Chow, Venice

Venice has a reputation for having uninspired restauranteurs. It's the only place in Italy where you long to return to America for food, or so goes the popular myth. It's said by some -- including New York Times travel writers who should know better -- that getting a decent meal in Venice is virtually impossible.

And while that's profoundly false, of course, the myth persists because of one pesky truth: there are a lot of lousy restaurants in Venice, perhaps more than in many other cities in Italy. There is a weedy class of establishments in and around the most heavily touristed areas (especially near San Marco, the train station and Piazzale Roma) that provide overpriced, lazily-cooked, and crabbily-served food. Their business model is based on the knowledge that nobody they feed is ever likely to return, since they are mere tourists. Move them in, move them out. Grazie. Prego.

Now the good news. There is no reason you should ever eat off the plate of one of these cynical pizza purveyors. That's because there is a rich mosaic of brilliant restaurants that bring alive Venice's millenium-plus tradition of imaginative cuisine. What you have to do is be selective, and to keep your eyes open. Eat where Venetians eat. Rely on advice. A great phrase in Italian to learn is: "C'e un posto qui vicino dove si mangia bene e non si spende troppo?" Translation: is there a place close by where one can eat well without spending a ton? Invariably, this causes a local person's eyes to light up, whereupon they they animatedly tell you of the place around the corner where they make miraculous minestrone or gnarly (as in good) gnocchi.

Or, of course, you could simply buy the wonderful book, Chow Venice: Savoring the Food and Wine of La Serenissima by Ruth Edenbaum and Shannon Essa. The book is a good travel companion, tightly and pleasantly written, small and purseable, easy to thumb through, and organized by sestiere, so you can effortlessly ID the closest great restaurant to the calle you happen to be lost in when hunger strikes. They also round up Venetian bars, ice cream joints, and bakeries. Co-author Shannon Essa -- a Veniceblog reader who happens to live down the shore from me in San Diego -- is an American who lived in Venice for a year or so, and ate her way across the city from campo to campo. (How do I get this gig?) Based on my experience, the advice in the book is spot-on. In fact, Shannon and I share a favorite place: La Zucca out in Santa Croce.

Check this book out subito ... there are only three left on Amazon.com.

Comments

[Colleen]

I'm another fan of La Zucca ... and Shannon and Ruth's great book!
I only recently discovered your blog, and have enjoyed reading through your archives. Thanks!
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I should do a La Zucca post. I love that place. I made La Zucca tee-shirts for my (then) 2 year old to wear when we ate there, to the great amusement of the wait staff.

N.

[Sandy]

Hi Norman, thanks to good advice I ate well this time in Venice! On Murano Dalla Mora was a gem of a place, frquented by locals and tables right by the canal. La Zucca we saved for our last night and ween't disappointed. That book sounds like a must for the next visit.

[Diana]

Hi Norman,
I'm Italian and I happened to live in Venice for a few years during university. It's always nice to read about this unbelievable place, especially if it's the impressions of a foreigner.
Just a note, the phrase you mention should actually sound like this:
"C'e un posto qui vicino dove si mangia bene e non si spende troppo?"
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ah, of course you're right,
n.