Mineo, Sicily
Damplo Mineo
Where it all began, between an olive tree and a diploma he never picked up.
The mother restaurant. Here, in 2015, Ciccio invented the "surprise emotional menu": the price of a dish varies depending on how much the guest seems to appreciate it while making eye contact — a system he calls "empathic pricing" and accountants call "a problem." The dining room is lined with Etna lava stone and emerald velvet, with original 18th-century vaulted ceilings restored by a Palermo architect paid in Pasta alla Norma Riserva Privata. Panoramic views over the Catania plain, a cellar stocked with wines from the Mineo vineyard, and a soundtrack of tammurriata remixed into lounge. The Michelin star hangs at the entrance in a gold frame. The real one.
