Bari Restaurant Tips by dnwitte

Shall I start by warning you away from the worst restaurant in Italy? You will inevitably pass by a place called 'da Rafaelle' and you might think it looks cozy and be attracted by their 'specialty: Seafood' signs, but inside you will find the most venomously hostile proprietor imaginable. He slams the dishes at you, doesn't listen when you order, demands to know what you want without even telling you what there is, ignores efforts to get his attention, and actually serves pretty lousy food. In addition, the minute we walked in, he switched on the enormous TV, turned the volume all the way up, and accompanied our dinner with live reports from a campground landslide in Calabria, where bodies were being pulled from the mud and people were screaming in anguish.Real nice.......If you speak Italian, I HIGHLY recommend a place called simply 'Hosteria', which is located just off the big square that closes off the Eastern edge of the Medieval city. You go down into a sort of brick cave where you are ordered where to sit, and the slightly confused staff come and bark at you. It's not hostility, they're just wildly busy. Be warned, there are no menus and they talk fast so be ready to answer them when they say 'Da bere?' or start spieling the evenings offerings.
This is a neighborhood joint in one of the neighborhoodiest places I've ever seen. It's good basic Cucina Povera served with no pretense and no concessions to tourists.

Favorite Dish: Fave e Cicorie, Southern Italian soul food. Warm fava bean puree,cooked chicory, and a splash of olive oil and salt. Done.

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