all'osteria bottega

bologna, italy

link to tripadvisor

this might have been my favorite stop on our european tour. derek and i realized that the trip from venice to florence would take us through bologna and derek loves a good bolognese sauce. a quick internet check found the ny times' 36 hours in bologna and all'osteria bottega. an adorable restaurant in a tiny alley with miniscule parking spots (good thing derek is an expert parallel parker). the proprietor didn't speak a lot of english but was completely charming. she gestured a lot whenever she spoke to us in italian and in response, i nodded and smiled a lot. so she continued to speak to me in italian charades. we ordered salumi, melanzane parmigiana, tagliatelle with onion ragu, and of course pasta with bolognese sauce. everything was perfectly prepared and delicious. and when the proprietor served the melanzane parmigiana, she kept saying "no fritto" and patting her stomach, which i took to mean that her traditional preparation of eggplant parmigiana is healthier than the fried american version!

il panificio crosara claudio

venice, italy

when i travel, i like to do what the locals do. (maybe i watched too many episodes of rick steves' show growing up). but it's difficult when you don't actually know what the locals do. so i asked the concierge at our hotel where i could find a venetian breakfast. she was very confused. then i asked, what do italians eat for breakfast? still confused, she said that they sometimes eat pastries. not wanting to prolong a conversation that was probably painful for both of us, i asked where i could find some pastries. she directed me down the street to il panificio crosara claudio, where derek and i found a tiny bakery full of wonderful pastry scents. with my rudimentary italian (i know how to point and say cannoli), i ordered a chocolate cannoli, a vanilla conchiglia, and a chocolate croissant. probably more than your average venetian would eat, but hey, i'm a tourist. the conchiglia was the best of the bunch - lightly sweet yet rich vanilla cream in a crispy sweet shell. molto bene!

ristorante principessa

venice, italy

website

venice is very touristy. beautiful, but touristy. of course, we're tourists, so i'm not sure i can really complain. anyway, there's a lot of touristy restaurants along the water near where the shuttle stops are. ristorante principessa was one of them. my lasagna was too salty, but everyone else's food was okay. not the best spot for food, but great service and it was lovely sitting outside in view of the boats.

osteria da carla

venice, italy

website

derek and i enjoyed walking around venice from square to square - up and down little bridges over small canals. part of our exploration was trying to find a restaurant that wasn't advertising a "menù turistico." finally, near san marco, i peeked through a small alley and saw some promising signage. i dragged derek through the alley and found a cute restaurant at the end. the menu had two pastas: "pasta" and "fish pasta" - the "pasta" was fettucine in red sauce and my "fish pasta" was spaghetti with calamari. admittedly, those were probably the most touristy items on the menu. oh well. still good. adding a bottle of local venetian wine definitely helped.

le café

venice, italy

website

not only was the quiet gallerie dell'accademia a good spot to hide from the rain, but viewing the 17th and 18th century paintings of venetian canals and buildings gave us a great historical perspective when we walked through those same places later that day. felt like we were walking through an old painting (albeit an old painting crowded with tourists and strangely aggressive pigeons). all that culture required a coffee break - or a caffé - at le café in a nearby square. loved this spot: outdoor seating for people watching and they served my caffé (espresso to us americans) with a small buttery biscuit, cold whipped cream, and a cute little pitcher of water. seriously, this is how espresso should always be served.

trattori ai cacciatori

venice, italy

website

venezia! took a very long drive through a beautiful mountain landscape (picture the von trapp family escaping the third reich with a nun singing in the background). thankfully, a gas station near the border served a fantastic espresso with a super creamy piece of chocolate. we finally reached venice in the late afternoon, parked the car, and took a water taxi to giudecca island where our hotel was located. our concierge recommended trattori ai caccitori for dinner. derek, his parents, and i sat outside right next to the water, watching the waves continuously lap against the edge of the island. in this setting, of course i ordered seafood pasta - scampi with fettucine. a rich, flavorful, almost spicy red sauce coating perfectly al dente fettucine. the shrimp itself was incredibly juicy and fresh. best meal in venezia, hands down. and i swear it's not because i had gas station beef jerky for lunch. not only was the food good, but i loved the relative quiet and calm of this restaurant (compared to the more touristy parts of venice), the friendly service, and the beautiful view of the main island.

pavillon cafe

innsbruck, austria

website

nice quiet outdoor cafe near the imperial palace in innsbruck's old town district - a good spot to sit down for an espresso and slice of blueberry torte. best thing about the torte was a thin layer of custard between the blueberries and crust. there was a small park nearby - the hofgarten - which took only about 10-15 minutes for derek and i to walk through. probably not enough time to walk off that torte.

ottoburg

innsbruck, austria

website

our hotel recommended another restaurant - ottoburg. the restaurant is on the first floor of an old historical building with battlements upstairs. service was pleasant (and quite surprised when i gave her a tip - i'm not sure i have the european tipping customs figured out). ordered the vitello con panna - veal gulash in a rich gravy, made even richer with a dollop of cream. served with excellent spaetzle.