Spleen sandwich. 3/25/18

No, this is not just an attention-getter. It is a famous Palermo street food. And there are some people in our family who want to try this delicacy. I am not one of them.

We wake up to a rainy day in Palermo. The high today is around 50F and along with the rain, windy conditions are expected. It is a perfect day to stay in, do some laundry, write my blog, and read a book or play games on my iPad. Sarah suggests that she and John go out and find a purveyor of pane di ca meusa, spleen sandwich. I am happy to have them go without me.

Spleen sandwiches

Sarah has found a restaurant, Nino U’ Ballerino that sells them. They have big pots of spleens and other innard parts bubbling away. Their pane di ca meusa is so good they have won the 2017 award for best street food!

Nino U’ Ballerino’s pot of guts
Many tasty things to choose from
The red shrimp award for best street food

All I ask is that they bring me back a can of Pringles to munch on. They stop in at the local supermarket, Conad, and find my Pringle lunch. Sarah strolls around the store comparing Italian to American prices. Most things in Europe are pretty pricy but we have found that bread, wine, vegetables, and pasta in Italy are much cheaper.

Barilla pasta – we are excited when it is $1 a pound at home. Here it is for .69 euro for a kilogram (2.2 lbs.)

In case you are wondering what they thought of the spleen sandwich John found it quite delicious with a bit of a funky taste and soft texture. Salt, pepper, cheese, and lemon finish off the preparation and it is served on a soft sesame bun. He wished there had been a little raw onion served on it for some crunch. Sarah did not make much comment, only that she needed to go lie down to let things digest.

Not much else to report today. Even after their spleen sandwiches Sarah and John were ready to go out to dinner around 8 PM. We got a recommendation from the front desk to try Trattoria Bionda. It is quite full when we get there. Lots of Sicilian families are eating in the front room and several tables of Germans and us are in the back room. There is a German tour group staying at our hotel. The front desk guy probably gave the same recommendation to everyone. The food was good and we enjoyed ourselves.

Fancy stoneware at Trattoria Bionda
Sarah’s penne with eggplant, meat, and mushrooms
John’s rice curry with shrimp
Mary’s veal with a lemon and white wine sauce, roasted potatoes and onions (This was really good!)

 

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