Car RentalsDown-Home Dining Down in the Sassi
Sassi Barisano, Matera
Osteria Il Vicinato, Sasso Barisano, Matera (Basilicata)
This tiny osteria is not for everyone. If you like starched tablecloths, spiffed-up surroundings, and discreet service, then I guarantee you will not like this place. If, on the other hand, you go for homey, casual, and personal interaction with the owner, then book one of the meager six tables and settle in for an experience.
The owner is a true Materano and a real character. His accent is as thick as the slabs of semolina bread he serves, a regional specialty that is baked in a wood-fired oven. He is hearty and warm and outspoken. “Hey, this is an osteria,” he told the occupants of the table next to us as they painstakingly tried to slice bruschetta topped with ripe tomatoes. “Pick it up and eat it with your hands! Osteria means down-home! You can eat with your hands here!”
There is a short and sweet written menu, along with a couple of daily specials that they will recite, and then the owner will weigh in on what he thinks you should eat. “I have a lamb stew, but it’s not very good today. All the good lamb is finito, being just after Easter,” he informed us.
You can choose either homemade fresh pastas or pasta asciutto (dry, packaged pasta) with a variety of sauces, which vary depending on season. The vegetable-based sauce I chose was like an early spring garden bursting with broccoli, chard, fresh fava beans, cherry tomato pieces, and asparagus. Everything is fresh; if it’s not made in his own kitchen it comes from a family member -the cheese and salami on the antipasto plate were made by his cousin.
The grigliata mista was a bowl brimming with fragrant, grilled meat…lots of it. When we were getting too full to finish, the owner came and pointed to the remaining sausage, “Mangia! Eat up! The salsiccia is the best part!”
The three Italian ladies at the corner table wanted a photo with him; turns out he is a celebrity of sorts, having had a colorful part in a movie that was filmed in Matera and won an award in Torino. He was happy to oblige while joking, “Yessss, I’m a big shot! Now back to washing dishes I go!”
If you are looking for good, honest food at a good price with very personal interactions, then rush on over to Osteria Il Vicinato. It’s easily accessible on via Fiorentini at the bottom of Sasso Barisano.
