Opening a brewery is a tough thing. I don’t think most people realize how many hours, money, and stress it takes to get something like a brewery off the ground. Do it during a global pandemic, and everything is multiplied exponentially. My partners and I had been working on South of Shaw non-stop since 2019, and I finally decided it was time for a vacation. So, Michelle and I packed up and headed to Sicily.
There’s a reason we do pizza at the pub. Besides being universally loved and going great with beer, our families are immigrants from Sicily. My great-grandfather Francesco Moranto came to America in 1913 when he was just 16 years old. My wife’s family also immigrated from Sicily early in the 20th century, so it made perfect sense for us to visit.
The first thing we did was hunt down a brewery. It seems beer is not really much of a thing there, when compared to the US. But we did find a great little brewery called Ballarak. Ballarak is apparently Palermo’s first craft brewery, and as far as I could tell, they are the only brewery in Palermo that actually brews onsite. It was a cool little spot with a great patio, a small bar area, and then a dining room with a small brewery visible behind glass doors and red velvet curtains. I enjoyed a blonde and an IPA, both of them around 3% ABV, which is nearly impossible to find in the US. They do have stronger beers, but for walking around in sunny, very warm Palermo, these were welcome options. They didn’t have a full kitchen, but they had some simple sandwiches on the menu that hit the spot. It was a wonderful visit, and we exchanged some brewery stickers with the bartender before heading on our way.
While that was our only brewery experience in Sicily, there were plenty of great restaurants. It was interesting to me to contrast the restaurant experience with that in the US. Dinners are usually 4 courses: an appetizer, some sort of pasta dish, a main course (usually fish since Sicily is an island and fresh fish is plentiful), and then dessert. That sounds like a lot of food, but the portions are much smaller than in America, so even with multiple dishes, you don’t leave feeling like you’ve overeaten.
The pace is also slower. You are not rushed. Nobody checks on you. Nobody brings you a bill. When you want something, you make eye contact with a server and raise your hand. When you want the bill, you ask for it. Other than that, you are left alone to enjoy your meal. This took a bit to get used to, and in really touristy areas, they are a little more attentive, but overall, I found that I really enjoyed not being harassed by a server every 5 minutes.
Technology is also different. I didn’t see a single TV or table kiosk while I was there. I’m sure they probably have sports bars with TV’s and such, but for regular dining, the experience is technology-free. Lovely. I also love the check-out process. The server will bring a handheld device to your table, you scan your phone and it prints a receipt on the spot. Nobody ever holds your credit card in Sicily. You are also never asked to tip.
But let’s talk about the food. I did not have a single bad meal in Sicily. Sometimes we got things we didn’t mean to order just because of the language barriers. For instance, once we ordered calamari expecting the usual deep-fried rings, but instead got a whole squid body that had been grilled. It was unexpected, but totally delicious. Another time we ordered beef strips on a bed of arugula and found out that the meat was completely raw. And cold. But hey, when in Rome, as they say… we ate it and it was awesome. It’s called carpaccio, by the way.
But what about the pizza? I was really kind of unsure about ordering pizza because I own a pizza joint. I eat pizza all the time. So on one hand, I’m kind of “pizza’d out” sometimes, but I had to compare ours to the original inspiration. I was pleased to find that our pizza at South of Shaw is pretty darn close to the original. No, you won’t find a pickle pizza in Sicily. But you will find that same thin pizza with a puffy, chewy crust, a clean, rich tomato sauce, high-quality cheese, and delicious toppings.
So it was a great trip and I made lots of notes as we ate all over Sicily and we’ll be introducing some specials in the coming months. Anyone like grilled corn on their pizza? Maybe we’ll find out.