A great Sicilian butcher

[alden]

I am going to take you on a visit to meet a real Sicilian butcher in a mountain town called Buscemi. Of course, before proceeding to the culinary delights we will do some culture and visit the 18th century duomo:



Let me introduce Rosario Russo, butcher extraordinaire. The leg of lamb on the counter went home and was slow cooked on the barbie. And frankly it rivals the famous French lamb from the Pyrenees mountains.



The mountain towns throughout Italy are known for their salumi and those made by Russo are exceptional.



You can even sample wild boar sausage



And if you are lucky when you get home, on your walk, you may find a few mushrooms to grill as well



Bon apetit!

M Alden

[uppercase]

I've got to say that I love Italian cooking, particularly the further south one goes.

Country/peasant cooking is hard to beat.

In addition to lamb, hopefully your butcher can get a nice goat. Hard to beat goat and I'm sure that the Sicilians know just how to cook it!

The Italians excel in so many fine arts, why does everyone dismiss their cloth??!

[alden]

In addition to lamb, hopefully your butcher can get a nice goat. Hard to beat goat and I'm sure that the Sicilians know just how to cook it!

In my neighborhood there are a few farmers who raise and sell capretto and it is delicious!

The Italians excel in so many fine arts, why does everyone dismiss their cloth??!

I don't think anyone dismisses it at all. And they do make some lovely stuff. Its just that the Italians were ahead of the British in making cloth exclusively for industrial applications for RTW. And that is the road they follow today.

Recently met our local Zegna rep and he brought some lovely books of cloth to see. The tweeds in the book had many great patterns but were not at all tweed, they were lightweight worsted cloth made to look like tweed. As such, they had none of the rich depth of coloring (not to mention durability and warmth) of their Scottish cousins. The cashmeres were absolutely wonderful to see but paper thin and costing a small fortune...completely useless. The worsted suitings were fine, very fine, too fine, much too fine. I would guess a years wear and then to the Goodwill.

I enjoyed looking at the Zegna samples and got some clothclub ideas from the use of colors and tones, but the cloth was not anywhere near the quality we would want for a bespoke application.

The clothes market in Italy is very different. Men follow fashion and want to change their clothes every year to do so. What possible reason would makers have to make cloth that will last three generations?

Cheers

[RWS]

. . . . The clothes market in Italy is very different. Men follow fashion and want to change their clothes every year to do so. What possible reason would makers have to make cloth that will last three generations? . . . .

This observation and my related experience, though limited, give me pause: I've the impression that the Italian ideal in making up cloth is the creation of clothing that is striking but serves only for a brief period. It does not seem to be as sturdily sewn, for example, as American or British tailors' work.

[alden]

It does not seem to be as sturdily sewn, for example, as American or British tailors' work.

It is hard to generalize here as I have seen wonderful tailoring and shoddy in Italy. On the whole I would say the bespoke work is excellent and every bit as good as British tailors if not better.

Cheers

Michael

[uppercase]

It's certainly true that the better known Italian tailors prefer British cloth.

A. Caraceni and Rubinacci only use British cloth though you'll find Loro Piana, Drapers and Barbera at Caraceni Roma, for example, and they are perfectly happy to use this cloth.

I have coats made from Loro and Zegna, now about 3-5 years old and they are all holding up well.

Matter of fact, every cloth I've used is holding up well; I really don't think that longevity is an issue with most cloth.

A surprise cloth which I've found the Italian tailors like using is Scabal and a number have told me that they like how it makes up when building a coat. Make of it what you will....Scabal gets very little love on the boards.

I'll never tire of the beautiful color combinations and patterns that the Italians come up with for jacketing.

For citywear, I really can'tfind an equally satisfying cloth among the cloth selections one finds among the British tailors which ofcourse focus on the British makers. Though I think it's worth noting that A&S uses Loro and Scabal if I recall correctly.

A few of the samples pictured on the Barbera site whet my appetite for more and more 'city' sports coats. Made in Italy ofcourse.

http://www.carlobarbera.com/EN/tessuti_ ... 9&Pagina=2

And finally, in addition to getting back to Italy for some bespoke therapy, I would love to have a meal of grilled goat or lamb washed down by a wonderfully hearty bottle of red Sicilian wine.

Sounds just about perfect to me!

[alden]

t's certainly true that the better known Italian tailors prefer British cloth.

Yes, and a Neapolitan bought all the heavy stuff from LBD that I intended on pillaging for decades!

Matter of fact, every cloth I've used is holding up well; I really don't think that longevity is an issue with most cloth.

Maybe I am hard on my clothes but the only three bespoke garments I have ever disposed of were made from Loro Piana and Drapers cloth (the suits went to needy young, aspiring dandies and not into the bin.) A cashmere jacket from gorgeous Zegna cloth sits in the closet, protected like a museum piece, as it is fragilissimo. A Colombo cashmere jacket has had to be resewn so many times it has become an elegant rag that gets worn at home instead of a jumper.

surprise cloth which I've found the Italian tailors like using is Scabal and a number have told me that they like how it makes up when building a coat. Make of it what you will....Scabal gets very little love on the boards.

Italian tailors like using the distributor Scabal because they have a great agent in Milano who renders terrific levels of service. The Scabal agent delivers within 24 hours, is precise and the UK cloth is inexpensive compared to Italian makers. They also sell excellent cloth! (I recently made up a Shetland from their book and it is superb albeit fragile.)

I'll never tire of the beautiful color combinations and patterns that the Italians come up with for jacketing.

I agree, but the link you provided for the Barbera cashmeres shows all British designs. The gunclub in the upper right corner is an Estate tweed and I have seen it made up in tweed. The rest are classic English patterns and that is what I saw as well in the Zegna books.

I am pretty well introduced in my Sicilian community among a number of the very old families and they will say to me “an Italian, of a certain social level, will only wear English styled clothes. They will be made in Italy but they will be British style.” And that is another reason why Italian tailors with a good clientele prefer English cloth. I suppose I should also mention that English cloth costs half of what Italian cloth costs?

d finally, in addition to getting back to Italy for some bespoke therapy, I would love to have a meal of grilled goat or lamb washed down by a wonderfully hearty bottle of red Sicilian wine.

I look forward to that day dear Uppercase!

Cheers

Michael