Duomo

Ciccio Sultano, Sicilian, is the supreme exponent of the island’s gastronomic culture. He loves the ingredients, the succulence and abundance, characteristics that confirm his fondness for eating. These passionate or emotional qualities intermingle with other more cerebral ones, such as capturing and promoting distinctive flavors, differentiating in the dish the various components, as well as showing a certain mental openness that consists in the rise of foreign ideas and imagination, expressed in a reflective way. As a consequence, he never commits errors of excess fantasy or sophistication. His constructions, though rather elaborate, express simplicity. They are bound to the earth and reality, with memory and conscience, loyal to cultural patrimony and created to convince each and every palate. An evolutionary cuisine without conceptual or technical bragging, very human –ethical – that pursues authenticity and, above all, provides immense satisfaction.

Among the excellence of the genres here, the red prawns and Spanish red shrimp, Norway lobsters and oysters appear at distinct moments in the feast, either raw or prepared, and all are colossal in both flavor and size. The caviar spoon with honey, just a drop, encompasses flavors that express individually and as a whole. The caviar is placed on top of the spoon with the honey on bottom, situated over another spoon of ricotta cream and ground onion with oil and supports a strip of raw sea bass… a magnanimous testimony to essence, nature, purity and delicacy. The squab, potato puree and oyster, in three spaces from top to bottom, represents heaven, the earth and the sea. It is exquisite and immaculate, requiring nothing more than three reflective moments on the part of the diner. The salad with red prawns and Spanish red shrimp, baby octopus, tomato and mozzarella is a noble staging of national pride. How can I describe the gnocchi with baby pork meatballs and squid? A colossal exaltation of populism reconstructed and made delicate; the same goes for the couscous with almonds, fish and seafood, not to mention the soup, which incites gluttony.

The pasta, made by Ciccio following his own researched recipe, lives up to expectations. Intrinsically flavorful with a very curious tactile sensation: al dente and meaty. Illustrated with distinctive preparations, among which it is necessary to cite the accompaniment of the spaghetti: a fresh anchovy and tuna roe tartar that plays the role of garnish and seasoning, and a carrot juice that serves as a liquid sauce at the base of the plate. There is indeed much to celebrate in the way the chef deals with the hard grain semolina.

Among the fish, the tuna and red mullet are offered in a thousand different ways with thoughtful, original combinations taken form the region and its people. And the pork loin and chops – filled with salami, Ragusano cheese, vegetables and herbs – of black pig with spicy chocolate sauce is one of countless demonstrations of the flavorful exuberance here; refined, light delicacies that correspond to a feeling and reality that is very Mediterranean. The iced-blended dessert drinks, like the tangerine and apple, or the fig soup with Sicilian cannolo and the cassata are all on a level with the greatness of this fine Sicilian chef: Ciccio Sultano.