Stigghiola is grilled lamb or veal intestines, wrapped with spring onion and parsley around a wooden skewer and charred on charcoal braziers, the Albergheria after-dark Palermitan street snack.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Stigghiola has been documented in Palermo since the 16th century as the working-class street meat of the Ballaro and Vucciria quarters. The Spanish word 'estiglio' (entrail) gave it its name. The technique is to wrap cleaned lamb or veal intestines around a wooden skewer with spring onion and parsley, then grill on charcoal braziers until crisp at the edges. The brazier vendors (stigghiolari) on Piazza Carmine and along Via Castro Filippo maintain a near-unchanged form across 400 years. Standard accompaniments are a squeeze of lemon, salt and a plastic cup of cheap white wine; the snack costs two euros and is eaten standing on the cobbles.
Common allergens: None
Tip from the editors. Lamb intestines are the canonical Palermitan choice; veal intestines (used in the Ballaro vendor variant) work but are thicker and take a minute longer per side.
The Ballaro stigghiolari fire charcoal braziers from 18:00 to past midnight in Palermo, the canonical after-dark Palermitan working-class street food.
Try: Stigghiola (grilled lamb intestines)
Tip: Eat with lemon, no bread. Cash only. The Piazza Carmine vendors close last.
Borgo Vecchio's night market on Piazzetta Mulino a Vento in Palermo fires charcoal braziers from 20:00 for grilled meat, panelle and frittole.
Try: Carne arrostita, panelle, frittole
Tip: Cash only. Peak hour is 23:00-02:00 on weekends; the grilled horse meat is a local order.
Antica Focacceria San Francesco in Palermo's Kalsa serves the full Palermitan street food carte from 11:00-23:00, the city's reliable late-evening.
Try: Pane ca' meusa, sfincione, panelle
Tip: Counter pickup is fastest. The terrace facing the basilica is the late-night seat.
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