What to eat in Bari
Four dishes for Bari: orecchiette from the street, fried panzerotto, fried polenta and focaccia, with the price of each that is known.
- Orecchiette
- €5–7 (1 kg), fresh from the street
- Panzerotto
- €2.50–6.50 (piece)
- Sgagliozze
- €2 (10 pieces)
Bari is eaten on the street: orecchiette are bought fresh on Via Arco Basso, panzerotto and sgagliozze are street food, and street food here costs €2–6.50 (panzerotto). Focaccia is the fourth dish and the only one without a settled price, since it changes from bakery to bakery.
Orecchiette, straight from the women who make them
Orecchiette are pasta made of durum wheat flour and water, shaped with a knife over the thumb into a small dome, which gives them their name, “little ears”. In Bari Vecchia, on Via Arco Basso, women make them at tables outside their houses and sell them fresh; a kilo is €5–7 (1 kg), with no fixed price list. The classic way is with cime di rapa: garlic, anchovies, chilli and olive oil, with grated cacioricotta.
Panzerotto, fried rather than baked
A panzerotto looks like a small calzone and is fried; the usual filling is tomato and mozzarella. The price per piece is €2.50–6.50 (piece), depending on the filling and the place, and one of the places that make it is Ghiotto Panzerotto.
Sgagliozze, fried polenta for a couple of euros
Sgagliozze are pieces of fried polenta. The “Maria delle Sgagliozze” stall in Bari Vecchia sells them at €2 (10 pieces).
Focaccia barese
Focaccia barese is a flat bread from Bari's bakeries. It is bought by the piece or by the kilo, and the price differs from bakery to bakery, so it is read off the board.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What are orecchiette?
Pasta of durum wheat flour and water in the shape of a small ear; in Bari Vecchia they are made by hand and bought fresh from the women on Via Arco Basso.
What is a panzerotto?
A fried pocket of dough, like a small calzone, usually filled with tomato and mozzarella.
What are sgagliozze?
Pieces of fried polenta; the price is €2 (10 pieces).
Ready for Bari?
Where to next
The best time to visit Bari
→Late spring and early autumn for walking, a hot and crowded summer, and May and December each bring a feast…
Matera · 55 km
→A city where people were still living in caves in the 1950s
How well does Bari suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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