V E N I C E
Venice can be a food lover's paradiso ?or an inferno. Beware the many restaurants, especially around Piazza San Marco, that serve "tourist menus" of frozen fish. Gastronomes should head instead for Venice's culinary heart, the Rialto market, to enjoy seasonal seafood and produce.
First-course options in Venice frequently include risotto, usually prepared in a minimum of two portions (the logistics of preparing single servings are too much for any kitchen). Also popular are cicchetti, snacks designed to be paired with a glass of wine at the counter of a bacaro (a simple wine bar).
Italians don't drink without eating ?and once you've discovered cicchetti, neither will you! ?Faith Willinger
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