 Castelvetrano (TP)

From the Archives: Restaurant review - Da Vittorio, Portopalo de Menfi, Sicily

We weren't so wowed by Da Vittorio at Portopalo de Menfi, which had rave comments on the internet and was decribed by the Guardian's food critic as his favourite place to eat in the world. I know food and hospitality is a very subjective experience, but everything I had read about this restaurant led me to expect the Wow factor - and sadly we felt Da Vittorio was a little lacklustre.
The portions were generous, and we had initially ordered an attractive platter of seafood antipasti and the waiter accepted our order, but just before we were served, a woman who I presumed to be the Manageress, came to us and explained (without a smile) that we HAD to have three courses and the antipasti was simply the first course.
Now I know that it's the traditional way to eat in Sicily, but sometime you simply aren't that hungry and to be almost bullied into ordering courses you didn't want seemed so unecessary.
However we did enjoy the second course regardless. It was good seafood, a lovely spaghetti dish with lobster, clams, prawn and mussels, but we felt almost press-ganged into ordering a huge meal that neither of us really wanted. We just weren't hungry enough to enjoy it.
Other people seemed to come in and have just one course, but maybe our wallets were glowing, and we felt like we were treated like tourists.
I certainly didn't experience this in other local restaurants. Overall the atmosphere left us a bit cold and they weren't as welcoming as other places we visited. I'd rather have saved the 90 Euros (antipasti, shared pasta and sorbeta with 2 beers) and blown it at the fabulous Lu Disiu in Castelvetrano.
For a restaurant with such a stellar reputation, the seafood was good but not incredible. I've had better in Australia, in Africa, in Spain. Disappointing when you consider than Sicily is synonomous with seafood.
A far better seafood experience was the clam and mussel soup flavoured with fennel that we had at the family diner, Pierrot's in Marinella de Selinunte. That cost about 5 Euros !
We did however see the famed bare chested Vittorio, but he wasn't cooking that lunch time, choosing to lounge on a chair outside the kitchen door instead !
So overall verdict - pretty good, but not as good as the rave reviews indicate.

The French Chateau: Les vacances à Aquitaine 2007

A brief review as we only stayed one night. I chose Bouliac as a destination as we were dining at one of my favourite restaurants nearby (at the Hotel Saint James, where we were unable to book a room even 2 months in advance !). Bouliac is a mere 10 km from Bordeaux; one of my favourite French cities and a place I have returned to repeatedly.
Chateau du Pian is a charming French "posh B&B" experience. The Chateau has that wonderful yet typical mix of formality and yet almost casual welcoming of guests into the family home. A plentiful breakfast and lots of invaluable advice and tourist tips from our English speaking host, Hervé Chatellier.
I wouldn't personally want to stay in a Chateau for more than one or two nights - they often lack some of the expected services and ingratiating professional touches offered by hotels - but it's a "must do" on the check list for anyone holidaying in France and travelling around. The Chateau du Pian offers that experience very nicely - some will think this is a fabulous house filled with the chattels of generations past; others will think it lacks a professional touch and is bordering on a cliche, but that is part of the charm.
This is a subjective opinion of course; one man's Ritz is another man's Travelodge and it's hard to categorise what the Chateau du Pian actually offers the seasoned traveller with high and sophisticated expectations. There are Chateaux that offer ultimate and haughty granduer, and others that offer a sad and dusty glimpse into a tarnished mirror reflecting days gone by. The Chateau Pian sits rather comfortably, and proudly, in the middle. The house in itself is really very beautiful.
All I can say in conclusion is that we thoroughly enjoyed our brief interlude (and the first night of our French holiday) in this emblamatic example of a Bon Vacance.
A truly charming hostelry, and a very pleasant and helpful host

Travel review - Sun Rocks in Santorini

We holidayed in Santorini and stayed in Firostefani (forever known as Gwen Stefani) at the beautiful Sunrocks, which is carved into the side of the Caldera - the lip of the Volcano. It was probably the last week of the tourist season. Many of the bars and restaurants were winding up to close down for the summer by mid October. Sunrocks still seemed to be full though, it takes booking through to the end of the month.

It is a very chic and stylish boutique hotel, the staff are very professional, the rooms are gorgeous; whitewashed troglodyte caves. However we did feel there was an element of style over substance.

The much feted menu at the intimate restaurant was lovely, but wasn't as good as other restaurants in the area (try Vanilla or our favourite, Saltsa, a mere ten minutes walk on the main road) The food is nice, just not as wonderful as the management seem to think it is !

Our suite was fabulous, but beware when booking that your balcony does not face away from the sun. We nabbed a mere hour or so the end of the day. Many of the balconys are not private as the steps are right next to you. My suggestion is to ask for a sun facing terrace when booking. The pool is cold but that's not unusual in the Med. And I wish that Sunrocks would invest in more comfortable sun loungers - we sun worshippers like a little padding !

The steep steps are killers, but I got used to them within a day or two, and that's part of Santorini's charm. The flatter side of the island is not half as charming as Fira, Firastefani or Oia. However the morning after I first tackled the many steps I literally couldn't walk, and hobbled like an old woman. I was actually overtaken by an elderly lady , with a zimmer frame, as I gingerly attempted to walk through the marbled streets of nearby Oia. And speaking of Oia, it's a must do destination for the incredible sunsets.

Back to Sunrocks: My main niggle is probably a little bit selfish. There was a wedding party at the hotel during our stay which seemed to take over the quiet privacy of the rest of the guests and spoiled the couples ambience that the hotel promotes - chatty family and friends of the happy couple constantly at the pool, including a small baby, which changed the nature of the romantic idyll that my husband and I were expecting. They generated a group dynamic, which wasn't what I wanted from my chosen residence on this trip. I wanted a quiet, relaxing and romantic time with my husband and expected the other guests at the hotel to be sympathetic to the desired atmosphere.

Hotel costs for the week with a few meals, room service and drinks was approx £1350 for the two of us staying in a Junior Suite. Certainly not cheap, but all in all I think it's fair for the standard.

It's a super little hotel; just not quite as top notch as it would like to be.

Ode to ForeverMod (a poem written to Janine when she was emigrating)

To lose a best friend is careless, but I’m not known for being tidy
But let’s go back to when we met – I’m sure it was a Friday
A jaunt to the Black Country; a room shared with a stranger
I should have know that instant, my sanity was endangered

Announcing boldy to the staff “We’re lesbians you know …
This is my Mummy Alison and I am Janine Snow”
Although I didn’t know it, I had gained my own pet Mod
It took a while to realise that she was a frightful sod

But hey, I gained a daughter ( a mere few years younger )
For Cider, Slimfast and Cheese String, she had insatiable hunger
Arriving weekly at my home with bottles of champagne
Generous of spirit, but headfu*ked in the brain

We travelled Britain’s motorways in search of soulful times
The Highway code forgotten, committing driving crimes
A text sent here, nails painted there, deftly actioned and applied
Crashes, scrapes and writes offs – she took all in her stride

I’ve witnessed her ascent to heights so dizzy and alarming
Crowned Princess of Snowland and yet down to earth and charming
A spoilt brat, a naughty child, a nightmare adolescent
Nini somehow pulls it off – the best anti-depressant

I’ll miss the Minx, the Monkey, the Modernist Mademoiselle
I’m sorry that I cannot be there to wish her fond farewell
Goodbye my dearest cowbag, our wicked pretend daughter
I promise we’ll visit you in Oz - come hell or high water

You’ve been a total diamond; best friend in times of woe
Maybe we should make a stand, refuse to let you go
You fly away to the Promised Land of sun and glistening sea
Just take the time to think of us, Darling Persephone