Granita is a Sicilian semi-frozen flavoured ice (almond, mulberry, coffee, lemon) eaten with brioche col tuppo, a fluffy yeasted breakfast bun, the Palermitan summer breakfast rite.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Granita traces to Arab sherbet, brought to 9th-century Sicily by the Aghlabid conquest. The Arab snow-and-honey form evolved during the Norman period into the modern flavoured-ice version, sweetened with cane sugar from the new Sicilian sugar refineries. The pairing with the topknot brioche is a 19th-century Palermitan ritual that survives intact.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts
Tip from the editors. Hand-scraping every 30 minutes gives the proper grainy texture; a granita machine produces a smoother sorbet instead.
Stancampiano on Via Notarbartolo in Palermo is the city's reference granita-and-brioche summer brunch counter, three generations of family operation.
Order: Granita di mandorla con brioche col tuppo, the Palermitan summer breakfast.
Tip: Arrive 07:30-09:00 for the freshest granita. Cash works fastest.
Bar Alba on Piazza Don Bosco in Palermo since 1955 is the city's reference morning brunch room, granita with brioche col tuppo, cannoli filled to order.
Order: Granita di mandorla with brioche col tuppo, the Palermitan summer brunch standard.
Tip: Arrive by 10:00 for the local crowd. Cannoli filled to order; never pre-filled.
Antico Caffe Spinnato's pedestrian terrace on Via Principe di Belmonte in Palermo's Politeama is the city's senior cafe-bar for aperitivo, drawing the local.
Signature drink: Aperol spritz, Sicilian wines by the glass
Food: Aperitivo plates, charcuterie
Tip: The pedestrian terrace fills first in summer. Aperol spritz and Sicilian wines by the glass.
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