L’ANTICA LOCANDA, NOCI
We always try for such on Sundays in Italy and yesterday’s was a HIT!
L’ANTICA LOCANDA has a SlowFood 'snail" and has long been considered one of the culinary landmarks of the Valle d’Itria. It’s been on my list for years and we set off with great excitement. The route that took 38 minutes on my laptop ended up taking more than an hour due to some confusing backtracking near Selva di Fasano directed by the GPS in the car. I parked in a clearly illegal spot but after I told this to our waiter, he told me not to worry because the parking police would be eating lunch themselves so my car would likely go unnoticed.
The interior was packed when we arrived at 2:45 and the series of dinng areas could serve as a stage set for a rustic Pugliese restaurants–the whitewashed walls, the vaulted ceilings, the old farm artifacts scattered here and there…
Before ordering, we were gifted a plate of that cucina povera mainstay—meatballs made from bread–polpettine di pane. As good or better than any “meat” ball I’ve ever had and completely addictive…w.e were fighting each other for the last little balls. MUST get recipe to make back home:
We began with the “Antipasto Traditzionale” for one person (16 euro) I think this was the best I’ve had in Puglia. Maybe a dozen dishes–each one better than the last–arrayed atop two large round platters.
Among the highlights: a rectangle of eggplant parmesan (top left); impeccably fried lampascioni (hyacinth bulb, which they always translate as “onions;” (top right; and, in the center, a sformato made of black cabbage!!!
Here we have a cold farro and bean salad; zucchini with a sharp vinegar dressing; burrata and made-that-morning sheep cheese; ham with cardoncelli mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes; and, center right, that exquisite capocollo from Martina Franca, the most prized of Pugliese salumi.
We share a FANTSTIC and FANTASTICALLY RICH Tortelli stuffed with burrata and cardoncelli mushrooms, with bits of fried prosciutto scattered on top. You know that expression..“I thought I’d died and gone to heaven…???” This is why remained of my half order.
A palate cleanser–fennel and carrots, so tender and sweet–arrives and I demolish every bite:
We can’t eat another bite by now but, of course, we do:
For me: Rabbit baked in a terra cotta cazuela, with aromatic herbs; why does rabbit show up so rarely on menus in the US? Are people squeamish about eating bunnies?
Rabbit (at least the rabbit I’ve had on Ischia and Salina, and now here, has so much more flavor than your ordinary chicken. Would not the price of rabbit meat in the US be fairly reasonable? Or, in order to be sold, do they have to be raised on farms with many credentials??? Has anyone here had a great rabbit dish in Ne York City? Do they even exist there??
For dining partner: “Brasciole al Ragu Pugliese” with pecorino, garlic and parsley in tomato sauce. I have no words. Like the pot roast your mother never made! I’m sure they know it as “Bra-zhool” at Don Peppe!!
We had no room for dessert but we did manage to finish off our gift of a pair of “bigne,” Pugliese for beignet—filled with a luscious cream that had a hint of citrus…
With a glass of Pugliese Fiano, and water=75 euro.
Worth a long detour.
Owner and Chef Pasquale Fatalino greets a fan:
Noci looked, from our brief glimpse into the historic core, as stunning as some of the other much more famous nearby towns and villages but minus tour buses and gaggles of tourists.
We felt the same about the home of that other culinary gem, CIBUS, and its location in gleaming white Ceglie Messapica that we spent time at last year.
With the same old, same old tourist path–Polignano; Monopoli; Ostuni; Alberobello; Locorotondo; Lecce becoming more trodden by the minute, I hope a few curious travelers will veer off into the less discovered corners of the region…
L’ANTICA LOCANDA now takes its place among our favorite Puglia eateries, and I hope we can get back there before we leave early next month..
