Venice, Vicenza, and Friuli

The bride and I just spent a fabulous week in Venice, with side trips to Vicenza and Friuli wine country. While the area’s reputation is sometimes maligned among foodies, I can confidently report that with a bit of careful choosing (avoid places with a “Tourist Menu,” seek places where the patrons speak Italian, and always start with a glass of prosecco), one can eat and drink extraordinarily well in these parts of Italy. Dining in Venice is also often described as exorbitantly expensive – again, not so, in my experience, with a bit of careful selection.

I've got lots to report, so I'll do it in separate posts about (1)cicchetti (2)dinner restaurants (3)Food and wine in Friuli; and (4)other stuff. Unfortunately, I didn't capture a whole lot of addresses, nor - for several reasons - did I really know where I was most of the time in Venice. The truth is that addresses and maps are only moderately helpful in this twisty-turny city with thousands of tiny little "streets" and alley-ways. In my opinion, one is best off just wandering around without much of a destination in mind. It's a small city, so you'll eventually stumble on the places I describe, or other great spots you'll report about later.

Part 1: Cicchetti

Half of our Venetian meals were had standing at a counter or eating at bar stools while pointing at the cicchetti we wanted to try next. Cicchetti are Venice’s version of tapas, and the offerings vary widely from one spot to the next. What they have in common is that they're always relatively cheap. My first experience was this very simple, tasty grilled squid, an item common to many places in the city:



An order consisted of two of these plump, meaty specimens cut into about 10 slices and served with an extra squeeze of lemon. With 2 prosecchi, a measly 5.80 euros for a solid start to a bar hopping evening. A prosecco in this city never costs more than 3 euros, and in most cases is between 1 and 2! Note, the different prices listed reflect the common practice in Venice of charging a bit more if you choose to take your chicchetti to a table vs. chowing down at the bar.

I don't know the name of that first cicchetti bar, but it was somewhere in the Cannaregio sestiere. Our next stop that evening was for a more complete chicchetti meal at Cafe Molinari, a charming little spot with a huge selection in the cases, as well as some specials written in chalk:


At Cafe Molinari, we had a couple of deviled eggs with baccala, a plate of grilled zucchini, a few sweet, marinated onions, and these delicious squash blossoms that were fried and stuffed with cheese and just a whiff of fresh anchovy:


Final stop that evening was at a nameless, atypically trendy wine bar where I got to taste a true revelation. Before this enoteca/ cicchetti bar, I don’t think I knew what buffala mozzarella was really supposed to taste like. Melting texture, hint of sharpness, and very creamy, this was truly memorable, even if the tomatoes were a bit sub par:


Some of the best cicchetti of the trip came during our day trip to Vicenza. Hidden in a tiny alley is a fancy restaurant called Il Bacaro, which we spotted because the much more casual cicchetti bar attached to the restaurant had a few stool set up outside:


The offerings were limited at Il Bacaro, but the fried squash blossoms on the right side of this picture were phenomenal. Fresh, crisp, and simply seasoned with salt to let the subtle flavors of the flower really shine:


4 amazing fiore and 4 glasses of prosecchi: 11 euros!

Back in Venice, we stumbled (lots of stumbling this week with all that cheap and good wine!) across another cicchetti bar with yet another largely-locals crowd. Trattoria Rivetta was one of few places with heavy emphasis on fresh vegetables and grilled or boiled, rather than fried foods. After 3 delicious but decadent days of heavy sauces and deep-fried food, this was most welcome:




Everything at Trattoria Rivetta tasted like it had come from that morning's Rialto Market, and was prepared simply to let the outstanding ingredients shine. These tender beans cooked in chicken stock and seasoned with herbs and garlic were especially memorable:


If I lived in Venice, I'm sure cicchetti would be my mainstay when it came to dining out. Next report: dinner restaurants.

Part 2: Sitdown Restaurants

First, a few words about sitting down to lunch or dinner in Venice, either of which can be the main meal of the day. I had several guide books, but this stuff was still not apparent:
- Many places have a "Tourist Menu" in the window. Though skeptical, we did try one of these places and it was awful. I'd suggest staying away.
- Most places charge a 2 euro cover charge, and you might see it listed on the check as "bar" or "copierto". Many also charge a 12% service charge. Just expect these things. There's no separate tax added to the bill.
- If you pay by credit card, there won't be a place on your receipt to add in a tip. Have cash handy for tipping. I usually left about 10%.
- First courses are often as expensive as second courses, and - contrary to what I had expected - the first course portions were gigantic. If you order 3 full courses, you'll pay a lot and there is little chance you'll come close to finishing. Unless you're starving, I'd suggest sharing antipasti, first courses, and dessert. I saw a number of local families doing this, and the restaurants were always happy to provide share plates.
- Don't expect olive oil or butter to be served with your bread. In fact, if you see it it's a good sign that you've found a tourist trap.
- Venice is not a late night party town, and most restaurants close down at around 10. Plan to show up for dinner before 9.

Fiaschaterria Toscana
One of our reservations was at a place recommended by dmnkly (Thanks Dom!). Fiaschaterria Toscana near the Rialto bridge is an upscale, somewhat formal place where the old-school waiters are tuxedo clad and the menu is expensive. This was my place to try a classic dish called Fegato alla Veneziana - basically liver and onions. The liver was sublime - sliced into strips and sautéed just shy of medium, with terrific texture and robust flavor. The onions were sweet, and this very simple dish had a sauce of the cooking jus, a little olive oil, and a drizzle of nice balsamic vinegar. The plate was rounded out by some grilled polenta and a pretty little mixed salad. We also had baked gnocchi with chanterelles, and while gnocchi had terrific texture and the dish had plenty of flavor, I found the mushrooms slimy and rubbery. I'm glad I went to FT for that wonderful classic dish, but overall I'd have to say it's not my cup of tea. It was the one place in Venice where the expense, formality, and - imo - pretension - made me uncomfortable. Our server transparently tried to upsell every order, showed visible disappointment when we didn't choose an expensive wine, and was just generally a bit unpleasant.

Osteria La Ponte - La Patatina
This was a much more casual place, and one with a casual charm that we enjoyed immensely:

Here I started with another classic Venetian dish: sarde in saor, roughly translated as "sardines in a savory sauce". The sardines were marinated with lots of sliced onions in a sauce of vinegar, red wine reduction, and finely chopped raisins. A real flavor burst, where despite the strong marinade, the fresh-out-of-the water sardininess really shined:


We also had 2 superb homemade pasta dishes: tagliata with pesce spada and papardelle with porcini. There's a talented pasta cook in this kitchen. The noodles were eggy and had terrific texture, and both sauces let the freshness of the main ingredients shine. These were some amazing porcini, and right-off-the-boat swordfish with sweet cherry tomatoes. In both cases, the "sauce" was really just good olive oil infused with the natural flavors of the dish. Here's the swordfish pasta:




Antica Trattoria Poste Vecie
We were proud of ourselves for discovering what seemed to be a hidden secret with one entrance off a canal and another buried deep in a maze of tiny San Polo alleys. In fact, this place was so well hidden that on a night when every restaurant in Venice seemed packed, we were the only patrons here.



Though that had me a bit worried, one taste of yet another classic dish, and I was happy.


This black ink risotto with stewed cuttlefish truly tasted like the sea. The risotto had a delicious brininess, and the meaty cuttlefish was full of salty, pleasant fishiness (to me, "fishy" is a poorly used derogatory term. I want my fish to taste like fish!). Our other dishes did not particularly shine, and the bread was a little stale. Touted as the oldest restaurant in Venice, this may be a place past its prime, but that one dish made me pleased to be there anyway.

Pizzeria da Gianni
With an amazing view overlooking the Giudecca canal, and surrounded by hotels, I expected this full-of-tourists spot to deliver mediocre-at-best food. Thankfully, though not as wonderful as the setting, our eggplant pizza was simple, crispy, and tasty.


If you're looking for a place to linger over a bottle wine, enjoy the food, and eat quite decently, this is an excellent choice.


Yes, you can get ripped off and eat terrible food in Venice. But if you choose well and accept some not-so-great dishes with the sublime, I think the city is full of terrific restaurants.

Kenny,

Looks to be a wonderful trip, terrific pictures and post. Food wise, the simple roasted eggplant topped w/cheese and anchovy at Trattoria Rivetta and black ink risotto with stewed cuttlefish at Antica Trattoria Poste Vecie speak to me.

Looking forward to tagging along on the rest of the trip.

Enjoy,
Gary

Part 3: Food & Wine in Friuli

We joined another couple in hiring a van to take us on a 2 hour drive to the Friuli wine growing region, which took us right to the Italy/ Slovenia border. While not cheap, this outstanding trip was absolutely worth the 140 euro per person price, which included all the transportation, a wonderful 5 course lunch, and tasting some terrific and rare wines with the passionate proprietor of a small local vineyard.


First stop was in the sleepy and wealthy (wine revenue seems to be good in this region) medieval town of Cividale, about a mile from the Slovenia border. Here we found a fabulous local bakery and sampled a ridiculously good local specialty called a Gubana, which actually originated in Cividale. Reflecting the town's eastern European influences, this was very much like a strudel, with a filling of intensely boozy dried fruit and nuts. I really loved this, and will definitely be trying to make it this winter.


Next stop was the amazing Ronco di Prepotto winery, where - in Italian (our driver translated) - Gianpaolo waxed poetically about how devoted his grandfather, father, and he have been in producing special wines from their small vineyard. In the 1980's, the primary red wine grape in the region - schioppettino - was rendered nearly extinct by disease. It's making a comeback, but still on a small enough scale that it's not commonly found in the U.S. This particular winery does not distribute at all outside of northern Italy. We were thrilled to bring home 4 bottles of special red wine, with intense blackberry and winter spice notes, and a full mouth feel. Thank you to American Airlines checked baggage handlers for delivering them intact!

Here are pictures of the grapes a few days before harvest, the fascinating drying process taking place in the winery’s attic, and the wine label:








Final stop was an amazing small-town restaurant, where Mario cooked and served us a tremendous 5 course meal featuring local specialties.



Course 1 was an unpictured but absolutely delicious potato gnocchi with a simple broccoli cream sauce. Everything in this restaurant featured extremely local ingredients, and the intense broccoli flavor tasted like it had come from vegetables picked that day.

Course 2 was ravioli with herbed goat cheese and a simple, flavorful, light chicken stock reduction with herbs, and finished with plenty of butter and toasted parmesan:



Course 3 was a rich barley dish, cooked risotto style with pork stock and small chunks of speck:



Course 4 was a family style maialata (my understanding is that this roughly translates as "any main dish made from local pigs") served with a side of traditional frico (fried cheese and polenta). In this case, the maialata had charred, fatty succulent pork ribs, creamy roasted potatoes, and crunchy raw fennel. The polenta in the frico had a remarkably intense taste of real, fresh ground corn. Here they are:




Final course consisted of 2 delicious pastries, one made with local figs, and the other with schioppettino grapes that had macerated in grappa.



What a meal! This trip made me want to learn much more about the cooking in Italy's northeast, and I look forward to a fall/ winter of attempting to make many of the local specialties to go with the 4 bottles of wine we brought home.

Part 4: Other Stuff

Here are some more somewhat random photos and descriptions of Venetian treats.

This pistacchio tart - ubiquitous enough to be called the Ventetian pastry, was really very good. Pistacchios were a big deal in these parts, and just about anything we tasted with the nuts was intense and delicious:



90% of the gelato in Venice comes from two bulk-makers that distribute to the dozens of gelaterias throughout the city. These are serviceable, but definitely have a certain unnatural, manufactured taste. However, there are a couple of outstanding, artisan makers, including Nico, pictured below. Not only do you get to enjoy fresh, natural, intense without being too sweet gelato - you also get one of the city's best views of the Giudecca canal.



If you find yourself in the sleepy, lace-producing town of Burano, avoid this traditional Burano pastry. It's dry and incredibly hard to swallow, at least in the versions we tried from 2 separate bakeries.



On the other hand, if you find yourself in Vicenza, curious but skeptical about a too-trendy looking place around the corner from the magnificent Olympic Theater, do not miss this truffle-gorgonzola gnocchi - one of the single most memorable bites of food I had during the whole trip. Some bite on the outside yet ethereally light inside, and generous, fresh and incredibly fragrant black truffle:



In case it's not obvious, I loved the food and wine in northeast Italy. It's truly a unique cuisine, and I encountered a whole assortment of dishes and preparations I'd never heard of. The region's proximity to Eastern Europe definitely shows in many of the preparations, and adds an extra-interesting dimension in my book.

That gnocchi looks heavenly!

I have been lurking on this forum for quite some time but this post really drew me in...and made me quiet "homesick"! My husband and I were lucky enough to reside in the Friuli area for about 2 years.

It is great to see that you missed the tourist traps and got to enjoy the experience fully. The food of that region is something I found to be quiet unique. It has earned a spot as my favorite regional comfort food.

Kudos for staying away from the Tourist menus. I think it just (wrongly) reinforces the whole spaghetti and meatballs stigma attached to Italian cuisine.

Thank you for the post...and inevitable stomach growling!

I'm going to be in Venice in a couple of weeks and this post has been a great help, I'm just wondering if anyone else has something new to add. I'll report back when I get home.

From Milan my wife and I made our way to Venice. By many accounts, a great way to eat in Venice is to eat standing up at cicchetti bars, similar to a tapas crawl in Spain. Here are some of the spots we liked best.

Enoteca do Colonne
Pictured: Baccala three ways with polenta cakes


This place is the definition of hidden in plain sight. Though it's only a block off the main drag in Cannaregio, it was empty when we showed up while every other restaurant we passed by was packed. They specialize in Venetian classics like sardines (sardełe in saor), cuttlefish in tomato sauce (seppie umido), and stockfish (baccala), all served with grilled polenta cakes. As we were deciding what to order, the kind owner immediately offered to put together a mixed plate of their specialties, which we gladly accepted. As we watched the whirlwind of tourists going by, we couldn't have been happier to be one block from the action, sipping wine and enjoying excellently prepared cicchetti in a calm and inviting atmosphere.

Enoteca do Colonne
Cannaregio 1814

Osteria al Portego
Pictured: fried cauliflower and stewed artichokes


While the food was solid, the real draw to Osteria al Portego is the atmosphere. We arrived right around 7PM, and the place was packed with locals ordering hot cicchetti from the counter then taking them out to the street to eat. It reminded me a lot of Seville where crowds gather in the street to eat and drink the night away. We started off with an order of fried cauliflower and stewed artichokes. Though the cauliflower isn't fried to order, the business is steady enough that a fresh batch is always coming out of the kitchen. We followed that up with a big plate of cuttlefish served with cuttlefish ink (seppie con il nero) and polenta cakes. Though the dish is microwaved after you order, it was still tender and featured a generous amount of ink sauce that was great for dipping the polenta cake. This is the perfect way to spend a couple hours drinking and hanging out with the locals.

Osteria al Portego
Costello 6014

Cantinone gia Schiavi
Pictured: various sandwiches


Cantinone gia Schiavi specializes in cicchetti that are served on bread much like Spanish pintxos. They have easily 30 different varieties of sandwiches covered in flavorful and widely varied spreads that make for an excellent snack on the go. The sandwiches ranged from pistachio paste, to pesto, to ricotta and walnuts, to truffled cheese, and everything in between. After all the fried and seafood cicchetti we ate everywhere else, this was a nice change of pace.

Cantinone gia Schiavi
Dorsoduro 992

Gelateria lo Squero
pictured: pistachio gelato


The best gelato we had on our entire trip to Italy was the pistachio gelato from Gelateria lo Squero. It's right next door to Canintone gia Schiavi, so right as we walked out to the street we saw the huge sign advertising pistachio gelato made with fresh Sicilian pistachios. Naturally we had to try it, and it was even better than we could have hoped. It was like a mouth full of the most delicious pistachios I've ever had mixed with cream (which is probably pretty close to what it actually was). I can't say if the other flavors were as good as that, but I can say I'd love to find out next time I visit.

Gelateria lo Squero
Dorsoduro 989

Osteria dal Capo, Padua
Pictured: Bigoli in salsa


After two days in Venice, we decided to get out for an afternoon (the tourist crush can be overwhelming). So we took the 30 minute train ride into Padua. I didn't know much about Padua before I got there, but it turns out it's a city of nearly a quarter million people, and they have a beautiful park and cathedral that are definitely worth seeing. The downtown area has lots of shopping and people walking around, so we figured it'd be a good place to grab some dinner. Walking around we happened across a street with a bunch of restaurants in a row, all full, even on a Monday night. We decided on Osteria dal Capo and were not disappointed. We started the meal off with a lasagna that was made from fresh pasta and stuffed with fluffy ricotta cheese. Then came the bigoli which is tossed with anchovies and onions. The bigoli was one of the best pasta dishes we ate on the entire trip! For an entree we split an order of the venetian livers (fegato veneziana). Everything had a homemade quality to it, which is exactly what we needed after two days of tourist-overload in Venice. Padua was the ideal escape, and it didn't hurt that there was some great food to be had.

Osteria dal Capo
Via degli Obizzi 2
Padua

From Venice we headed to Florence

Very nice, turkob. I'm homesick for that region of the world which I wish I really could call home.

Going to be spending 3 days in Venice in September, wondering if anyone has been there more recently (though those cichetti looked amazing, every single one!) with suggestions for non-tourist trap dining options. We are staying at a St Regis Palace on a little lagoon island (using loyalty points!!) and know they will direct us to the usual suspects. Since I value a personal reference, I'm open to anything. Even sightseeing tips! I do hope to get to the Jewish Quarter there, would love a recommendation from that area.

Thanks.