A Fabulous Night Among the Artichokes

Alice: Fiorella, we have to tell the readers about our Friday night in the Vergini!

Fiorella: Who would’ve thought that we would be at a party around pineapples, art students, families and one of the funniest DJs I have heard in a long time!

Alice: When you told me about a party at Ciro, our favorite vegetable seller, I had to go to see what a night dancing to Neapolitan 90’s pop while buying vegetables for Saturday’s lunch looked like.

Fiorella: And it looked FABULOUS.

Alice: Every day this bustling market street hosting Palazzo dello Spagnolo and the famous Ciro Oliva pizzeria is full of cars and mopeds and baby strollers and people going every which way to buy fish, socks, oranges, a newspaper or mozzarella but Friday night it was magical. There was a new energy where the stands used to be which connected artists from around the city, locals, tourists and two of the best up-and-coming bloggers in the area to relax, sip wine, dance and eat delectable, homemade sandwiches filled with ingredients from Ciro’s mom like meatballs, friarielli and eggplant Parmesan.

Fiorella: It was unforgettable! I loved how Ciro, still dressed in his work clothes, was dancing next to the DJ while he continued to sell his fruit and vegetables.

Alice: That is Naples for you…a surprise around every corner. Where else can you find this kind of spontaneous creativity?

 

 

 

Food

Alice:

Stepping outside of my balcony I see white smoke puff out of aluminum chimneys above Via Dei Tribunali, the pizza street. Late on, the cheesy, salty smell of all the things we need in life, toppings to be had or left off open to the world of possibility. This is the fabulous possibility of a city that cannot be described in words so many as in anecdotes…but perhaps its essence can be found in its in food. Something we find extra delicious: Naples is a food paradise where you do not need to spend a fortune to eat fabulously.

Obviously, the most famous culinary creation originating from this city is pizza. In 1889, Raffaele Esposito, a cook of the still thriving Pizzeria Brandi is given the great task of creating a meal for Queen Margherita di Savoia, the first queen after the unification of Italy. The result is a patriotic dish baked in the Capodimonte Royal Palace which has the colors of the Italian flag: green-basil; white-mozzarella; and red-tomato.

 

 

Here are some of our favorites:

http://www.50kalò.it/

http://www.pizzeriaoliva.it/

http://www.sorbillo.it/

https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g187785-d15096464-Reviews-Antico_Borgo_Ai_Vergini-Naples_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html

http://www.pizzeriadecumani.it/

http://www.palazzopetruccipizzeria.it/

Yet if you are looking for a great place to grab a plate of pasta or fresh seafood you must check out the trattorias of Naples. Some great dishes to try are pasta alla genovese (slow cooked meat with caramelized stewed onions), ragù, spaghetti with local clams or mussels, pasta with potatoes and provola cheese, fried fresh anchovies, buffalo mozzarella, peppers with olives and capers, fried zucchini dressed with EVOO, mint, garlic and vinegar, eggplant parmesan.

A few places to try local specialties in the historical center:

https://www.osteriapisano.it/

http://www.trattoriapignata.it/

https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g187785-d1091739-Reviews-Antica_Trattoria_da_Carmine-Naples_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html

https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g187785-d1021140-Reviews-La_Campagnola-Naples_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html

https://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g187785-d7264967-Reviews-A_Lucianella-Naples_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html

http://www.osteriaangolino.it/

http://ilgarum.it/