Table of Contents
- In Search of Lucio – The Road to Serino Part 5
- Nebalatan Word of the Day – Final Answer – Past e’ Fazoo!
- Pizza Review – Café Barbosso, Sarasota, FL
In Search of Lucio – The Road to Serino Part 5
In my last post (see here), I shared our journey to my ancestral roots in Serino, Campania in search of my Bisnonno (Great Grandfather) Lucio. On this trip, we stayed four days and returned with many stories. Stay tuned for more tales from this adventure!
After spending a week in touristy Campania (Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast), and Napoli, our next adventure began by renting a car for the 50 km (30 miles) drive up the mountain to Serino. We only got lost once in Napoli traffic, which is a win!
Navigating the Campania backroads proved delightful. Similar to driving the rural roads in New York, we alternated between picturesque farms and charming small towns. These winding routes offered a refreshing escape.
On the way we found this:
With this encouragement that Grandpa Lucio Valeriano (I’ll discuss these surnames vowel endings in a future post) couldn’t be far. We drove on…
Nebalatan Word of the Day – Final Answer – Past e’ Fazoo!
As we drove, rain began to fall, and the temperature dropped. The air carried an autumnal chill, and our hunger grew. Soon after passing Via Valeriana, we stumbled upon the small town of Casamarciano (Marciano’s House). There, we found a charming ristorante called Barrosa.
Initially, I had my heart set on pizza, but as I perused the menu, something caught my eye: “Pasta e Fagioli” (“Past e’ Fazoo!”).
This brings us to today’s Nebaletan Word of the Day!
We were about 15 miles outside of Napoli, surrounded by farmland. It struck me how much at home I felt in a place I had never seen before—a midpoint between my Neapolitan ancestors and those from Avellino (Serino/Solofra).
- That menu item diverted my attention from pizza, and when the young woman (the owner’s wife) approached our table….upon entering the ristorante, I surmised that no one spoke English, so I said, “PAST E’ FAZOO e’ una Coka Zero, per favore.” (Past e’ Fazoo and a Coke Zero, please.)
- Smiling broadly, she replied, “Tu parli Italiano? (Do you speak Italian?)” I could tell that she was surprised that an obvious American would be THERE AND speaking Italian. But note, she was NOT surprised by me saying PAST E’ FAZOO!
- “Un, po,” (a little, in slang) was my response. (as of this writing, 116 straight days of Duolingo!)
- The young woman replied, “Prego!”
I few minutes later, this is what was delivered:
ITS TASTE WAS INCREDIBLE AND ONE OF THE FEW TIMES THAT I WAS GLAD THAT I PASSED ON PIZZA!
There are chunks of whole tomato, but it’s not a tomato base like I am most familiar. Its brownish base seemed to result from some pork or beef. Also, there are many different types of macaroni.
In any event…I said, “PAST E’ FAZOO” to a Neapolitan, and PAST E’ FAZOO was delivered. So, even though the menu said, “Pasta e’ Fagioli”…THE FINAL ANSWER IS PAST E’ FAZOO!
Coulda’ been the zuppa, but I felt a warmth as if being hugged…and, I still had not reached Serino….little did I know what was to come!
QUICK ASIDE – in my last blog post, I mentioned that today’s “Word” would be another drink toast. Sorry, that will follow next.
Pizza Review – Café Barbosso, Sarasota, FL
Ironically, our last pizza in Sarasota before returning north and then going to Italy was at Café Barbosso since the meal above was from Barrossa…
| Date | April 3, 2024 |
| Pizzeria | Café Barbosso |
| City/Neighborhood | Sarasota, FL / Palmer Ranch |
| Website | http://www.cafebarbosso.com/ |
| About Us | https://www.cafebarbosso.com/about-barbosso/ Interesting story! But, it mentions “peasant” several times. THE PRICES AT THIS PLACE ARE CERTAINLY ANYTHING BUT PEASANT…not a good start for someone who’s a descendant of true peasants. But to be fair, their pizza prices are pretty good! |
| Style | New York |
| Ambiance | Take out (I really dislike this generic box! Too many joints use this box…it’s ugly and certainly doesn’t represent many (any?) pizza joints in North America! So why do it? |
| Beverage Pairing | Tuscan Sangiovese, Athletic IPA |
| Rating Criteria | |
| Shape | Round |
| Dough/Crust | Tickness – Medium Cook – Soft but DENSE! Lacked air and bubbles and was not especially chewy (could be the result of being take-out), the bottom was browned but not charred. DRY! Flavor – not highly flavorful The dough/crust was terribly disappointing. Again, this could be as a result of take-out. But the restaurant is only about 4 miles from our house, so there wasn’t a lot a dwell time from the baking and when it was eaten. |
| Cornicione | As above |
| Toppings | Cheese Fresh – unsure |
| Sauce | Tangy, Thin – lacking quantity and taste |
| Cheese | Cheese Type – Moozedell, no really other taste, so likely that was it Cheese Distribution – All over Greasy, but not really stringy like many NY style pizzas (again, the cheese might have set up during the travel time, but it wasn’t that long of a trip), Salty |
| Cheese to Sauce Ratio | Sauce – A little Cheese – Medium Balance – out of balance, where’s the sauce? |
| Value | As mentioned earlier, Café Barbosso was excellent value! 14″ NY Style Cheese is $14 is the same as $10 for a 12″ equivalent One of the best values in Sarasota |
| Overall Rating | Meh The pizza was just not good! I want to blame it on take-out and travel time, but it’s really more than that when you read the above about the dough/crust and sauce. |
| Would I Go Back? | Yes! In 149 purchased pizza reviews, I’ve not rated a pizza as MEH and said I’d go back! This is a first, I want to give Barbosso the benefit of my doubt and will try again in the fall. |
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