Believe the hype. If you do any bit of research about the Aeolian Islands and Salina in particular, you will come across mention of this restaurant near the beach in Lingua. There is a lot of talk about how they have the best Pane Cunzato and Granite. I’ve been eating a lot of Pane Cunzato here, which is an open or closed sandwich on a focaccia type bread filled with a variety of ingredients, including eggplant, tomatoes, capers, mozzarella, ricotta salata, tuna, anchovies, basil, olive oil and other typically local produce. I have probably been eating more gelato than granite, but on these hot afternoons, a granite definitely helps to cool down. This leads me to Da Alfredo. I walked to Lingua along the road from Santa Marina, which was easy and scenic, about 2km in length with nice overlooks of the harbor. Along the walk I found a few patches of blackberries ready to pick. The village of Lingua opens up with a wide boardwalk and there are several restaurants nearby. Around the corner is the Island’s namesake salt lake, and a lighthouse which on the day I was there, was closed to the public. The beach is rocky with crystal clear water. By the way, the only sandy beach on Salina is the black sand beach of Rinella. Having just had lunch (pane cunzato) in Santa Marina, I was only planning on going in the water, having a granita and walking back to Santa Marina. Then I saw the food coming out. It looked delicious, so I ordered a half of the “Salina” and finished with a anguria (watermelon) and fragola (strawberry) granita. The service was very fast. The pane cunzato made all others I have had, taste like they were doing it wrong. The granita was the best thing I’ve had in Sicily. It is hard to understand how they achieve the rich flavor and creamy texture with only using fresh fruit, sugar and water, but they do. It is incredible. I will need to make a trip back before I leave the island on Monday. If you find yourself in the Aeolians- especially Salina- this place is a must.
