Granita

I almost went to bed without posting, but I can't sleep so you all are in luck! Today I caught up on sleep (maybe too much? no, impossible) and took another walk around Taormina. It is has become my unofficial mission to find the best granita in the town, taking prices into consideration, and today I had a breakthrough. (If you are unfamiliar with this delicious alternative to gelato, maybe you know Italian ice. I'd say they're similar, if not the same thing. Granita comes in all sorts of flavors from almond and coffee to strawberry and kiwi.)

The place for granita that we at Taormina's Odyssey recommend to everyone is called "Bam Bar" which specializes in all kinds of granite (that's the plural...I'm not really sure when to use the singular and when to use the plural). They make all different varieties from scratch, right there. The granita experience, I am told, is made complete with panna (whipped cream) and brioche (a big, fluffy, golden brown pastry roll) but so far I've just enjoyed it in its simplest form: from a plastic cup, whilst walking down the street. It doesn't take much more than that to make it one of my favorite things. To me, coffee flavored is best.

Above: an example of the ultimate granita experience -- maybe I am missing out!

Below: lemon granita, the way I normally consume it.

Anyway, a little take-away plastic cup of granita di caffè costs €2,50 at most places along the main pedestrian tourist street. Once before I found it for €2 but it was disgusting and old. Last week I was rather shocked when I finally made it to Bam Bar and had to pay €3,50. That's approximately $5! Eeep. So today I was excited to find, not more than 300 meters down that same street, a place with equally good granita for only €2. Victory! Still not an everyday indulgence, but much more affordable, don't you agree? And it's impossible to beat on a hot day. Saturday it's supposed to reach 99º F, so I think some more granita is in my immediate future.