Mike and Amira check in from a sidewalk table in Catania, Sicily, over a bottle of Nerello Mascalese at Il Calice dei Grulli — a “wine bar” that’s really one of the best restaurants in town. Plus: a Milwaukee wedding that stunned them, the true story of Castello Ursino and the 1669 lava flow, Ryanair as ritual humiliation, and why it’s so hard to pay illustrators in Argentina. What’s in this episode * A restaurant recommendation. Il Calice dei Grulli, an enoteca siculo-toscana on Via Antonino di Sangiuliano, about a ten-minute walk from Catania’s historic center — described as off the tourist path, organic/natural wine only, and “by far the best restaurant” they’ve been to in Catania apart from a couple of Michelin-level places. * A wine lesson, accidentally. Nerello Mascalese, the red grape that loves Etna’s volcanic soil — and the novelty of drinking one grown elsewhere. * The ordering technique. Not a wine list, a brief: “I don’t care if it’s white, red, orange, or sparkling. I want something inexpensive, organic, and great, that you love.” * A work thesis. “I’m not bad at vacationing, I’m just really good at choosing an office.” Sixteen-hour days, four time zones, a phone at the wedding table for work and never for Instagram. * A wedding report. A small, intimate wedding outside Milwaukee for Charles and Anna, friends met through Gastronomad experiences and now family, including the bride and groom’s family and friends, some of whom flew all the way from Germany. * A Milwaukee food surprise. A Parisian bakery-restaurant that matches the staging of a Paris sidewalk café and beats the execution — plus a wedding-reception restaurant serving fresh-truffle pasta properly al dente, and an Italian kitchen that cooks a different region of Italy each season. * Sicilian trivia with teeth. Castello Ursino, built 1239–1250 under Frederick II, once stood on a cliff over the sea; the 1669 eruption of Etna filled its moat with lava and left it roughly a kilometer inland. Their apartment sits on that same flow. * Travel reality. Three flights, one very empty plane, upgrades only when free — and a properly exasperated anatomy of Ryanair. * A process note on the book. Why the cover is being illustrated by a human in Argentina, and why the payment was harder than the art. tags Sicily · Catania · Etna · natural wine · Nerello Mascalese · Il Calice dei Grulli · Castello Ursino · Milwaukee · Oaxaca · Gastronomad experiences · travel and work · slow food · no-AI creativity This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gastronomad.substack.com
