Italian street food is regional to a degree that the restaurant version isn’t. The arancino of Palermo and the arancina of Catania are the same object named differently and the subject of genuine civic pride. This guide takes no sides.
Palermo (Sicily)
Pane e Panelle:
The street food that defines Palermo — the chickpea flour fritter (panelle: the batter spread thin on a wooden mould, fried in abundant olive oil, the result a flat fritter with the specific silky-crisp texture of chickpea flour), served in a sesame-seeded roll (the mafalda roll) sometimes with ricotta and lemon. Available from the street vendors around the Ballarò and Vucciria markets from 7am.
Where: The Friggitoria Chiluzzo near the Ballarò market (Via Porta di Castro) — the fried chickpea fritter specialist operating since 1934. 2-3 € / £1.72-2.59 per sandwich.
Stigghiola:
The grilled lamb intestines, the offal street food of Palermo that requires the most commitment of any dish on this list — the intestines cleaned, wrapped around spring onions or onions, skewered, and grilled over charcoal until charred. The flavour is the flavour of offal cooked over fire; the texture is simultaneously chewy and crisp. Available from the stigghiola vendors at the Ballarò market from noon.
Sfincione:
The Palermo pizza — a thick, spongy dough (taller and softer than the Neapolitan pizza, the dough risen twice for maximum lightness) topped with tomato sauce, onions, caciocavallo cheese, breadcrumbs, and anchovy. The sfincione is sold by the square slice from the sfincione vendors and from the bakeries throughout Palermo. 1.50-2.50 € / £1.29-2.16 per slice.
Naples
Pizza Fritta (Fried Pizza):
The precursor to the modern pizza — the dough folded over the filling and deep-fried in lard. Available before the wood-fired pizza became the standard, the pizza fritta remained the street food of the Neapolitan bassi (the ground-floor dwellings of the old city). The filling: ricotta, salami, and cicoli (the residue from lard production). The result: a half-moon of fried dough, the filling sealed inside.
Where: Pizzeria De’ Figliole (Via Giudecca Vecchia, 39, Spaccanapoli) — the most celebrated pizza fritta counter in Naples, the line extending onto the pavement at lunch. 2-3 € / £1.72-2.59 per pizza.
Cuoppo:
The paper cone (the cuoppo, literally “cup”) of fried seafood — the mixed fry of squid, octopus tentacles, anchovies, and sometimes vegetables (courgette flowers, artichoke), served in the cone for walking. The street food of the Neapolitan waterfront from the Via Partenope vendors.
Tarallo Sugna e Pepe:
The Neapolitan biscuit — the ring-shaped bread dough enriched with pork lard (sugna) and black pepper, boiled then baked until dry and crisp. Sold from the street carts throughout Naples at 0.20-0.50 € each — the cheapest food item in the guide series.
Bologna (Emilia-Romagna)
Piadina:
The flatbread of Emilia-Romagna — the unleavened dough of flour, lard, salt, and baking soda, cooked on a terracotta or cast-iron testo until charred in spots, filled (the filling pressed between the two halves of the piadina after cooking) with squacquerone (the fresh soft cheese of the region, the only correct filling for a breakfast piadina), prosciutto crudo, or rocket with stracchino.
Where: The piadine counters at the Mercato di Mezzo in Bologna, or any bar in the Emilia-Romagna region — the piadina is the sandwich format of the entire region.
Tigella (or Crescentina):
The small round bread baked in the tigella iron (the traditional cast-iron mould) until puffed and striped from the mould pattern, split open while hot and filled — the correct filling is the lardo (the cured fatback), rosemary, and garlic, the fat melting into the hot bread. Available at the tigelleria restaurants of Bologna and Modena.
Rome
Supplì al Telefono:
The fried rice ball of Rome — the arborio rice (sometimes with a meat ragù incorporated) formed around a cube of mozzarella and a small amount of tomato sauce, breaded and deep-fried. When torn open, the melted mozzarella stretches between the two halves — the “telephone wire” that gives the dish its name.
Where: Supplì Roma (Via di San Francesco a Ripa, 137, Trastevere) — the most celebrated supplì counter in Rome. 2.50-3.50 € / £2.16-3.02 each. Eat immediately.
Pizza al Taglio:
The Roman pizza by the slice — the rectangular tray pizza (the dough thicker and crispier than Neapolitan, the toppings applied after partial baking so they cook separately), sold by weight from the bakeries and pizza al taglio shops throughout Rome. The price: 2-5 € / £1.72-4.31 per 100g portion. The correct order: indicate the section you want, the baker cuts it, weighs it, folds it into paper, hands it over.
Where: Pizzarium (Via della Meloria, 43, near the Vatican) — the most celebrated pizza al taglio in Rome, the Gabriele Bonci shop that raised the format to the status of art. The toppings change daily with the market; the queue is continuous.
