Have you ever loved a restaurant so much you set it on fire?
No? So it’s just me then?
Our road trip through the Puglia region of Italy took us to the quaint Italian town of Trani. We only stayed a few days, but the time we had there was unforgettable—only in part because I started a small fire in an intimate, rustic, vegan restaurant in the heart of the city.
Trani is a beautiful town on the Adriatic Coast not far from Bari. The sandy-colored buildings and deep blue water make it a stunning place to travel. The architecture and rich history are the perfect addition to your Italian itinerary. 
The city used to be home to the largest Jewish population in Southern Italy before they were exiled. One of the old synagogues has been turned into a museum where they showcase Jewish art and give short tours, explaining the history of the synagogue and Jewish life in Italy. This was the first Jewish synagogue I had ever seen in Italy and we loved getting a private history lesson from the staff.
Aside from the history and beauty, we ate delicious food the entire trip. Always on the hunt for the best vegan or vegetarian restaurants, we found this local gem on Trip Advisor, Pesto di Pasticchio. It was fairly new, but the reviews were fantastic and to be honest, we would have tried it even if they weren’t. A purely vegan restaurant anywhere in Italy was a rarity and we were even more surprised to find one in such a small town.
We dressed up for a night out, something we rarely did on our big trip. We were the first reservations of the night, which happened often as we never fully acclimated to the late Italian dinner hour. We were immediately welcomed in by one of the owners who showed us to our cozy candlelit table. The room was covered with exposed white brick walls, making us feel like we were dining inside a rustic wine cellar.
An older couple from the UK arrived and we heard the owner say “Si, prenotazione per Amanda (reservation for Amanda)” Confused, I looked up and the owner laughed and introduced us to the couple since we had the same name. They were friendly and told us about living part-time in Italy and how much they loved Trani. Jokingly, they said something about us not being too rowdy as we were the only 4 people in the restaurant. We assured them we’d keep it down, and went on studying the menu.
The chef recommended a light sparkling rose so we ordered a bottle—it was so crisp and fresh—and maybe it’s just nostalgia, but we’ve searched everywhere for this wine, remembering it as one of the best bottles we’ve ever had. We ordered half of the menu, unable to decide on just a few items because it all sounded so decadent. When the wine arrived, we ordered appetizers, entrees, desserts—way more food than we could eat.
We knew we were in for a treat when the fried artichokes came sizzling out to our table, pungent aromas of garlic and lemon filling the space. Our wine was wrapped in a white linen cloth inside an ice bucket and I moved it over to the left to make space for our second appetizer. A few moments later, flames slowly started to take shape as I realized the candle had lit the cloth on fire. The flames grew as we sat there, both of us feeling frozen and acting as if we’d never seen fire before. We looked around, simultaneously hoping no one saw what was happening and that someone would help us.
We stared at the flames for a moment before we began waving at it, blowing on it, trying every wrong way to stifle the flames as they grew larger and larger. We figured out we were fueling the fire with the wind from our hands, which of course sounds obvious now. I’m sure as you are reading this you’re thinking—why would you fan it or blow on it? How stupid! Well, in the moment we lost all the knowledge we’ve ever had about how to put out a fire and did the opposite of what we should have. The flames were growing and growing until they surpassed my head, shooting straight up toward the ceiling. We internally panicked until the owner came out from the kitchen, swiftly dunked the cloth right into the ice bucket, and put out the fire. He chuckled and we were mortified. The table next to us mocked us, claiming they told us not to be rowdy and here we were catching things on fire.
My face was beet-red, I tucked my head into my hands as Troy giggled under his breath. We apologized profusely, laughing uncomfortably. The owner consoled us, saying we weren’t the first people to make such a mistake, although we knew he was probably lying. We sat there, red-faced and laughing as we continued to eat everything on the menu. We ate through our embarrassment—ordering falafel, pesto spagettoni, pumpkin ravioli, eggplant parmigiana, and finishing with pesto cheesecake and more rosé. We stayed for hours, laughing at ourselves, raving about the food, talking with the owner about how they got started, and wishing every meal we ate in Italy could be this good—minus the flames of course.
I loved this part of their menu…
“Why Vegan? Vegan for the earth, Vegan for health, Vegan for the animals.” All the same reasons I eat a plant-based diet. 
If you find yourself anywhere near Trani, make a special trip to Pesto di Pasticchio, you won’t be disappointed. Just try not to light anything on fire.
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