Venetian Pub Crawl
Lunch ended up being rather pricey (65euros) and the Doges Palace was a lot (20euro each) and other odds and ends cost money too (5 euro each to see the famous horses of St Marks, souvenirs, espresso, snack, etc.) so we were looking for a less formal option. Rick Steves recommends the Venetian Pub crawl style of eating: a glass of house wine (vino rosso della casa) and a few cicchetti.
We started at Osteria El Sbarlefo not too far from our B&B. It is so tempting to order more than two little bites when there is a window of 10-15 options in front of you but we stuck to a fried meatball and fried calamari. The house wine was great and both items were good. The meatball could have been excellent if there was some sort of sauce but instead it was a bit dry. The calamari was very fresh and a little salty. These little bites and wine...5 euro. Definitely more our style!
Next stop was Cicheti Venexiani e Vino Locale, another small tapas looking bar. Here we shared one glass of Cabernet Franc and pondered over what to get. Most places do offer a lot of fish which is not really either of our top choice. We decided on two crostinis: ricotta with a sun dried tomato and shrimp in a pink sauce. The ricotta one was definitely more my style, sweet and tangy. The shrimp one was nice for the first bite but still a little too fishy for my taste. I really wanted to enjoy the fresh fish but...oh well. Price here: 5.50 euro
This middle stop was our favorite and we definitely spent the most time here at A La Vecia Papussa. The man running this bar was super friendly and we were initially drawn in due to meat in the window. I told him we love carne i non pesce so he offered to make us a small salami plate with some bread. Another two glasses of house red wine and some risotto balls stuffed with smoked mozzarella and prosciutto. You cant go wrong with salami and the balls were probably the best food item so far. The bartender/owner was playing youtube videos of great songs: "Proud Mary", scenes from Blues Brothers, and Aretha Franklin. Total cost: 11 euro.
We took a long walk before the next bar. We were heading to a bar that the B&B owner recommended but when we arrived there it seemed to be way too popular for us. There was a swarm of people inside and outside eating and drinking and it was very loud. We thought it might lighten up on the walk back but people were arguing over food outside. Even though it looked good, we continued on to a small place that was practically empty. Adam ordered here as I was somewhat full. One piece was like a jalapeño popper and the other was another fried meatball. Adam didn't like the jalapeño but I actually enjoyed it. Small glasses of wine were good...all this wine and neither one of us was any more than a tiny bit buzzed. Cost: 4 euro
On the way home, Adam was still hungry so we stopped at one last crowded bar for a panzerotti and two more glasses of wine (5 euros). I didn't get the names of the last two places but neither was super special so I'm not too worried about that. The panzerotti was tasty but the one in Milan near the duomo may still be the best food we have had so far on this adventure.
Despite 4.5 glasses of wine each, we were barely buzzed but it was definitely a fun pleasant evening and for less than half the price of lunch, it was much more enjoyable.
The B&B, Allo Squero, was a really great place to stay overall. It was about a ten minute walk from St. Marks and five minutes from good, non touristy food. The location was great and Adam was able to navigate the streets of Venice pretty confidently. I mostly followed him. I heard everyone gets lost in Venice but we did not!
Currently on the train to Bologna for a quick lunch, then heading to Firenze for tonight!
