Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Betty Cafe, Ristorante Pizzeria

Brindisi, Italy

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli 

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We sailed for several hours in Brindisi Harbor, and now we were ready for some lunch.

Even though it was a weekday, it seemed the restaurants were all fairly busy. I wanted seafood and Billy wanted pasta, so we just had to find the right place.

We chose Betty Cafe.

Sign on the wall of Betty Cafe

Most of the places on the malecon at Brindisi Harbor are open air because the view is so beautiful.

Fortunately, there are menus to view before you decide to take a seat at any restaurant.

We stopped by several and perused their offerings. Betty Cafe didn't even sound Italian, but the menu looked decent and there were some good tables left. So we plopped ourselves down and waited to be served.

Open air view of the harbor

There were large covered areas protecting us from the nearly constant sun, and big white table umbrellas too.

You can see here that the view of the harbor is beautiful.

Hard to even imagine that Roman soldiers arrived here on their way to conquering more territory across the Adriatic Sea. Or that the Crusaders utilized this port as a launch-off place for their Crusades.

And, then of course, in both World Wars, Brindisi Harbor played a strategic part.

And here we are, enjoying the sun, sailing and then having our lunch.

How fortunate are we? - To be here at the right time and place?

First plate menu

This is Betty's First Plate Menu.

Lots of pasta and even Risotto.

Billy ordered the second item on the list, Orecchiette with turnip greens and anchovies.

Second plate menu

The second plate menu was full of fish options.

There was scampi, swordfish, salmon, sea bass - even fish soup!

I could have chosen any of these and been happy about it. However, the daily special sounded wonderful, so I opted for that.

Orecchiette with turnip greens

Orcchiette is the Italian word for "ear" so these little cups have the semblance of an ear.

 To make the "ears", just smoosh your thumb into little balls of the pasta dough thereby creating a small crater for the sauce to fill. In this way you have a chewy mini-bowl full of flavor.

We found that turnip greens were a big local item in Southern Italy.

Grilled seafood plate

This was the daily special.

It sounded lovely and having lived in Central America and Mexico for decades I was used to having shrimp served to me with their heads, tails and legs still attached.

However, these were not shrimp but rather 2 tiny lobster-like creatures with almost no meat on them.

They looked interesting on the plate and had a sweet flavor, but they were unsatisfying in terms of protein. These little babies were almost empty and I had to deal with a LOT of shell.

They were not soft like shrimp, but instead they were hard like bone. One could have cracked a tooth!

Yeah, yeah, and the sea bass steak and squid were also a bit overcooked.

Waaaah!!!

Billy and I have a saying that has served us all these years of travel: "Order what you want, and eat what you get."

So I did.

Other than critiquing my meal for Chef Billy - I didn't complain.

But I did look lustfully at his plate of ear pasta!

Open harbor view

I mean, hey.

We are enjoying a meal in a literal (war-free) paradise and a bit of overcooked seafood wasn't going to ruin my day.

Yippeee!

Semifreddo with forest fruits

Ever since we visited Matera and ate the panna cotta dessert at Soul Kitchen, we began comparing similar desserts anywhere we could find them.

This is a semifreddo which is like a cheesecake but a bit lighter. The wild berries and syrup married well with the cheesecake flavor and this dessert saved the day.

In terms of rating the restaurant, I was able to give it a few more points due to this dessert - so there ya go.

Our bill for 2

My seafood meal was $18Euros and Billy's pasta was $10Euros. With a $2E cover per person, a couple of glasses of wine at $4E each and our dessert at $6Euros, our bill came to a total of $48Euros.

Remember, the cover charge is in lieu of a tip, so all in all, this was a good price for a tasty meal with lots of variety.

AND a great view.

Would we return to Betty Cafe?

Yes, we would!

__________

Betty Cafe

6 Viale Regina Margherita

Brindisi, 72100 Italy

Website: https://mapcarta.com/N4385101303 

Tele: +39 0831 563465

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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