While driving down Hempstead Turnpike, I noticed a sign saying Sicilian Cooking to my left. Hmmm, that might be a good spot to try. So I picked up Mom, and off we went to Sicilia Risturanti.
Sicilia Risturanti is the new kid on the block in Levittown, featuring Southern Italian dishes from Sicily. Having grown up on this type of cooking, I was excited to try it. While glancing over the menu, I noticed they served Caponata. My fave. Oh I think I’m going to be happy. So we placed our order, enjoyed a glass of their house Chianti and waited for our feast.
Soon our server set down our appetizer . Caponata is a salad of sauteed eggplant, onions, olives, capers and tomatoes and was served on garlic points. I was first to take a bite, to see how it stood up to my Grandfather’s version. Crunchy, tangy, salty and sweet. Wow…this is good. It tastes like home. Is my Grandfather in the kitchen? Needless to say, we cleaned the plate dry. Now for round two.
My Mom ordered the Shrimp Scampi over spaghetti and I ordered the Chicken Marsala. But this wasn’t the typical Chicken Marsala, that is swimming in a sea of sauce. This was plump and juicy chicken breast, gently sauced with the right amount of wine and wild shiitake mushroom. It was served with two sides. I chose risotto and broccoli rabe. Mmmmm. Absolutely delicious.
I asked my Mom is she liked her dish. All she could do was nod her head and chew.
As we were finishing up the last of our wine, the owners came over to say hi and ask if everything was OK. I couldn’t stop telling them how wonderful everything was, how lovely our server was and that I was going to feature them on Cheapeats.
Thank you to everyone at Sicilia for making our Mother/Daughter outing just perfect.
Happiness, $25 and under.