Interesting place, part retail, part wine bar and part deli, where you could get a bottle and drink it there or try their version of a 'wine flight'. We wanted to try a few local whites so the owner brought a few bottles to our table and literally just set them there for us to drink. It seems he opens bottles and leaves the bottle with the patron but since he doesn't really have by-the-glass options, he lets the customer drink as much as he/she wants and I if the entire bottle is not consumed he'll keep the bottle and then serve the wine to another customer. The concept is great and the idea, although it sounds crazy, works. The only downside to this method is that because the wine bottles likely stay opened for a bit, sometimes the wines get a bit flat, especially white ones. The place was is not big and most of the tables are inside although there are a few tables outside which allow for a great view of Etna. We were there on a Saturday night and it was really busy, mostly with locals (we might have been 2 out of 4 foreigners there all night) who were hanging out, enjoying a few drinks with their babies in tow. It was definitely a lively place and we got to meet a few people, so it was lots of fun. We also got a couple of small charcuterie boards, served with bread, to enjoy with the wines. At no point did we know, asked or were told how much any of this was going to cost us and at the end the whole experience was not cheap (60€ for 2 of us) but considering that we were given a few bottles to drink from ad lib (even though we really didn't go crazy with the pours since we didn't really know how the whole thing worked) one could say we paid for the fun adventure. read more

Il Buongustaio - Outside with view of Etna - Sandwiches Near Me - Randazzo, Connecticut

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So we're walking the streets of Randazzo on a busy Sunday evening when the whole town seems to be out strolling looking for an aperitif before dinner after a long afternoon drive. Dismiss this place as "too busy" and decide to check out more of the town rather than settling on the first place we come across. Long story short, we end up back here around 30 minutes later. What a good call! This place is an "Enoteca" dedicated to the produce of Sicily - so we order a Sicilian beer for me and a red wine for my wife. Out come the drinks accompanied by a MASSIVE plate of complimentary antipasta - olives, croquettes, torta etc. One thing leads to another and we have another drink before dinner. Start checking out the scene - it's busy with locals who clearly treat this place as their regular place to stop off before dinner. Single guys, couples, families with young kids. They are all there chatting with the family who run the business. Finally we have to leave for dinner and get the bill - which comes to 8 euro for for drinks and a ton of food. We come back the next two nights - the second night we ask about a specific winery we had come across at lunchtime. As well as a bar it's a retail store with lots of local food products and wine available for sale. They have the wine on the shelf and offer to open it to serve it to us - one red, one white. We gladly accept but are slightly worried about the cost as it's 20 euro a bottle retail. Turns out we shouldn't have - they charge us their standard 2.50 a glass for a very generous pour. By the third and final night in town it's become our home from home. As we pay we explain that it's our last night and the proprietor gives us a small bottle of arancello as a goodbye gift. If you're in Randazzo you should make it your home from home as well - it's clearly run with love and pride by the owner, his wife and his daughter, serving up great wines for locals out for a stroll as well as platters of meat, cheese and sandwiches for the tourists who pass by and need a snack. Totally legit Italian bar with zero sign of "tourist prices", unlike certain places I could mention we found in other towns read more