Pasta: Difference between revisions

  Morning sun splashing off the rippling canals turns the wine and Aperol spritzes into gems, the clustered glasses glowing golden and ruby. Venice, after all, is a drinking town. And by 10 a.m. the crowds gathered at bistro tables along Rio Della Misericordia—or River of Mercy—may well already be onto their second or third pour.

It’s part of Venetians’ deliciously peculiar relationship with bars, which open early and from which emerge dozens of cicchetti, small bites of savory nibbles nestled onto crostini or polenta. Baccalà mantecato, a pâté made from dried salt cod, is classic. But there also are tiny potatoes fried with rosemary. Hard-cooked eggs with anchovies. Dozens of cheeses. Mushrooms bathed in herbs and oil. Bitter greens sautéed with garlic and chili.