Alice Pizza - off my radar

I've been blessed (cursed) with restaurant radar. You know, that inkling you get when something just isn't right. The absence of the patron, who in former days was omnipresent, new staff (who seems new to the restaurant business) , groups of English speaking tourists being fawned over. Dishes that bear the marks of culinary ineptitude (ie vegetables that haven't been cut by someone who knows how to cut them, bad seasoning). I got all of these in rapid succession last night at Alice Pizza, and , as usual (to my my general discredit), I ignored what my radar was telling me. I should have walked out after waiting 25 minutes for a menu, but then I told myself they seem pretty busy with all these Anglo/student/tourist groups (ping!), then came the crostini with clumsily cut tomatoes complete with the inedible parts and accompanied by a wilted salad with a mouth puckering sour balsamic vinaigrette (ping, ping!), and the pizza, inspired by the memory of another (a gorgonzola, raspberry balsamic dream of a pie) , that was only a pale impression of what came before: microscopic squirts of sauce, two dollops of gorgonzola, and a crust that tasted like a naan from the takeout a few doors down. I should have gone there.

Pink Flamingo

A hip, Miami-style eatery in the Marais called the Pink Flamingo should be an instant hit with just the name alone, however, this is probably one of the best pies in the city. Their first outpost was on a tiny side street next to the Canal Saint Martin, and this tiny place, next to happening neo-bistro Glou, and behind the Musée Picasso is in prime Upper Marais real estate. They offer a variety of interesting pizzas, all made with thin crust bio flour, and cooked to perfection with exotic toppings. I tried the "Ho Chi Ming", with chicken and gambas with a coconut milk sauce, coriander, lemongrass and sprinkled with crushed peanuts. I thought Alice Pizza was the best I'd ever had in Paris, but this one made me seriously reconsider. Went down well with a cold biere bio of their own fabrication.

Pink Flamingo
105 rue Vieille du Temple

A week of eating: Cefalu, Sicily

Cefalu, proclaimed as "The Pearl of the Mediterranean" by locals (more like the "Bodrum of Sicily") , made this recent week of eating and drinking an enjoyable (although caloric) marathon. This ancient town, perched along the sea under a massive rocky geography , has both in its medieval neighborhood and along the main beach some excellent restaurants at good value. Predictably, eateries make use of the great local produce as well as the natural beauty of the surroundings. Sicilian tomatoes, lemons and seafood are some of the best in the Med, and dishes such as spaghetti vongole, sardine tagliatelli, pizzas in various forms, thinly cut beefsteaks, seafood carpaccio, grilled fish of all types (especially swordfish) , shellfish, etc. are present on nearly every menu. The local wine and beers are all reasonably priced so you may slake your thirst without breaking the bank.


Terrace seating at the Osteria del Duomo (steps lead to the 1150 Arab-Norman cathedral)


Caprese salad


Fish and shellfish carpaccio (apparently the best in town)


Sardine pasta, a local specialty


Roast gambas


The view from the terrace of Al Grabbiano


Heaven in a glass

Spaghetti vongole (the best in Cefalu IMHO)

Roast swordfish (another local favourite)

The best pizza we tried in Cefalu


L'Antica Corte

...located in a charming medieval courtyard


Relatively correct pasta with ham and mushrooms

Ditto for the steak , but , hey , the 15€ three course menu was a bargain






These are the addresses we tried out- unfortunately only one, L'Osteria, figures in the Michelin guide, the one place we were the least impressed with, although their terrace is the best in town (although infested by agressive wasps.....)

Osteria del Duomo, via Seminario 3, Cefalu, +390921421838

Al Grabbiano, via Lungomare Giardina 17, Cefalu, +390921421495

L'Antica Corte, Off Corso Ruggero, Cefalu, +390921423228

Al Porticciolo, Via Carlo Ortolani di Bordonaro 66, Cefalu, +390921921981

La Briciola Paris, GOGO review