italian food

[francesam]

Off on a cruise in 4 weeks. Staying 2 nights in Venice. Really looking forward to it. Unfortunately i have a problem,I can't stand Italian food.hate pasta, cant stand pizzas, hate all that garlicky stuff and sea food ugh. However i do like fish but just plain, no fancy bits. What am i going to eat?:confused:

Hubby likes pizzas and spag bol/but that is it. We loved Crete food a few weeks ago so it's not just that we won't try anything new, we do a lot but now i just want to eat something i like and not pay the earth for things i won't touch. At the moment we are thinking of just going to a shop and buying stuff like cheese and rolls and wine and having it in our hotel. Helppppppp

[graybeard]

Venice has a Hard Rock cafe near St.Marks Square if that helps.:)

[dalgirl]

I like "traditional" italian foods, but hate seafood. There are lots of plain old vegetables, sandwiches, etc. - I thought that Venice food would be like Rome or Naples heavy on the pasta and pizza - not true, they have there own style of cuisine. You should be able to find something - I did.

[wristband]

Venice is situated in a lagoon and for thousands of years the local populace has made a living from the sea. Fishing and seafood is the drill w/ lots of different fish served.

 

The rarity in Venice is a meat restaurant. However, most restaurants have several meat dishes on the menu. I have been tempted by duck, steak, game etc. that sound delicious. You say you hate pasta but you may not have tried the rice based risotto. The Venetians specialize in risotto so you may, if you have not, consider trying a plate.

 

If you like fish raw, any number of places serve it "crudo" like cerviche (but not sushi or sashimi). Fine to ask for your fish to be grilled with just a slice of lemon or sauteed without garlic or fried, again with lemon. Restaurant staff would be happy to accomodate your request. Calamari is everywhere - fritto misto/fried squid with veg (you probably know this) is delicious.

 

I suggest you get a good guide book - say, Fodors or Lonely Planet - with a quick Italian vocabulary section in the back. Learn 3 or 4 simple phrases for your meals so you can get what you want, so you will be happy and your hubby and eat as he wishes!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Fish is one of their specialties in Venice- so you will be fine. Pizza and pasta are not what the locals eat. That's why they are so skinny.

 

Another suggestion is they have nice takeaway places- where you walk up to the counter and buy sandwiches, sodas and pasteries. This is what locals do for lunch. It will be cheaper and probably more to your liking. Then you can just seek out a spot along a canal or throw it in your bag and head to the Castello area (walk along the Basin waterfront) and have a shady picnic in the park there. You'll get away from the crowds and see how the locals live.

[ksps cruise fan]

Off on a cruise in 4 weeks. Staying 2 nights in Venice. Really looking forward to it. Unfortunately i have a problem,I can't stand Italian food.hate pasta, cant stand pizzas, hate all that garlicky stuff and sea food ugh. However i do like fish but just plain, no fancy bits. What am i going to eat?:confused:

Hubby likes pizzas and spag bol/but that is it. We loved Crete food a few weeks ago so it's not just that we won't try anything new, we do a lot but now i just want to eat something i like and not pay the earth for things i won't touch. At the moment we are thinking of just going to a shop and buying stuff like cheese and rolls and wine and having it in our hotel. Helppppppp

 

 

Italians tend to eat regionally, what they farm, fish, raise, or hunt. That means Venetian food has little in common with the food of southern Italy where the food includes garlic.

 

For your husband, this means a restaurant in Venice serving Pasta Bolognese is catering to tourists and is likely serving mediocre food. For you, Venetian food means no probems; lots of simply grilled fish is available.

 

To ensure you won't get an unpleasant surprise, here's the way to say "without garlic please" -- senza aglio per favore.

 

Pronunciation of sensa = pretty much the way you'd expect

Pronunciation of aglio = ALyeo (with the "yeo" sort of slurred together)

Pronunciation of per favore = per faVORay

[dln929]

Google "Venetian foods" and you'll come up with lots of food blogs and other info. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting fed--and fed well--in Venice!

[Can'tstopcruising]

Italians tend to eat regionally, what they farm, fish, raise, or hunt. That means Venetian food has little in common with the food of southern Italy where the food includes garlic.

 

For your husband, this means a restaurant in Venice serving Pasta Bolognese is catering to tourists and is likely serving mediocre food. For you, Venetian food means no probems; lots of simply grilled fish is available.

 

To ensure you won't get an unpleasant surprise, here's the way to say "without garlic please" -- senza aglio per favore.

 

Pronunciation of sensa = pretty much the way you'd expect

Pronunciation of aglio = ALyeo (with the "yeo" sort of slurred together)

Pronunciation of per favore = per faVORay

 

 

My favourite meal is fresh grilled fish & veggies. Can you recommend any excellent restaurants that won't break the bank?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

This is the place I ate and it was delicious. No it is not cheap but no place for dinner in Venice is going to be cheap.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187870-d716271-Reviews-L_Osteria_di_Santa_Marina-Venice_Veneto.html

[Dayenu]

Like in the US, they have outside menus that you can read before you decide where to eat.

 

You can also go shopping - there is a co-op store by the vaporetto stops in P.le Roma, if you are staying in that area, and get what you like.

[lisiamc]

Like in the US, they have outside menus that you can read before you decide where to eat.

 

You can also go shopping - there is a co-op store by the vaporetto stops in P.le Roma, if you are staying in that area, and get what you like.

 

And if the menu has photographs of the food on it, run away!

[ksps cruise fan]

My favourite meal is fresh grilled fish & veggies. Can you recommend any excellent restaurants that won't break the bank?

 

You don't say where your hotel is located. I found that I tended to eat within a fifteen-twenty minute radius of my hotel on my first trip to Venice. As you'll quickly learn, getting from point A to point B in Venice often involves lots of wrong turns. To reduce the stress of getting to a restaurant in time for a reservation, we kept the distances we were willing to travel relatively short. By the second trip, we were more confident about our navigation and thought nothing of walking 30-40 minutes to a restaurant. I don't think we've increased our walks to restaurants too much on subsequent trips simply because we've already logged many hours of walking through the city during the day.

 

That said, I'd start by looking at the menus for Vini di Gigio and Osteria la Bottega Ai Promesso Sposi. Both are located in Cannareggio.

 

URL Vini di Gigio: http://www.vinidagigio.com/index_eng.html

URL for Ai Promesso: The restaurant doesn't have its own web site, but you'll get lots of hits for this place on Trip Advisor, etc.

[lisiamc]

You don't say where your hotel is located. I found that I tended to eat within a fifteen-twenty minute radius of my hotel on my first trip to Venice. As you'll quickly learn, getting from point A to point B in Venice often involves lots of wrong turns. To reduce the stress of getting to a restaurant in time for a reservation, we kept the distances we were willing to travel relatively short. By the second trip, we were more confident about our navigation and thought nothing of walking 30-40 minutes to a restaurant. I don't think we've increased our walks to restaurants too much on subsequent trips simply because we've already logged many hours of walking through the city during the day.

 

That said, I'd start by looking at the menus for Vini di Gigio and Osteria la Bottega Ai Promesso Sposi. Both are located in Cannareggio.

 

URL Vini di Gigio: http://www.vinidagigio.com/index_eng.html

URL for Ai Promesso: The restaurant doesn't have its own web site, but you'll get lots of hits for this place on Trip Advisor, etc.

 

Very good points, and useful links. Since it is Italy, and especially Venice, being a tad late for a dinner booking isn't likely to cause too much of a problem. Venetians tend to eat fairly late, and if you're booked for 7pm (if they'll take a booking that early! :)) there won't be many other people there yet anyway.

[francesam]

Thanks for your help folks. Looks like i may be able to eat after all. And i will be practising those Venetian words, KSPS.:D

[nparmelee]

American Italian food does not resemble what you will find in many restaurants in Italy unless you go to a tourist trap style place. First, each region can be very different, garlic is typically used more in southern Italy than in the north. There are some great food books that discuss the different regions and their specialties and when the different specialties might be in season. For Venice, there are some wonderful seafood dishes if you like seafood, polenta seemed good there too, a good pizza from a wood fired oven can be hard to find in Venice because of fire dangers. If you wanted to you could find some decent pizzas, again, these will be very different from most places in the US, and in Venice they will be different than what you will find in Naples or Rome.

 

Depending on when you will be there, different things will be in season and that will also vary, soft shell crabs are only available in Mar/Apr or Oct/Nov for example. Just google "Venice seasonal food" and the month you'll be there and you should get a good idea of what is likely to be available.

[wristband]

Did you read the OP's question? If so, you missed her point. She hates seafood, detests pasta & pizza. Suggesting crab, seafood & pizza is, uh, not helpful to address her needs.

[nparmelee]

I did the read the OPs question and she said she does like fish. My point was that every region in Italy is different and even within those regions look for what's in season for the best options. My mention of pizza was only because the pizza in Italy is very different from here and will also vary quite a bit from region to region within Italy. She might even like it there. Most importantly though is to look for what is in season and a specialty of that region. You are more likely to enjoy the food that way as Italians like to cook very simply with what is avaialble and cook it very well.

[Hlitner]

Fascinating topic. DW and I are both amateur gourmands (we will eat almost anything) and love Italian food.....so we started thinking about the OP. Italian food in Italy is somewhat different then what you get in many US restaurants and its easy enough to avoid pasta (which is not even the main course in Italy). One thing that is hard to avoid in Italy is garlic. It is certainly possible to get decent seafood in Venice (although any good food in Venice is expensive) and there are plenty of seafood preparations that are quite simple. My advice to the OP is to follow our example which is to always be looking at menus as we walk around any city. In Europe its very common to post menus in the window (or at the door) and also list the daily specials (usually the best deals) on chalk boards or a handwritten menu. Lunch is going to be no problem since you will see lots of different sandwiches and salads (just like home). We hesitate to mention this...but there is always McDonalds. You could also live on Gelato :)

 

Hank

[agabbymama]

If all else fails, look for the CO OP stores just off Piazzale Roma. You can get your bread, cheese, meat, wine, whatever your little heart desires. they are grocery stores.

 

We did find a neat sandwich shop over on Lido with "real" bread not European bread with the hard crust, and turkey. Almost like we would get here in the US.

 

Just keep your eyes open and it's not too difficult to find FOOD!

[Hlitner]

If all else fails, look for the CO OP stores just off Piazzale Roma. You can get your bread, cheese, meat, wine, whatever your little heart desires. they are grocery stores.

 

We did find a neat sandwich shop over on Lido with "real" bread not European bread with the hard crust, and turkey. Almost like we would get here in the US.

 

Just keep your eyes open and it's not too difficult to find FOOD!

 

Real bread? You mean like Wonder Bread with all the chemical additives so its still fresh after 2 weeks? Just teasing, but having spent a lot of time in Europe one thing we really miss is the good fresh bread we can find almost anywhere in Europe. Couldn't help but tease you about the bread thing....but as always....we do enjoy your posts and advice :)

 

Hank

[lisiamc]

Fascinating topic. DW and I are both amateur gourmands (we will eat almost anything) and love Italian food.....so we started thinking about the OP. Italian food in Italy is somewhat different then what you get in many US restaurants and its easy enough to avoid pasta (which is not even the main course in Italy). One thing that is hard to avoid in Italy is garlic. It is certainly possible to get decent seafood in Venice (although any good food in Venice is expensive) and there are plenty of seafood preparations that are quite simple. My advice to the OP is to follow our example which is to always be looking at menus as we walk around any city. In Europe its very common to post menus in the window (or at the door) and also list the daily specials (usually the best deals) on chalk boards or a handwritten menu. Lunch is going to be no problem since you will see lots of different sandwiches and salads (just like home). We hesitate to mention this...but there is always McDonalds. You could also live on Gelato :)

 

Hank

 

I like this idea!

[Can'tstopcruising]

If all else fails, look for the CO OP stores just off Piazzale Roma. You can get your bread, cheese, meat, wine, whatever your little heart desires. they are grocery stores.

 

We did find a neat sandwich shop over on Lido with "real" bread not European bread with the hard crust, and turkey. Almost like we would get here in the US.

 

Just keep your eyes open and it's not too difficult to find FOOD!

 

Sorry to tease you, but what is Real Bread? Is it the white toast bread to which Hank referred? I hope not! I haven't had that kind of bread in more years than I can remember! Even in our supermarkets, there are delicious, freshly baked breads that we buy unsliced.

[francesam]

Real bread? You mean like Wonder Bread with all the chemical additives so its still fresh after 2 weeks? Just teasing, but having spent a lot of time in Europe one thing we really miss is the good fresh bread we can find almost anywhere in Europe. Couldn't help but tease you about the bread thing....but as always....we do enjoy your posts and advice :)

 

Hank

 

Don't care how much chemical additives it has as long as it is the type i like. 70 now so not going to start worrying about healthy eating, as long as i find something i do like that's all i want. Forgot to mention i hate fruit and veggies as well lol :D. Not hard to please am I. I blame my grandmother. (i lived with her ) i was a very fussy eater and she fed me almost daily on sayers cream buns. The supermarket it is then. And perhaps a nice patisserie.

[Hlitner]

DW just reminded me of a bread tale. On a recent trip we were away for about 2 months and had left a forgotten loaf of Sunbeam White Bread in our breadbox. When we returned that bread was still fresh and had no mold. You have to wonder what they add to keep it that way :) When we rented an apartment in St Remy I used to go to the boulangerie every morning for delicious fresh bread. But you had to eat that stuff the same day unless you wanted to turn it into croutons.

 

Hank

[CruiserBruce]

Hank, I agree. "Real" bread? Love the fresh bread and rolls on the European menu. Wondering what bread agabbymama is referring to?