Like many Italians, cousins Cosimo Tricarico and Antonio della Ducata love talking about food. Seated in the warm glow of their fine dining BYOB, Caffe Valentino, they take turns extolling the textures, colors, and, of course, tastes of their native Pugliese cuisine. Della Ducata likens the appearance of his hand-twisted tortellini to the intricate but familiar shape of a Chinese fortune cookie. Tricarico says they don't call Puglia the "little Tuscany," for nothng: "We're famous for our wine, our fish, our olive oil." And, he continues, fingering a menu rich in pasta, chicken, veal, and fish dishes, it's a cuisine like none other in Italy. While Puglia is a southern Italian region surrounded by brillant waters, its food is, he says, a mixture of northern and southern Italian traditions, a blend of the best offerings from land and sea.