> Venice Cuisine
Traditional Venetian cuisine it's very different to the typical Italian cuisine known all over the world. More than pasta rice and polenta are widely used in typical recipes. Polenta is probably Northern Italy most representative dish. It's a kind of cream made of with corn flour eaten with fat salami (soppressa), cheese and fish dishes that, being Venice a city on the sea are also typical.
Ristoranti (Restaurants）
Venice is one of the most tourist town in the world. On Average, especially around the main spots such as Piazza San Marco, Restaurants tend to have a not very good value for money ratio. Nevertheless, just away from the beaten paths, hidden in small alleys, it is always possible to find a restaurant where, in an authentic atmosphere you can try excellent typical Venetian dishes:
- Spaghetti alla Busera (with zucchini and prawns)
- Spaghetti alle Vongole (with clams)
- Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia ()
- Risotto al Nero di Seppia ()
- Bigoli in Salsa (thick house made spaghetti with tomato sauce)
- Frittura Mista (Mixed fish fry)
- Seppie alla Veneziana (cuttle fish)
- Fegato alla Veneziana (liver with onions)
Bacaro
Bacaro is one of the most typical Venetian bar. In a traditional bacaro you'll find wine and typical food served on small dishes like the Spanish tapas and a perfect pairing with your drink. There are many old bacaros, full of atmosphere and is not unusual to spend the evening with friends going from one bacaro to the other.
There are also bacaros where you can have a proper meal sitting at the table even if usually you eat your cicchetti, that's how typical bacaro's tapas are called, standing at the counter or on small tables.
The most typical cicchettos are:
- Baccalà Mantecato (dried cod cream served on small bread slices).
- Sarde in Saor (fried sardines in sour vinegar and onion sauce)
- Moscardini con Polenta (small octopus stewed served on polenta)
Dolci (Desserts)
There are also typical Venetian desserts. Some of these are made in specific period of the year such as the fritole and frittelle, fried pastries made during Carnival. Many traditional jewish sweets are also made in the old Ghetto of Venice.
Also very typical are Esse
(S shaped cookies), Bussoli (O shaped cookies), Zaletti (small cookies made with corn flour). These traditional cookies where made in the past especially for sailors and fishermen. Being dried pastry they could last for long when they were sailing and hanged with a line passed through their hole were out of mice reach.
Noble ladies in the 18th Century used to eat them with sweet white wine, Vin Santo, Recioto or Zibibbo.
