We have waited far too long to return to Ortygia Restaurant in Bradenton, which offers wonderful Sicilian, French, and Mediterranean-fusion cuisine. It also has a very reasonably priced wine list. The owner-chef, Bob Gaetano, clearly loves his culinary endeavors and interacts frequently and warmly with his customers. We had last dined there twice in 2011, and enjoyed terrific meals both times. Since it's about a 45-minute drive from our house, we tend to go to closer restaurants. We won't wait so long before we return.
My wife's appetizer was the Torta di Carciofi, a torte with artichokes and caramelized onions in a handmade crust for $8.50. It was wonderful.
My appetizer was a set of two different patés:
- The Paté della Casa (house paté) with chicken livers, pork tenderloin, Szechuan peppercorns, and Mediterranean spices. (As Chef Gaetano informed me when I asked, it was only mildly spicy, despite the Szechuan peppercorns.)
- The Paté delle Due Sicilie (Paté of the Two Sicilies) - a mushroom paté with capers, olives, and dry Marsala.
Both patés were terrific.
My wife's main dish was the Pasta Siciliana - penne pasta with San Marzano tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, basil, and ricotta for $13.50. She really loved it.
I decided to try the Timballo di Penne which my had enjoyed twice in 2011. Timballo is an Italian dish that can be made with pasta, rice, or potatoes. This one had penne, meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, prosciutto, provolone, and roasted peppers in béchamel and parmesan cheese with house-made, slow-cooked tomato sauce for $14.50. It was fantastic. (The name of the dish is derived from timbale, the French word for kettle drum.)
Our wine was a 2013 Feudo Disisa Terre Siciliane Nero d'Avola. It was very nice. I believe the price was $32.
We also had delicious desserts, and I had a cup espresso.
Our server, April, was very nice.
The name Ortygia evokes fond memories for my wife and me because we spent several days with two other couples in the charming Sicilian waterfront town of Ortygia. One evening, when we were dining at a waterfront restaurant called Le Papere, four Italian diners at a table next to us were singing as one of them played the guitar. One of our friends, who is Italian-American asked if he might play the guitar. (He is an accomplished singer and guitarist.) They invited him to do so, and we all began singing. It was a terrific evening - friends, great food, wonderful wine, and perfect temperatures - bellissima!
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