First things first, we need to get something straight.

The name is not fud as in mud, it is FUD as in food but pronounced with an Italian accent. I need you to put more "ooh" into the "ooo" and shorten the word right up. Feel free to add a hint of a vowel after the 'D' but make sure you say it quickly and aggressively.

Ok good I'm glad we cleared that up.


 
I mentioned in my last post that we found this great restaurant after the terrifying puppet show. As you have probably realised, this is it. We had walked down Via S.Filomena the previous evening and gazed in wonder at the beautiful little alleyway full of interesting restaurants and cafès.
 
Searching for somewhere to eat the next day, we chose FUD as it was the busiest by far (always a good sign!) but the tables outside were relatively empty (probably due to the fact that in Sicily 'cold' means anything under 25°C).
 
 
Sometimes "busy" can be a bit of a problem though and the waiters were really overworked. On the advice of the couple next to us, we plumped for a bucket of cheesy chips with BBQ sauce while we waited (they normally come with bacon so if you're veggie, ask for it without!)
 
 
Just look at that cheesy goodness being dunked. And yes, they were as good as they looked!
 
Admittedly I got a little carried away eating the chips which were more like chunks and when my foccaccia arrived, my stomach squeaked in fear.
 
 
Oh yes ladies and gentleman, that is a foccaccia. Not like you get in the UK though eh?
 
Essentially it was a beautiful thick pizza base folded over with caprino (a kind of creamy, spreadable goats cheese), rocket, fresh tuna and orange zest. Tuna and orange is a common flavour combination down South and definitely one I'm going to take back home with me.
 
 
Look at all that food! It was definitely a two-handed beast of a job. Talking of beasts, we were sitting there quietly, minding our own business and trying to coerce our stomachs into accepting more grub when this guy came along...
 
 
Excuse the terrible quality photo, I need to invest in some better photo-editing software that doesn't turn my nighttime photos blue and grainy when I try and lighten them!
 
 
The guy was begging (as in the man guy, not the dog, although Zeus -actual name- was begging for food too) and normally we don't give money to people on the streets here just because so many of them are frauds but I had to give this guy a couple of pennies. I mean look at that party trick!
 
 
By the time we left, all of the tables were full including the outside ones. My mind was a bit divided on this one. We had to wait a long time for our food and every time we ordered the waiter would come back minutes later and say they didn't have it anymore. I guess we did choose the most popular place in the street and at least everything was drop-dead delicious so there wasn't really any disappointment (we'd all chosen at least five things we wanted to try on the menu!) If you need a quick in-and-out or you want a meal without any hitches, this might not be the best place. On the other hand the food is creative and absolutely mind-bogglingly good so maybe we can excuse them.
 
It definitely didn't stop us going back for lunch a couple of days later.
 
 
 
We got to sit inside this time so I could have a good ogle at the inside. Chips were ordered to start again (as well as vegetable croquettes which never came even though we asked twice - not the best service I've ever received).
 
 
The beard just never stops growing. This is Movember gone wrong.
 
I forgave them the croquettes though when they placed this little beauty in front of me. This is the "Delicius" panino with burrata mozzarella, anchovies and a kind of sundried tomato chutney. Oh God it was good. I didn't want it to end and was so sad when it did.
 
 
The beard enjoyed his donkey burger (sob sob).
 
 
Absolutely devastating. I could easily have eaten another but by this point in the week I'd already munched my way through a lot of cheese and I still have my cholesterol to think of...
 
 
At least this time we had room for pudding! Magro went for a basil mousse which was really good. If you haven't tried a dessert with basil, I really recommend going for it next time you come across one. It's surprising how well it goes with sugar!
 
 
I, on the other hand, went for my old friend tiramisù. I just can't get enough of these bad boys. It all started in Venice when I had the most deliciously oozey rich chocolatey pudding ever and I've been searching for its equal ever since. This one was lighter but there was a lot of it so I had to draft in some help even if it was beautiful! Magro gave his approval, always a good sign.
 
 
A sad sight indeed.
 
 
If you're in Catania, I would recommend giving this one a go. It might not be your typical Sicilian food but they have certainly used a lot of local products and flavours to create absolutely knock you off your feet delicious food. Sure you might have to wait and they might not have everything on the menu but it hardly matters. There will be so much you're dying to try, you won't leave disappointed.
 
FUD Bottega Sicula
http://www.fud.it/
Via Santa Filomena 35
Catania
+39 095 71 53 518