the sacred and profane…
and the artichoke

Thurs, 16 June 2016, 1:03 pm: Making the rounds at a few different bacari— wine bars that also serve various bite-size appetizers— is a better bet for a satisfying lunch than any sit-down restaurant when in Venice.20160616_130306Today we’ve noshed at three different bacari since noon and are now at a fourth: Osteria alla Ciurma, also in the San Polo district. It’s easy to nibble at a handful of different places if you stick to one neighborhood on each day of your culinary holiday.20160616_130310As you can see, a good number of the mouthfuls here at Osteria alla Ciurma are 1,80 Euro. As I write this report, that’s only $1.89. For less than two bucks per item, you can try almost anything behind this glass. 20160616_130641The red wine we sample is so enjoyable, we will return tomorrow and ask for it specifically. 20160616_1327081:27 pm: Don’t mind me; I’m just partaking of the cicchetti at Osteria Al Sacro e Profano.20160616_133240Here at the Sacred and Profane (is there a better bar name anywhere on the continent?) they mix a cocktail featuring Cynar, which is made from thirteen herbs and plants, predominantly artichoke.     20160616_13373420160616_133712After you’re content with your pick-and-choose cicchetti meal, you finish it off with one of these curvy sweet biscuits that you soak first in the Cynar.

One lunch, at five different venues and comprised of who knows how many individual little snacks. Add ’em together, and you get a quintessential Venetian dining experience.20160616_132711

La dolce vita is a sampler platter.

Thurs, 16 June 2016, 12:17 pm: Our nibbles at Cantina Do Mori are immediately followed by munchies at Cantina Do Spade, where all the cicchetti is deep-fried.20160616_121754I couldn’t tell you what’s inside that greasy batter. The thing about deep-frying everything is that everything then looks alike. At 12:20 I select from the loaded plates spread on the table a round deep fried ball of… something. Could be anything in there. You’re in Venice, Matt. Man up and just chew.

12:24 pm: I follow the ball up with a deep fried sandwich. It has anchovy and tomato and mozzarella. (I think these sandwiches are what’s in the photo above.) A tablemate tells me the item I ate previously was olives with meat, deep fried in a round ball. I don’t even LIKE olives, and that thing was good. Had I known it had olives I probably wouldn’t have eaten it. See there? Might as well jump.

12:48 pm: All’ Arco is the third bacaro we visit on this “appetizers as lunch” tour. Want to see AND hear exactly what sorts of yummies are available today at All’ Arco?

Cantina Do Mori

Thurs, 16 June 2016, 12:00 pm: In the San Polo district of Venice, near the famed Rialto Bridge, you’ll find Cantina Do Mori.

Actually, you might NOT find it, unless you’re with me or someone else who knows the ropes. Like every other place you’ll read about in these June 2016 adventures of mine, Cantina Do Mori is not on the tourist drag. It takes a kindhearted local or a paid guide to explain where you’ll find the authentic restaurants in Venice. I certainly didn’t know the first time I was here. Once you know, you can choose to enlighten a select few of your friends or to keep it to yourself and help preserve what makes these places great, which is the fact that the ignorant wealthy Viking Cruise passengers never speedwalk within three alleys of ’em. (As soon as my hit counter tops a few hundred, posts like this one will be modified or deleted to make sure our secrets stay secrets. You early supporters of MATT, TAKE ME TO EUROPE deserve a little inside scoop.)20160616_120006It looks like small private apartments are above the cantina. Those residents hopefully enjoy the sounds of wine glasses clinking and small plates rattling, because as many patrons of the restaurant end up congregating on the street out front as in the small interior space.

You don’t come here for some kind of expensive sit-down meal. You come here for cicchetti.

The concept of cicchetti is conveyed conveniently in this clip.

You scope out all the appetizers. You pick one, or two, or three. Simply point at ’em if you don’t wanna brave the pronunciation. Each snack is probably three bites’ worth and costs between 1,50 and 3,00 Euro. You can load up a small plate and still not spend nearly as much as you would for a regular meal at a “please be seated” establishment, where here in Venice the food quality will average between “meh” and “I paid HOW much for that?!”20160616_120605Probably the house specialty of the cicchetti at Cantina do Mori is the codfish, served as a white spread on a small piece of toast.20160616_120946For two bucks you can choose a generous chunk of regional salami.20160616_120934While at the counter selecting your cicchetti, ask for a glass of one of the wines listed on chalkboards around the room.20160616_120954Sample away. Take turns sipping each others’ wines until you find one you want your own little glass of. The joy of a cicchetti meal is in the mixing and matching. No commitment— with the appetizers and the wines, you’re just dating around.