In all honestly, I’ve been slightly disappointed with the Sicilian food so far. It all seems to be deep fried, fatty or bread based so when a local told me he’d take me to the best trattoria/pizzeria in Palermo, I was very excited. I didn’t even mind the fact that, in true Italian style, he arrived 15 minutes late to an already late meeting time of 8.30pm. Stomach rumbling, I was very excited about trying some ‘delizioso’ Siciian pizza.
Only a ten minute walk from Politeama Piazza, and situated within the back streets of Palermo, La Corte dei mangioni truly did sing out ‘local and authentic’. I loved the entrance too, mirrored by two large shutter doors – it definitely gave me inspiration for MYO. Everything felt very rustic, from the cobbled tiles, exposed brick, wooden tables and chairs and generally the overall feel of the place. The staff, and even some of the customers knew Alberto (my dinner companion), showing even more of that authentic Italian family feel. I was told I could watch the chefs cook the pizza but my stomach came first. We were led downstairs to a crowded room, full of square tables and happy customers. For a Monday night, I was surprised at how busy it was and when asking Alberto if it was usually like this, he said normally you have to wait for one hour for a table of 2. Crazy! This got me even more excited about the food!
Well, the menus were just confusing. Hungry ordering is never wise, and being hungry and staring at an Italian menu is even more challenging. Despite the unwanted attention and pestering out on the streets, Italian service in restaurants seems to be a lot more relaxed and almost vacant. We had to make a lot of eye contact to be served, which is completely different to England where the waiters are constantly trying to upsell by coming back to you non-stop. Anyway, the food! There were 3 different menus – the specials, the normal menu and a menu showing the Man vs. Food type dishes that La Corte dei Mangioni specialises in. We opted for something off each, polpetto di sarde to start, followed by a pizza con bufala, spinaci e funghi and to finish the Hot Dog special (Alberto’s choosing).
Sorry about the tiny image, it just won’t go bigger – I’ll keep trying!
While waiting, I was eye-balling the gigantic plates of food coming out, burgers the size of plates, topped with chips and a steak knife and other colossal delights. It really did feel for a second that I was in some southern US state. Our polpetto (swordfish meatballs) came out within minute, alongside some bread. Italian restaurants charge ‘coperta’, which is usually 2 euro per person and includes bread and sometimes water. The polpetto were topped with sweet onions and despite being slightly tough, were nice enough. The bread was equally nice, especially when dipped in balsamic oil!
Next, the star of the show – the pizza! I was very excited about this as Alberto had talked it up so much. On aesthetics alone, it looks amazing with a great array of colours coming from the green spinach, creamy mozarella and red tomatoes. On taste, unfortunately it was nothing special. The cornichone (crust) was too crispy and tasted almost like breadsticks and the toppings needed some seasoning. I only ate a quarter of it, and left the crusts. Alberto on the other hand, gave it a 11/10 – I told him that wasn’t allowed, but you can’t argue with an Italian!
Finally, the Man vs Food Challenge – the hot dog special. I seriously feel like giving Adam a call and telling him to bring his crew to Palermo as I think with all the deep fried food and bread overload, it’d suit them down to the ground. The hot dog looked impressive, it was massive and came with chips and a pathetic sprinkling of rocket and olives. I suppose if you’re going to order something like that beast, you wouldn’t be the kind that wanted salad. We cut it in half, and all I could see was cheap meat – IKEA type frankfurters and mince, with some limp lettuce leave and tomato. The outside was simply soft bread covered with an overload of plasticky tasting cheese. As you can imagine, it wasn’t great but if we were rating it on looks alone, it’d have a 10/10 for effort.
So, tonight ended up not being as successful as I’d hoped and my initial impressions of Palermian food have yet to be swayed. On a good note, it did mean I ate far less than I usually would and actually went to sleep without clutching a minature food baby.
Recommendation 
Although we did give La Corte dei mangioni a proper chance to impress by ordering from all 3 menus, I’m convinced there are some hidden gems on the menu so I would recommend going, if not simply to just perform one of the food challenges! The atmosphere and authentic feel of the trattoria makes it also worthy of a visit.
Extra Information:
Address: Via Sammartino, 97, 90139 Palermo, Italy
Phone: +39 091 625 5360
NTK: Don’t go expecting tap water as they won’t let you but it only costs 2 euro for a bottle of chilled l’acqua naturale.
