I’m generally a big proponent of moderation, but when I go to Italy I change my tune. My new goal becomes eat all the things. During Victoria and my recent trip, we did a pretty good job of doing just that. We enjoyed both street food and fancy dinners, made a meal out of free apertivo spreads and splurged on multi-course tasting menus (sometimes we ate the apertivo spread and then splurged on multi-course tasting menus). We ate the stereotypical Italian classics (pizza, pasta, repeat) and tried out regional specialties like Milanese risotto. We tried cuisine from Morocco, Korea, Israel and Qatar at the 2015 World Expo and lingered over wine and cheese in the slow food pavillion. We discovered that life is too short to split a cannoli and had gelato almost every day. As Victoria put it, we had a culinary vacation with a bit of art and history thrown in (I guess I failed to make this astute observation, because to me this is how I always travel). And I brought back two cookbooks, officially launching the Messy Kitchen International Cookbook collection (if you ever want to bring me back something from abroad!), so that I can make some of these meals right here at home.
If you think I’m kidding that we ate all the things… I’m not!
Grilled fish and veggies in a sunny square in Venice.Anchovies, country butter with chives and roasted peppers at Ratana in Milan. This right here could have been my dinner, with wine of course.A traditional apertivo spread with compari and aperol spritz at a Venetian bar where Vickie and I very quickly would have become locals.For the love of gelato!Am amazing yogurt parfait, filled to the brim with fresh fruit, found on a street corner in Venice.Wine and cheese at the slow food pavillion at the World ExpoPizza and beer was our “Last Supper” as we closed down the Eataly pavillion at Expo before heading to the airport.Antipasto di Pesce at Taverna san Trovaso in Academica (Venice). Just go.Fantastic spaghetti allo scoglio. The noodles were so fresh and absorbed the seafood flavors. Grateful to Vickie’s painting teacher for recommending Taverna San Trovaso!Taking a break from Italian food with Bibimbap in the Korean Pavillion.Gelato with crisped rice in the Korean pavillion. This was delicious – it tasted just like a rice crispy treat!Pizza and beer, the lunch of champions.This cannoli was the best I’ve ever tasted, filled on the spot for optimal freshness. Yes, we went back the next day.Filled on the spot.One day in Venice we stumbled upon an old monastery that has been transformed into a temporary pop-up restaurant. Obviously we made a reservation for that very night to try their tasting menu, and it was awesome. Amuse bouche was a deconstructed caprese salad.This homemade spaghetti tossed with bacon and shrimp was amazzzzing!Another awesome homemade pasta with rabbit and pistachio.Housemade ricotta with figs, drizzled with honey at Ratana.Eggplant pate with whipped tomato at Ratana. Incredible!Traditional Milanese risotto with bone marrow. VERY rich, and laced with saffron!Fig and pine nut risotto.Every dinner should end with cappuccino and a sweet treat!And maybe another sweet treat?
