I love tapas. I love italian food. Cichetti are italian (venitian) tapas. im too lazy to write my own description so i lifted this one:
A Different Type of Meal - Cichetti in Venice
Shannon Essa (Shannon)
One of my favorite things about Venice is its tradition of cichetti. Cichetti (chee-keht-tee) are small portions of food served in bars all over the city, usually with an ombra, which is a small glass of wine. Most Venetians eat cichetti, before lunch or before dinner, or in place of lunch or dinner. Eating cichetti in Venice is a great way to hang out with the locals and to eat some great food at reasonable prices.
When you go out for cichetti, you will eat standing up, hopefully in a crowded room. Mosey up to the bar, where all the cichetti will be displayed before you. A typical cichetto (this is the singular) might be a square of mortadella on a toothpick, or a rice stuffed tomato, or a ball of rice stuffed with an olive and deep fried. Summon the bar-person, order your glass of wine and point to your choice of cichetti, which will then be served to you. The bar-person will keep your tab going and present it to you when you are ready.
Eating cichetti is a social activity, with the day's events being discussed as the wine is quaffed and the bites consumed. You can eat cichetti any time of day, but it is more fun when there are plenty of Venetians around. Don't be shy - let your hunger and your sense of adventure guide you.
The ombra (small glass of wine - the word means "shadow") is the beverage usually drunk with cichetti. These small glasses of wine are very small and very cheap, and sometime rough. If you'd like something a bit better, by all means ask for it. It won't lower you in the eyes of the locals, and for just a bit more you'll get a nicer glass and a better wine.
bacallao on toast, 2 ways, and a pickled onion with a fish-stuffed pepper on a toothpick. at the first (better) spot we foundA Different Type of Meal - Cichetti in Venice
Shannon Essa (Shannon)
One of my favorite things about Venice is its tradition of cichetti. Cichetti (chee-keht-tee) are small portions of food served in bars all over the city, usually with an ombra, which is a small glass of wine. Most Venetians eat cichetti, before lunch or before dinner, or in place of lunch or dinner. Eating cichetti in Venice is a great way to hang out with the locals and to eat some great food at reasonable prices.
When you go out for cichetti, you will eat standing up, hopefully in a crowded room. Mosey up to the bar, where all the cichetti will be displayed before you. A typical cichetto (this is the singular) might be a square of mortadella on a toothpick, or a rice stuffed tomato, or a ball of rice stuffed with an olive and deep fried. Summon the bar-person, order your glass of wine and point to your choice of cichetti, which will then be served to you. The bar-person will keep your tab going and present it to you when you are ready.
Eating cichetti is a social activity, with the day's events being discussed as the wine is quaffed and the bites consumed. You can eat cichetti any time of day, but it is more fun when there are plenty of Venetians around. Don't be shy - let your hunger and your sense of adventure guide you.
The ombra (small glass of wine - the word means "shadow") is the beverage usually drunk with cichetti. These small glasses of wine are very small and very cheap, and sometime rough. If you'd like something a bit better, by all means ask for it. It won't lower you in the eyes of the locals, and for just a bit more you'll get a nicer glass and a better wine.
the other spot we tried....
grilled cuttlefish, fried softshell little crab, tiny fried shrimp, fried cuttlefish, fried sardine fillets. pretty good.
grilled head-on shrimp, octopus salad (they forgot the salt), and pickled onions and sardines over white polenta cake (my fav by far)
2 innards I have never had before. I asked the lady behind the counter what the dark one was, she said a word i didnt know and pointed to what looked like her liver. I said "fegato?" which is liver, and she said no, so im guessing spleen or something. Tasted OK but def kinda gamey. The other thing is a boiled beef tendon, (i give gizmo the dried version and even he isnt too keen on it). Absolutely horrible. Tastless because they forgot the salt (again...this place slacks on seasoning im not going back there except for the sardine over polenta) and the texture was nauseating. As expected, nicole didnt want to try either. Whats the moral of the story folks? Stick to fish in venice.
Anyway, it was a fun experience and we will be trying cichetti again tomorrow
-ilya
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