Galloping very soon to the "undisputed queen of street food" in Catania, Sicily.

If you're planning on visiting Sicily (we are), and you have a friend in Italy (I do), then you ask him questions about vital topics like food and drink.

Earlier today I was chatting with Fabio, who runs a beer bar in Arezzo and has been very helpful during trip planning. He has pointed so far to a bottle shop and beer bar in Catania, our destination, and recently mentioned a pasta recipe using wild boar (not exactly a staple at Olive Garden). This led to further discussion about street food, and the revelation that among the admired specialties of Catania is carne di cavallo ... horse meat.

I used to joke about the likelihood of having consumed horse meat many times while beer-tripping and budget-eating in Europe, in the form of "mystery meat in gray sauce" specials at my favored dirt cheap proletarian cafeterias. It reminds me of the old W.C. Fields diner gag.

W.C. Fields (to waitress): "I didn't squawk about the steak, dear. I merely said I didn't see that old horse that used to be tethered outside here."

The link Fabio provided is in Italian, and of course this can be translated -- shall we say, imperfectly, but the meaning is fairly clear: If you wish to dine on horse meat without a side dish of political correctness, then the shadier the neighborhood, the better -- and here are the five most "disreputable" (read: best) places to do it.

Horse meat in Catania more the neighborhood is the most infamous is good ... 5 disreputable places, very recommended, by Mara Pettignano

Horse meat: bright red, succulent, from the undisputed taste trend with ten out of ten to sweet, to eat if possible to the blood. If you too are passionate to know that there is one place in Italy where it is sanctified, he adored, revered .

A city where horse meat is the only and undisputed queen of street food, become long tradition before the "street food " became a commonly used term.

That place is Catania, but if you want to enjoy the delicacy of this meat, net of ethical issues that can create eat it, you have to get your hands dirty: the places where you need to go are hardly reported by the Michelin Guide.

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