eating out in calabria

A little while ago (what are a few weeks among friends?) I was tagged by Karla and Irene, and it goes a little something like this:

1. Link to the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Include the state and country you’re in.
3. List your top 5 favorite places to eat at your location (locally).
4. Tag 5 other people (preferably from other countries/states) and let them know they’ve been tagged.

We don't eat out very often, but I have managed to come up with five places that have all the courses covered here in my corner of Calabria, Italy (that's sort of like a state, right?).

Provinces are in parentheses after town names.

Oh, and I'll end the suspense here and say I won't be tagging anyone--however feel free to store this idea away for days when you have nothing else to say. Is that why I'm choosing this lazy Friday to finally post this?

I'll never tell.

So here are five of the best places to mangia mangia! in bella Calabria (other than my house, of course):

1. Diavolo Rosso, Badolato Superiore (CZ)

Run by one of P's very bestest friends, Mimmo, Diavolo Rosso is our pizzeria, our Saturday night place, our home away from home if you will. My favorite pizzas are the tonno e cipolle (tuna and onions) and the prosciutto crudo, grana padano, and rucola. Yum!

In the summer, you need to reserve a table ahead of time if you want to eat outside on the terrace, and believe me you do.


And if you're really lucky, Mimmo will break out his guitar and sing traditional Calabrese folk music from his band Marasa's CD.

2. Excalibur, Santa Caterina Marina (CZ)

Excellent seafood year round, but especially in the summer when if you don't get there early enough in the evening, you may be stuck ordering the (also delicious) veal. Poor thing. Great outdoor seating as well.

3. Soverato Dolci, Soverato (CZ)

Makes the best pastries I've had since I've been here--and yes, I have been to Sicily. They also do a really nice aperitivo so long as you order at least one alcoholic drink among your group. Not usually a problem in my groups.

4. Golosia, Gioiosa Ionica Marina (RC)

Homemade gelato in an impressive, creative collection of flavors. Hands down the best gelato I've had here, although the tartufo from Pizzo (VV) ain't half bad either. Someday, Sara, I'll get there with a camera in hand to join the Tour del Gelato, I swear!

5. Le Terrazze, Copanello-Stalettì (CZ)

The first and only time I've eaten here was last week as part of the 2-day conference I had to attend. We had a six or seven or was it eight course meal (can't remember I was so stuffed), and every single thing was fabulous. It was fish-themed (seafood salad, risotto with shrimp, swordfish, grilled prawns, and much more); perhaps some photos of the place will give a clue why:






So, yeah, even if the food sucked, this place probably still would've made my list. The views are just unreal. We happened to be there on the night of the full moon, and that was amazing to see over the sea--didn't get a great photo though because of the glare, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Buon appetito!