I've always thought that gracious hospitality comes naturally, perhaps innately, to Italians. So it's probably not surprising that even the youngest citizens seem to be proficient at it.
Like the young chap at this restaurant in Locorotondo, who was sweeping the pavement terrace outside when we arrived one evening fifteen minutes before eight o'clock. He would have been maybe nine, ten at the most. When we asked him if the restaurant was open, he first replied that it wasn't, yet. Then, as it dawned on him that if we went away to wait somewhere we might not come back, he put down his broom and, with a deferential bow and wave of his hand, showed us into the empty restaurant and to a table for two by the window. He brought us menus which he opened with a flourish and got as far as pouring us water before a fully grown colleague took over, and sent him back to finish his sweeping. I think he would comfortably have looked after us all evening.
In the more experienced hands of one of the restaurant's elders we enjoyed a selection of antipasti that included a cold salad of the tenderest octopus, delicious grilled vegetables and creamy, creamy burrata. There was also tripe, popular in these parts, in a fat, cigar-shaped roll, which had the texture of a belly button and the taste of a burp.
The place had a homely feel about it, and the service was friendly too. It felt like we'd come to share their food in their dining room rather than eat in their restaurant. As we left, the young lad was standing at the front door. He nodded and bade us arrivederci. He was learning fast.
Maybe one day he'll be running the restaurant.
Ristorante U'curdunn, Via Dura, 17, 70010 Locorotondo (Ba)
Tel 080 431 72 81
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