present owner opened this in 1951 when there was a wonderful photograph there on the wall of the opening day. it started as a tavern and has become a well-known and much appreciated restaurant now. it's very straightforward sicilian cooking at its best. >> we start with some typical things, the kind of things i deeply love, the kind of simple good things that make me happy. panelli which is a fritter made from chickpeas, caponata, a sweet and sour eggplant dish, kind of like ratatouille but more arab in its influence, a plate of olives and white wine produced from a small batch vineyard run by mary and her husband. this is a panelli? >> chickpea flour that comes in with the arabs, maybe even earlier, because chickpeas have been around for a long time. >> and this is the famous caponata and about as sicilian as it gets. >> caponata and cannoli are the two internationally known sicilian dishes.