TIS, you are absolutely right, both about dialects and food. My mother's family is from Partinico, which is near Palermo. Her friend is from Messina. Their dialects are very different.

The visits that I made to Sicily, the food was very seasonal. It was mostly pasta, with fresh vegetables. There would also be some meat, more like cutlets, and lots of fresh fruit. The fish guy would come in the morning (the various vendors come every morning, selling fish, or bread, announcing their arrival in a loud, singsong voice, prompting Mr. Babe to say, Whoever is hiding Vito Andolini...) with his trailer packed with fresh fish packed in ice. The fish would be cooked in an outdoor wood-burning oven with lemons. They use lots of lemons, since they're so plentiful.