All' Amarone Vineria

Another wine bar in a the streets of Venezia.  A cozy little place that had a lot of wine (what else is new).  We had ordered some appetizers. Caprese which was very good, Prosciutto Crudo di Parma and Baccala Mantecato con Crostini (cod fish).  A funny thing was one of us ordered a Caesar Salad and it was unlike any Caesar I knew. It must have been his cousin. It was a green salad with slices of ham and the dressing was different.

The Tortellini Panna e Prosciutto was nice and creamy. The Spaghetti Carbonara was delightful and it was not what you are accustomed to.  I don't know if it is the cream they use but it was nice and light. Aimee ordered the Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia; cuttlefish which belongs to the squid family. I decided to try the Lasagna Bolognese Style  and I had no regrets at all. It didn't even need any Parmesan cheese! Someone else had the Tagliatelle Bolognese which was perfect as well.

For dessert, we ordered Tiramisu all'Amarone, Crema Catalana, and Chocolate Salami which intrigued us. It was not really salami, it just looked like salami. All three desserts were enough for us to share.  Another nice meal in Venice. The real treat was when the owner, Alfredo Depietri came to our table and ended up sitting with us and telling us endless stories. We not only enjoyed his food but his hospitality. He treated us like his long lost relatives.

All'Amarone Vineria is located at San Polo 1131, 30125 Venice, Italy.

Locanda Aurilia

Locanda Aurilia: Hotel, Ristorante, Enoteca in Padua, Italy. On our recent trip we had to rent a van to accommodate 8 of us. It was a very scenic drive from Venice to Padua. Our driver Michele Roppa was informative and entertaining. When it came to dinner time, he suggested a place that was out of the way. He was friends with the owner of the hotel. He quickly called him up to make a reservation. We looked forward to it as this was no ordinary restaurant. It has been run by the same family since 1952 though the place has been there for 150 years and was previously a tavern with a stable.

As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by the owner and sommelier Ferdinando as he whisked us over his very impressive wine cellar. He has won multiple awards for some of his collections. He had prepared some appetizers; Crostini Baccala (cod) with anchovy, olives, cheese freshly carved from the wheel and tendon of the an extremity of a cow with tripe which we all tried...."when in Rome...." this also translates to " when in Padua..." it was unusually good. The texture was like mochi though it was not sweet. It went well with the Prosecco he poured for all of us. After we checked out the various wines for all occasions, Ferdinando led us to the dining room upstairs.

We were welcomed by his sister Lucia who was very charming and accommodating. We were open to suggestions as we wanted to try their specialties. They started us with some Prosciutto followed by Mushrooms with polenta and then we were served little plates of 3 varieties of cheeses. The wine we ordered was so good and inexpensive that after 2 bottles, we decided to buy more to take home. It was Il Dominio Bagnoli Classico Friularo which is from the region nearby. Right after the cheese, they brought us a huge platter of Risotto con Funghi which they made especially for us.  We all absolutely loved it. I can say it was the best risotto I have ever had!  A platter of Tagliatelle with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes arrived next.  A very simple yet an excellent dish cooked aldente of course.

We were getting full and we still have not had our entrees.  Two people in our party ordered the Grilled Veal Chop with baked potato.  One had the Cod with fried zucchini and a few of us including myself had the Sliced Beef Tenderloin with rosemary and oil but instead of the baked potato, I asked for polenta instead. The beef was so tender and delicious.

Nobody cared for dessert as we were all bursting....but some were curious. We got talked into the Chocolate cake which was a cross between a souffle and a lava cake. I can't remember if there was any other dessert as I was almost comatose after all the food.

Ferdinando introduced us to his brother Chef Osorio. We told him in our broken Italian/Spanish how we enjoyed everything.  Ferdinando who didn't speak English seemed worried that we didn't have enough to eat, asked if he could offer us anything else aside from coffee. We assured him we had enough to eat...." basta..."

Before we left, he gave the ladies a commemorative plate of one of the wine awards.
What we had was no ordinary dinner. It was truly a feast and a very special and unforgettable evening.  Grazie mille Ferdinando, Chef Osorio and Lucia.

Locanda Aurilia is located at 35010 Loreggia, Via Aurilia, 27. in Padua, Italy.

Locanda Montin

I found this restaurant in Venice, Italy from a list recommended by Anthony Bourdain.  We took a water taxi to Antica Locanda Montin.  This was far from the traffic and tourists.  We got there at at 7:30 p.m. They didn't have anything earlier as the Italians eat later than Americans do. We were pleasantly surprised by the ambiance.  Tables outside were lined with light pink tableclothes and the large canopy on top of the tables were filled with greenery.  This charming place was the venue of the old film Anonimo Veneziano, which I will try and rent on Netflix one of these days.

We started with several appetizers.  Prosciutto di Parma, Polipetti all' olio e limone, Spaghetti alle vongole and Spaghetti al ragu.  All of them were very good.

Everyone had their favorite entrees. Someone had the Gnocchetti con asparagi e gamberini.  I believe Ryan had the Taglierini co San Pietro zucchine e crema di fiori di zucca. I had a forkful of that to try and I liked it a lot. Alma and her husband ordered the Branzino ai ferri which looked good with the crispy skin. They both thought it was too bland and tasteless. I ordered the Seppie in umido con polenta. This looked bad but it was very good indeed with the grilled polenta. It was too much and too rich that I could not finish it.  Maria and Ryan split an order of Scaloppline al limone.  The scaloppine was nice, light and tender.  Ross and Elliot had the Lasagna which I can't comment on since I didn't get a taste of it.

For Dolci (desserts) we shared several selections.  Fragole al gelato (strawberry ice cream), Panna cotta al cioccolato, Crem caramel, Semifreddo di meringata al cioccolato and Gelato al limone con vodka.

We all had a nice time including little Maisie who seemed to enjoy gnawing on an Italian roll.

Canova

Canova is the main dining room at the Luna Hotel Baglioni in Venice, Italy. On our first night we made reservations to have our dinner there.  We all got dressed and we were ready to challenge our palates.

To start, they served us shrimp coated with shredded phyllo. This was exceptionally good. It almost reminded me of cereal shrimp from Singapore. Of course they didn't forget to give us generous portions of bread which we enjoyed wih the complimentary prosecco.

The Fish soup sounded enticing. The last fish soup I had that was wonderful was in a restauant in Paris. This came pretty close. Aimee had the same thing and we decided to split an order of the Seafood Risotto which they recommended. We loved the risotto which was cooked to perfection. Ross had a salad that looked beautiful; hopefully it tasted even better than it looked.

Someone had a Smoked Salmon Tartare and Ryan shared the White Fish Carpaccio; can't comment on those as I did not get to try them.  The Tagliatelle con Funghi was also delicious.

Two desserts were ordered which we all shared.  A chocolate pudding with pears and a generous portion of Tiramisu: both yummy!  It did not end there. Just as we were to ask for the check, they served us a big plate of chocolate covered strawberries and gooseberries which we had to consume so as not to be insulting.

It was a nice dinner with great service. We had no complaints at all.