Lunch in Castellammare Del Golfo

While driving down E90 it was hard to ignore the change in scenery that was developing the further I drove from the busy, urban areas outside of Palermo. The water along the shore was the turquoise blue that I had seen above the beaches of Mondello. I decided it was about time for a break and Castellammare Del Golfo had been a town I remembered reading about. I found a parking spot and confirmed with a local shop owner that it was okay to park there. It was Tuesday around noon and the streets and beaches were eerily empty. It was sunny, the heat and humidity intense and I was glad I had bought a hat on my way out of Palermo. I started walking toward the water, and though I wasn’t prepared to go swimming, took off my shoes and stepped through the piping hot pebbles and into the water. On my way back through the main part of the village, I saw a chalkboard sign for “Schiacciata”, so similar in spelling to Scacciatta, which I had grown up eating- I ordered it to find out what it was. Turns out it is completely different than Scacciatta. It was a sandwich is fresh mozzarella, mortadella, tomatoes, olive oil, romaine and herbs on a tasty piece of sesame seeded bread- similar to a focaccia.