Sicilia comes to Levittown
Swordfish alla Siciliana at Sicilia in Levittown Credit: Newsday/Joan Reminick
New to Levittown is Sicilia Risturanti — and, no, that’s not a misspelling of “ristorante” but rather the way it's written in the Sicilian language. Co-owner Domenic Giampino, although born in the U.S., lived in Sicily as a child. Many of the recipes are from his mother; others are just traditional to the culture. Chef Daniel De Jesus, born in the Dominican Republic, cooks as though he had Sicilian roots, too.
This I say having returned from a trip to Sicily only a month ago. At a recent dinner, I was impressed with the caponata ($8.95), a sauteed eggplant and tomato dish that’s almost a requirement at every Sicilian meal. The equal of anything I tasted in Siracusa or Ragusa was the al dente bucatini in a sauce of sardines, fennel, pine nuts and black currants, with the ubiquitous Sicilian bread crumb topping ($14.25). Swordfish baked with raisins, onions, tomatoes, green olives, pine nuts and capers ($18.95) was moist and vibrant. It brought to mind a lunch I had at an idyllic waterside spot just outside Palermo.
Sicilia Risturanti is at 2715 Hempstead Tpke., Levittown, 516-731-2538.
Above: Swordfish alla Siciliana at Sicilia, Levittown
