If you want to go on a gastronomic tour to discover the Sicilian granita par excellence, read the post and get ready to reach Catania. Here you will find the best granita in the world!
There are no debates and no doubts can arise aboutuniqueness of the granita: it is Sicilian, from its origins to the raw materials that compose it, passing on the strong impact it has on Sicilian gastronomic tradition. For a Sicilian there is no better time to savor it: whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, the granita is the passepartout for every meal, for most of the year, and even more so when the scorching summer heat gives no other choice. With this post, let's explore the taste of slush from Catania.
As in all the rest of Sicilian gastronomic specialties, "city you go, granita you find“And, needless to say, parochialism is king in this case too and perhaps leaves no room for objective opinions. The textures, the variations and the balance between the various ingredients are different between the granitas of the same province, let alone how the whole can change from one coast to another.
Granite from Catania, the best in Sicily
However, it must be pointed out that bars and ice cream shops on the east coast contend for the best granita in Trinacria. The people of Palermo do not want it but denying this would be like saying that the panelle in Catania are as good as those in Palermo: heresy!
That said, even the undersigned, born and raised in the shadow of Etna and perennially beached on the sandy coasts of the Playa Catanese or perched on the cliffs of the Riviera dei Cyclops, is no exception to gastronomic parochialism and affirms that the Catania granita is the best in Sicily!
Characterized by a more compact and creamy consistency than that of Messina, a more decisive and less sweet taste than that of Palermo and a truly unique range of choices.
Which flavors to choose
In Messina the granita par excellence is the al coffee with added cream, also different from the one that accompanies the Etnean granitas. Instead in Catania the tastes of almond, pistachio and chocolate are the ones who are the most popular. Although, especially if in season, there is no lack of fruit variants, mulberry trees above all, and the classic coffee and lemon, the mother of all granitas.
All strictly accompanied by a fragrant and fragrant brioscia "with the tuppo". It is also inimitable, beyond the strait, even if there are those who do not mind enjoying it with fresh bread!
Given these premises, you will understand well that, for a Catania woman like me, who has been eating slushes for thirty years, listing a top 5 was extremely complicated and required considerable mnemonic effort. So I decided to draw up two rankings, one closely linked to the territories of the center and the coast and another that instead considers the best granite of the Etna province.
Granite from Catania in the city center and along the coast
1. In the first place we find the Caffè Europa, located in Corso Italia 302.
For my fellow citizens this place represents an institution both in sweet and savory and in my opinion it reaches its peak in ice creams and slushes. Close to the seafront, and on one of the main courses of the "Catania bene", Caffè Europa offers a range of products of the highest quality and freshness.
The consistency of the granitas is creamy and the taste is very strong. Medal of honor for granita with almond and pistachio flavors. The latter in particular, in which the percentage of pure pistachio paste is perceptible to the palate and sight, presenting a color that has nothing to do with chemical dyes. A special applause also for the fruity flavors. In short, here, whatever taste you take, it will certainly be a pleasure for the senses. The brioscia, also of excellent workmanship, manages to hold its own against the level of the granita! Excellent.
2. On the next step I place C & C-Chocolate and Coffee, on the Catania seafront, exactly in Viale Ruggero di Lauria 129. Honorable mention here for the chocolate flavored granita and drum roll ... for the one at toasted almond flavor. A gem that not everyone offers but that, thanks to the scent it emanates, evokes precious memories, for those like me who keep flavors and aromas of the family tradition.
Compared to the classic almond-flavored granita, excellent in most Catania bars, the toasting of the fruit softens the peculiar sweet taste and offers the palate an extremely flavored tasting. The consistency is grainier and less creamy than that of Caffè Europa and perhaps more appreciated by the purists of granita.
3. Gelateria Caffetteria Calogero: staying on the seafront, a place less known to most, without too many pretensions, but which represents a valid alternative to Catania's gastronomic institutions. It is located on Viale Alcide De Gasperi, right above the seafront.
The tastes tasted so far are coffee, pistachio and chocolate. Without a shadow of a doubt they deserve to be remembered in this special ranking. Prices are moderate and well below average, but this is mainly due to the services offered.
4. C&G, towards the city center, boasts several locations. The most famous is located in Piazza Abraham Lincoln and offers excellent service. The recommended flavor is undoubtedly chocolate, but it could not be otherwise, since in my opinion we are talking about best chocolate shop in town. If you are a lover of the bitter taste of cocoa, this granita is certainly to be counted among the best. For the strong but at the same time not nauseating flavor that sometimes the chocolate granita can have as a defect. The brioche is also excellent.
5. Gran Cafè Solaire of Aci Trezza, a few steps from the Faraglioni. Renowned for the quality of its granitas, the Solaire never betrays the expectations of those who want to personally test what is said around. Excellent workmanship for the brioscia and very high quality for the granitas. In particular in the flavors of almond, pistachio, strawberry and in late summer for the black mulberries. Enjoying a granita with these premises, by the sea, then, has no equal!
Granite from the province
Getting away from the coast and the city center if you have the chance to move towards Etna, in an itinerary that leads from the sea to the mountain, from the water it pushes towards the fire. In a path in which Neptune gives the scepter to Vulcano, we reach the bar which in my opinion occupies the undisputed first place in the ranking of Catania slushes:
1. Bar Alecci, in Via Gramsci 62, in Gravina di Catania.
The taste for which Alecci is famous among us pistachio lovers is precisely the latter. The green gold of Bronte in this location is truly unsurpassed. Honorable mention also for that with black mulberries, for taste, compactness and visual presentation. For the location and for the services, the cost is a bit too high, but if this is a symbol of good quality of the product served, then so be it!
2. St. Dominic of Acireale, located in the homonymous square, near the Duomo. The motivation that leads me to mention this granita is undoubtedly the presence of a unique taste: the arabic almond. An almond flavor flavored with anise and cinnamon that will not go unnoticed for spice lovers. The brioche is also excellent.
3. Historic Bar Condorelli di Belpasso, Via Vittorio Emanuele III 532. Emblem of the Sicilian tradition in the world, from almond pastries to nougats, obviously passing through excellent granitas. The recommended flavors are almond and chocolate, the latter very intense. A brand that manages to maintain very high quality standards over time. A guarantee that never betrays the loyal ones.
4. Nevaroli, the Acese artisan pastry shop, located in Via JF Kennedy 56. In addition to the traditional flavors present elsewhere, this pastry has the merit of daring and being able to combining tradition and innovation, maintaining high quality standards. Among the most unpopular choices are the Nutella granita, with a hazelnut base, and the fig granita, in excellent accompaniment with almond and non-flavored granita.
5. In fifth place we find an ex-aequo.
Il Great Coffee Urn, in Viagrande in Piazza Urna. Son of a centuries-old foothill tradition, which excels in the variety of black mulberries. It is a place that by most could be defined as pleasant, at least for the total absence of services and for the air, let's say homely, that you breathe when crossing the threshold of the entrance door barely bordered by a curtain. I'm talking about de La Timpa, in Santa Maria La Scala, a seaside village on the Acese coast.
Although defining such a place as a bar is really excessive, it is also true that the best fruit granita in the province of Catania, I ate it right here. In particular, I remember an excellent peach granita, in which the flavor of this juicy fruit dominates over a minimum percentage of added sugars.
Now, the choice is yours!
