Schneier

Osteria Bancogiro Campo San Giacometto 0141-5231051 This is the best bar in Venice. I may find a better one next visit, but until then this is the best bar in Venice. It's not a bad place for dinner, either. Bancogiro is in the Campo San Giacometto, right near the Rialto Bridge. It's next door to my Internet cafe, the only one that doesn't check IDs and lets me plug my laptop directly into their network. It looks like a random bar, albeit one with a nice list of wines by the glass, but in the back there are tables right on the Grand Canal, and upstairs there are some inside tables. The menu is small, and completely lacking in pastas. We started with a cheese plate. It was a nice selection of Italian and French cheeses, and more than enough for three people to share. Then three fish dishes. The fillet of John Dory came with the fresh orange mushrooms we saw in the market and bits of rosemary. The Mediterranean swordfish came with tomato, basil, chives, and dill. The only odd dish was the squid, which was served with radiccio and paprika, and was a little too bitter. We also ordered two side dishes to share. The pumpkin with onions, raisins, and pine nuts was absolutely fantastic. The fresh porcini with parmigano was delicious. Dinner was cheap, and the setting was beautiful. An excellent value in Venice. (Last visited: October 2003)

La Zucca S Croce 1762 (S. Gaicomo dall'Orio) 041-5241570 Everyone mentions this restaurant. The Lonely Planet mentions this restaurant. A book called Chow! Venice mentions this restaurant. Internet guide to eating in Venice after Internet guide to eating in Venice mentions this restaurant. We have a book of maps of Venice; a mere dozen restaurants are mentioned--including this one. Posters above mention it. Everyone can't possibly be wrong. La Zucca was once a vegetarian restaurant. Now it serves meat with its vegetables. Interestingly enough, they don't do much fish. Everyone else does fish, so they do meat. And they do it with a twist; La Zucca has the most imaginative menu I've seen in all of Venice. They serve traditional Venetian ingredients, but the preparations are anything but traditional. Zucca is "pumpkin" in Italian, and we started with two pumpkin dishes. The first was zuppa di zucca e porri: pumpkin soup with potato, carrots, onions, leeks, and some really delicious seasoning. It was delicious, but even better was the flan di zucca con ricotta stagionato: a slice of savory pumpkin flan covered in ricotta shavings. Our three main courses were lamb with tzatziki, roast beef with guacamole, and duck with prunes. All competently done, and all welcome changes from the fish we had been eating all week. But the real stars of the meal were the vegetable side dishes. These are all large, and suitable for sharing. But they're so good--and only 4 euros each--that you should order as many as you can just to try them. The fagioli beans in red sauce (fagioli all'uccelletto), the cipolline onions sauteed in prosecco, the slices of fresh fennel in olive oil: all delicious. Like many restaurants in Venice, the primi dishes are much better than the secondi options. Zucca is far from the tourist areas, and can be hard to find. It's a small restaurant: a half dozen tables in back, one in front, and a few on the street. Call to make a reservation, because if you get there late it will be filled with locals and you won't get in. Cost is about 35 euros a person, and worth much more. (Last visited October 2003)

Da Fiore S. Polo--Calle del Scaleter 041-721232 (yes, that's one fewer digit than normal) http://www.dafiore.com A lot as been written about the only Michelin starred restaurant in Venice: some of it good and some of it not so good. To those who write that it's no different or better than other good restaurants in Venice that charge half the price, I can only say you must have ordered wrong. Everything we had was different, and better, than any other meal we've had in Venice. Da Fiore is a splurge, and a big splurge. You might not want to spend the money, but if you're willing to there's no better food on the island. It's not traditional Venetian cuisine. It's interesting twists on Venetian staples. For a degustativo we got a plate of fried schie (those tiny gray shrimps), fried zucchini, and soupy white polenta. Absolutely fantastic: about as perfect as you can make something this simple, and a perfect peek into the meal to come. Antipasti: Scampi nostrani marinati all'arancia con sedano e sorbetto di pomodoro. These were raw shrimp served with mild celery shreds and bits of orange, and a flavored sorbet that felt a whole lot like frozen tapanade. A perfect dish. Saor di orata alla Marco Polo. Salted sea bream with onions, pine nuts, and raisins, served with grilled polenta. Another delicious dish; the flavors just worked. See the pattern? The sea bream is based on the traditional dish, but "revised" (waiter's words). The fish is different, as is the saor. The shrimp: same. You'll see raw shrimp elsewhere in Venice, but not with these accompaniments. The first pasta dish, below, same. Primi Piatti: Bigoli in salsa alla veneziana. This was a salted fish pasta dish. This was also delicious, but very strong and salty. Risotto di zucca e tartufo bianco d'Alba. What can you possibly say about a white truffle risotto? It was fantastic. It was better than fantastic. There were about a million dollars worth of truffles shaved on top. It was perfect. It was better than perfect. Okay, the portion was too large and I filled up on it, making it impossible for me to finish my next course. Secondi Piatti: Coda di rospo all mediterranea. My dictionary translated rospo as "toad," but it was monkfish. It came grilled with olive oil and surrounded by olives, capers, tiny tomatoes, and bits of basil. Of the three fish dishes, this was the most basic. The fish was the star, and the accompaniments didn't overshadow it. It was also the most perfect piece of fish I've had in a long time. Filetti di triglie con fichi e mentha. Triglie is red mullet, according to the dictionary I had. In any case, this was two perfectly grilled pieces of fish served with figs and bits of fresh mint and tomato. Surprising, and delicious. Definitely not what you'd find elsewhere on the island. Filetto di branzino all'aceto balsamico. This was a piece of sea bass wrapped in spinach leaves and baked, and then served drizzled with vinegar and surrounded by baked apples. Again, a new and interesting presentation of a Venetian staple. Everything is as you'd expect from a Michelin starred restaurant: beautiful presentations, expert service, pretty dining room. It's a small cozy room, reminiscent of a boat's galley, and a tad too loud. (And much of what we heard wafting across the room were conversations in English.) The menus are in Italian, but the waiters are more than willing to translate it all for you, explain ingredients you're curious about, and help you choose wine. (We were the first customers who sat down--at 7:30--which may explain the attention we got.) Women get their menus without prices, which--depending on your point of view--is either charming or appalling. I've read some of the bad reviews on chowhound and elsewhere, and I'm hard pressed to explain it. Ugly Americans get ugly service, but foodies are generally the nicest patrons at restaurants like this. And bad service does not survive Michelin. A Michelin review isn't a New York Times review, which a restaurant can coast on for years. It isn't even a Zagat's ranking, which often remains high long after a restaurant has declined. Michelin visits their starred restaurants repeatedly, every year. It’s no small feat to get one, and there's no resting on laurels either. Maybe the restaurant has off nights. Maybe the patrons have off nights? My best guess is that people who leave Da Fiore unimpressed order wrong. The trick is not to order the Venetian staples. I'm sure they're excellent, but so much of Venetian cooking is simple ingredients prepared simply that it's likely to be almost as good elsewhere. Da Fiore shines when they're doing something different: nouveau Venetian. The prices are serious. Dinner was 80 euros a person without drinks (our white truffle primi cost twice as much as any other primi), and 110 euros with the addition of wine (two bottles divided among three people), water, and coffee. The wine list is extensive, and filled with good local white wines at prices ranging from 25-40 euros. The meal is expensive for a one-star restaurant, but Venice is an expensive city. You can argue about whether the meal is worth it, but I don't think you can argue about the food. Reservations are essential, far in advance. You can make them on the web; I made mine by fax and confirmed by phone once I arrived. (Last visited: October 2003)

Trattoria Antiche Carampane Filli Bortoluzzi 041-5240165 There's a sign outside this restaurant: "No Lasagne. No Pizza. No Menu Turistico." For that alone we had to eat there. Not that it was easy to find. It's on a street that doesn't appear on any of our maps, near streets that also doesn't appear on any of our maps. We followed a convoluted trail to get there. It gets worse. There's no menu. Your waiter will tell you what food they have that night. And there's no English; your waiter will tell you in Italian. If you can handle all of that--if you are good at following a treasure map, if you have an Italian speaker in your party, and if you're willing to put yourself in the restaurant's hands--you're in for an excellent meal. Our meal started with an array of raw fish: tiny Venetian shrimp (schie), tuna, and a large crayfish-like shrimp, and lightly breaded and baked scallops. Then we had pasta: crab linguini, spaghetti with fish sauce (described by our server as a "brutish fish"--I forget the name), seafood risotto. All delicious. The secondi, on the other hand, were less extraordinary. We ordered a John Dory, which was a little greasy, and a baked branzino, which was fine but no better than elsewhere. Dessert was sgroppini (lemon sorbet, prosecco, and a splash of vodka) and a piece of chocolate cake to share. They have an interesting wine list of local wines (yes, they have a menu). And they seem to have different options available depending on how much they like you. We got an amuse bouche (called the degustativo in Italian) of fried zucchini, were able to order a bottle of wine that was marked "No" on the wine list, and received one more glass of sgroppini than we ordered. Having a gregarious Italian-speaker with you has its advantages. (The server also knew what we should eat. When one of us wanted our fish grilled, she told us that it would come baked.) This is not a cheap restaurant. The bill came to 60 euros a person, including wine. It's also a small restaurant. Call ahead to make a reservation, and then leave yourself plenty of time to find the place. That’s because these are the directions (found on a website linked from slowfood.com), starting from the Campo San Polo: "Take Sottoportago de la Madoneta at the rear of the campo (on the right side coming from Chiesa). Turn left at Building #1414. Enter Calle dei Cavalli. Cross Ponte Furatola and take Sottoportago de la Furatola. This Sottoportago becomes Sottoportago San Tamossi and then Sottoportago del Banco Salviati. Going towards Carampane, the canal will be on your right. After Sottoportago ends, you will be on Fondamenta del Banco Salviati. There will be a small canal on your right, and you will pass an elementary school on the left. Before you get to the next bridge, turn left onto Calle del Tamossi. You will pass a house with a large courtyard. Then go right onto Ramo del Tamossi. Make a left onto Rio Tera de la Carampane--the restaurant is about one block on the right. If you reach the signs for Fondamente da la Stua, Parrochia S. Cassan and Ponte Tetti, you have passed Carampane." No kidding. Those are straightforward directions. Makes getting there part of the fun. Addendum: In the Donna Leon novel Death at La Fenice, the main character eats a fine meal at Carampane (Chapter 20). The fictional server is much like the one who served us. If you don't voice your opinions fast enough, she'll decide what you want to eat. I think that would be just fine. (Last visited: October 2003)

Da Romano Via Galuppi, near Piazza Galuppi Burano Eating at a random restaurant in Venice is always a crap shoot. It could be a great Venetian eatery, or it could cater to tourists. Service could be good, or service could be terrible. We came to Venice armed with all of the restaurant web postings we could find. None of them talked about eating on the outlying islands. Da Romano is in the island of Burano, near one end of the main street. We wandered up and down the street, looking at every restaurant, before we sat down. This one looked good. We took the chance. The food was good. Lots of traditional Venetian dishes. We had prosciutto with melon, shrimp with polenta, spaghetti with crab (oddly translated on the menu as "thin noodles to the thornback"--tagliolini alla Grancevola)--and grilled eel: anguilla alla griglia. Reasonable prices. Friendly service. English-language menu. For a lunch on Burano, you can't go wrong here. We sat outside, although the restaurant is very pretty inside. And it's big, too. Da Romano is a tourist restaurant, but we were happy with our choice. We definitely could have done a lot worse. (Last visited: October 2003)

Trattoria alla Modonna Calledella Modonna, near Rialto 041-5223824 Classic Venetian cuisine at good prices. It's touristy--they have menus in English and Japanese, and probably in other languages as well--but don't let that fool you. This is good food: lots of seafood choices, pastas, and some meat. On our visit we had polpette all'olio e limone, marinated baby octopus in lemon and oil. (This was on the Italian menu, but not on the English menu. Peeking over someone's shoulder, I saw it on the Japanese menu. Interesting....) The octopus was tender, not chewy, and very flavorful. Both pastas were delicious: the spaghetti with clams and red sauce, and the spaghetti with cuttlefish and squid ink. The latter was seriously yum; squid ink looks so heavy and tastes so light. (Remember that the ink is water soluble, so you can easily get the black spots out of your clothes.) Finally, we had a grilled orata, or sea bream. Like many restaurants, fish is sold by weight. The waiter will show you your fish before cooking it, and you can ask for a larger or smaller one. I like small fish, and this one came nicely grilled. I think this is one of the best Venetian values for local cuisine. (Last visited: October 2003)

Actually, I lied. He's an honoree at the dinner. He's not cooking. Bruce

Adria is cooking a James Beard dinner in New York in November. I'll be there, and I'll post my review then. Bruce

Really good article, BTW. Bruce

And Pierre is no better at it, it seems. Bruce

That's horrible. I have been thinking that the way to deal with that is to clal the manager over during the meal. This is the sort of thing that the restaurant would like to know and to correct, rather than have published on the Internet. I know that this is hard to do in the middle of a meal, but still. Bruce

It has always seemed like too much work for too little effort. There's a farm that sells free-range heirloom turkeys into Minneapolis. I buy one of those and baste it constantly. Bruce

Depends on context. And audience. Bruce

I dined at Al Sorriso once last year. I didn't save my noted, so can't post a review. But it was an excellent meal. Tiny restaurant, so make reservations early. Bruce

Hear hear. Bruce

Wow. I am impressed with your methodology, and quite amazed by your results. Bruce

Oh. I'm so non-observant that I didn't even get the joke. And yes, the Monday surprise was jetting off to Venice for a week. (I have a bunch of restaurant reviews, which I will post in a day or so.) Bruce

I was in Venice and missed commenting on this live, but it was fun reading it all at once. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Bruce

Is it one of those recipes where the turkey has to simmer for a month? Bruce

How about something with huckleberries? Bruce

my dad always told me that you sell more wine clips with honey than you do with a baseball bat. just paraphrasing there really. It's okay. In my day job I get all kinds of crackpots. Some of them, once in a while, actually have useful ideas. But it's rare. The point of my post was not that all crackpots are crackpots. It's that it's not the job of the established experts to spend their own time and effort verifying every new idea and theory that comes along...regardless of the field. It might not be fair, and some good ideas might get lost along the way, but it's the only way for the established experts to keep any sanity in life. First it's magnets around the bottle neck. Next it's a radio transmitter in the punt. It has no end. Bruce

Two Kowalski's recently showed up close to our home, so we do most of our shopping there now. Bruce

Premonitions, probably. (Hi from Brussels Airport. WiFi everywhere is a good thing.) Bruce

This is my last post on this thread, unless there are comments that I just can't let lie. Monday dinner: American Airlines in-flight meal. It was the Chicago - Brussels flight, Business Class. I passed on the mixed nuts, but munched on the carrot sticks. Seafood appetizer: smoked salmon, lobster claw, and herb-marinated shrimp. Not terrible. Salad: greens, tomato, olives, onions, yellow bell peppers in a balsamic vinegrette. Okay. Lamb Chops: "Lemon-marinated double lamb chops with a light oregano red wine jus, presented with roasted butternut squash and garlic mashed potatoes." Of all the meals I've ever had, this was the most recent. And so ends seven days of food. Bruce

It was eaten earlier, by Karen. I forget when and where, but I know I recorded it in this thread. Bruce