On my upcoming trip to Sicily with a small tour group, I have 1 dinner in Palermo and 1 lunch in Taormina on my own. I have read the reviews (thanks to all who wrote them ). I am sure I will get lots of suggestions from the tour leader (she is a chef and it is a culinary tour after all ) but thought I would ask if anyone else had any special meals in these spots. I can hardly wait!

In Palermo, we ate at 2 good restaurants. One was Cucina Papoff. It was very good although filled with tourists while we were there. http://www.cucinapapoff.com/pa/engpapoff.htm

Also ate at Cin Cin, a wonderful innovative restaurant run by its owner chef who is a Sicilian who was raised in louisiana. If it's still running, I highly reccommend it.
http://www.ristorantecincin.com/

For more info on our trip to Sicily, (including a couple of restaurants in Taormina) check out my web page:
http://www.travel.stv77.com/sicily/sicily.htm

Thanks Steve!

In Taormina a couple of weeks ago, I had a great lunch at Trattoria (?) Duomo, across the street from the duomo. Got the rec from the Slow Foods guide.

In Taormina we loved a little place (about 10 seats) called Nero D'Avola (like the wine). It was tucked away on a back street and hard to find, and we found it ourselves wandering around, which made it even better. The kitchen is open to view and prepares a limited yet sufficiently varied menu nightly. The wine selection is very good and the owner will help you choose, and be happy to chat. The prices in 2004 were really good. We went back 3 times.