Dining guides

Venetian cicchetti…. delectable nibbles savored with local Veneto wines either as a snack or part of an aperitivo. Anyone that has done culinary research while planning a trip to Venice will have heard of them. For those of you that aren’t familiar, they are often described as Venetian tapas, which is the quickest and easiest way to give someone the gist of what they are. However, that description doesn’t speak of Venice, its culture, or history, nor does it illustrate the flavors one might see. Today, I’m going to discuss Venetian cicchetti and provide some background and context. In my next post, I’m…

Seeing as I am a food-obsessed individual who’s been living in Bologna for nearly 6 years, it’s probably no surprise that many people ask me for advice on where to eat in town. (As I mentioned in my post about the Antica Trattoria della Gigina.) When they do, I generally propose places that serve Bolognese cuisine. I also recommend the kind of places that I prefer – spots that are comfortable, traditional, serve great food, and won’t necessarily break the bank. Another priority is to make sure that the pasta is handmade. (As it should be in a city famous…

My family and I are visiting Spain for the first time this summer and I’ve been researching for months to ensure that we get the most out of our trip. I want to make sure that we see the sights we need to see and, importantly for me, eat well while we’re at it. It occurred to me that I see many visitors in Italy eating inferior food at touristy places and I thought it might be useful to give some tips on how to avoid that. You do want to eat well while in Italy, don’t you? Isn’t that…