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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

primitivo

venice, ca

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bottomless mimosas and sangria always sounds like a great idea for brunch, but i never drink enough to make it worth it. and they usually use low quality alcohol, which makes business sense, but makes it even harder to drink enough to make it worth it. otherwise, primitivo was okay for brunch. my eggs were a little on the bland side, but it's probably my fault for ordering a poached egg on grits. there were some better things on the menu that i might try next time.

sauce on hampton

venice, ca

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my blog is turning into "karendipity drives, parks, then eats!" welcome to los angeles. to continue on that trend, i picked up derek from LAX very early one saturday morning. we decided to go find that amazing all-day free parking spot in venice that i had discovered the prior weekend. once parked, we had to find brunch within walking distance. not an easy feat because everything was still closed. we searched yelp on our phones and found sauce on hampton, which was quite a hike away. once there, we sat outside, which was nice. food was okay. i liked that it was healthy, but it wasn't particularly interesting.

3 square cafe

venice, ca

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parking in venice is generally a nightmare. turns out, though, if you have brunch with cindy c and g at 9 am, there's plenty of parking. found an amazing spot next to a school where i could leave my car all day without paying anything! oh, and about the restaurant - it's german californian cuisine, whatever that means. they have a pretzel roll that cindy likes. my breakfast was okay, but the giant asparagus was truly giant and overwhelmed the rest of the plate.