We visited Ostuni one rainy Saturday for it’s extensive outdoor market. The greatest game plan? Maybe not… but it was fun to see the vendors hawking their wares (a surprising amount of clothing), selling tomatoes that sounded more like the premise of a bar fight with their gruff Italian voices.

After a long stroll through the surprisingly large city, we landed on the terrace of Pizzeria Regina for lunch. Expecting pizza, the restaurant did that cute thing Italian pizzerias seem to do…only turn the pizza on for dinner hours. So, we pivoted and enjoyed a local charcuterie board to start. Capocollo from Martina Franca slaps and we had to eat it whenever the occasion arose.

We both settled on the restaurant’s signature pasta dish, a pistachio cream based gem of a find. Holy Ish! Hands down, the best thing I’d eaten in Italy this trip, or maybe any other. I was immediately picking it apart figuring out how to recreate it at home (or Airbnb) as soon as possible.

Run, don’t walk and order this perfection of a pasta dish.