18/03/2025: In truth, when we go to Gragnano, we usually first stop at Pompei, which is quite close as the crow flies, to listen to the 7:00 PM Mass in the Cathedral on Saturday evening, or the 6:30 PM Mass on Sunday evening, in the small room of San Bartolomeo Longo, then we head to eat panuozzo. We usually go straight to Mascolo 1, located in front of the local hospital, but it is easier to do so on Sunday evening than on Saturday when a multitude of groups of young people from the area go to this very famous and excellent panuozzeria from the specialized point of view in the sector. Unfortunately, last Saturday was one of those evenings when the destination in question was taken by storm and stopping there would have meant having to queue for a few hours, with hundreds of people queuing up, since the place does not accept reservations, on purpose, knowing that by doing so, it would have to allow few customers to enter a place that is not very large. So it was just as a last resort, I'm sorry to admit, that we went on a whim to find some other place nearby that made panuozzi. Coincidentally, also because we were 4 with 2 cars able to find parking on the street, nearby, we stopped at this "Piccolo fornaio" that we didn't know was owned by the Malafronte family, whose name is very well known there. Initially the impact was not the best due to the little space between one table and another and a rather long wait due to there being only 2 tables occupied before us, and only one waiter who took orders when the customers arrived, without even giving them some soft drinks or water to drink, to while away the wait. After a good half hour our turn came and we were at least able to drink. Luckily we noticed, I in particular who hate burnt floury products, that they served overcooked panuozzi, almost toasted, so we specified that we preferred not to overcook, not even the rawness of the meals. So they served us a Tommaso, which however was missing mushrooms in the filling that called for them, in addition to bacon, mozzarella and a little spicy. Anyway, it was not at the "mascoiinian" level, but it was not bad, apart from the omission of that fundamental ingredient. Since we still had a bit of an appetite, we also ordered 4 croquettes + 4 arancini, which should have been 3 white (like supplì) and one red, but they arrived the other way around: 3 red + 1 white. Finally, we concluded with a generous portion of French fries. When it came to the bill, I have to be honest, we paid a really cheap amount, since out of 37 euros in total (divided by 4), 2 beers + 1 large coke were included, + service. Overall, the dinner went well, if not very well, given the costs and the kindness of the staff.
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