Il Forno, Nicosia, Cyprus (not mythology)

il forno
Pizza and Pasta
telephone (local): 22456454
216-218 Ledras Street
1011 Nicosia, Cyprus

Nicosia (Lefkosia) -- We had been in Cyprus for about an hour and a half when we tumbled into the metal mesh seats ranged outside this corner Italian restaurant on touristy Ledras Street.

Traveling makes me hungry, and on our way from Athens that day I had had only a couple of small sandwiches and some good Mediterranean cherries. So I looked over the fairly basic menu and ordered Spaghetti a la Bolognese, figuring it would be hearty and difficult for the kitchen to mess up.

What came was a mound of delicate, perfectly-cooked spaghettini, sauced with one of the best Bologneses I've ever had the privilege to consume. It was red, but without tomato overload, with a hint of spiciness. The meat was probably a good, lean veal. Real shaved Parmigiano came in a small bowl, and melted appropriately over the piping hot pasta. All a hungry traveler ever needed.

The other Fulbrighters were equally pleased. Midge had a tasty pizza from the wood-fired oven-- spinach, mushroom, prosciutto. Not too much cheese, as often happens in Greek pizza restaurants. Pam and Heather had "rocket" salads: arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, pine-nuts, clothed in a good, solid, peppery vinaigrette. Nancy's calzone (mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes) was "really good."

Pasta della mamma also starred-- short rope pasta with a fresh coriander pesto. Creamy delicious. A friend said Cypriot cuisine uses cilantro quite a bit. Our first exposure to it was toothsome.

Keo, a local beer, is a serviceable warm-weather lager.

The service was attentive, and the manager friendly and informative. He let us know that the Cypriot 10- and 20-pound notes look very similar-- though I'm sure the good merchants of Nicosia would never take advantage of our lack of observation.

Next time you're in Cyprus, look up il forno. It's got the same name as Alberto's food blog (www.ilforno.typepad.com), so it really ought to be good.

Comments

[Angel Alia]

thanks for the tip!...I'll be going to Cyprus next month...