ottawa foodies

Hello all,

I am leaving for Italy in 9 days and we will be travelling around for 2 months.

We are hitting:

Rome
Tuscany (Chianti region)
Florence
Venice
Positano
Capri
Cinque Terre
Ortisei (in the Dolomites)
Argegno (Lake Como)

Does anyone have any recommendations for hidden gem restaurants that we should try in any of these places?

Thanks!

Venice:
These two were memorable for us.
al Covo and go for the pear grappa cake if they offer it.
www.ristorantealcovo.com/

Also Trattoria alla Madonna where I had a wonderful "granzeola" dish which is a kind of crab from the adriatic.
www.ristoranteallamadonna.com

I have a couple more for venice that I can't remember but will try to dig up the names. One had a nice garden setting - hard to find in Venice.

When you are at the Cinque Terre, you really must try Ciak. It is in Monterosso el Mar, as well as Miky's.
Probably the 2 best meal we had when we were in Italy a couple of years ago. We also were on the Amalfi Coast, Florence, Tuscany. We did have a great lunch in Orvieto. I will check to see if I have the name, or at least a pic so you could look for it.
At Ciak ask for the ravioli cooked in a big earthenware pot in a great tomato sauce. I can't ever remember what it was filled with at the moment but fantastic!!

This was the restaurant in Orvieto. We had a great lunch. Delicious gnocci, light as a feather. Also had pasta with an amazing wild boar sauce. And the wine! great local white.

Not to mention the amazing pizza we had all over the country!

For Venice, I would recommend Il Ridotto. It's a tiny restaurant so reservations are definitely required. It's also somewhat pricey. I remember that my wife and I paid approx 120 euros for our meal of 2 primi, 2 secondi and 1 dessert. But for me, it was absolutely worth the cost. The food was divine and the service was incredible. The menu changes a lot so it's hard for me to recommend any one dish. However, I remember the risotto, the gnocchi and the strawberry soup with meringue to be particularly good.

I have lots of Milan suggestions, but not much else in the ways of Italy.

If you're willing to make the trip from Argegno to Bellagio, or if you're ever passing through, my sister has raved about Aperitivo Et Al (www.aperitivobellagio.com/). It's a wine bar, with great food, in a cave.

I remembered another one in Venice, in the Dorsoduro Sestiere. Locanda Montin. It has quite a famous history and a very nice garden out back where I had a simple but perfect lunch of asparagus and poached eggs. The eggs in Venice were amazing.
Pics of the garden on the website, and lots of interesting art on the walls.
locandamontin.com/

and the Rialto market has all kinds of great stuff depending on the time of year. When we were there in the spring they had beautiful adriatic fish, the tiniest sweetest strawberries I have ever seen, and narrow purple artichokes called "castraure" that were the disbuds from artichoke plants that had a slightly bitter but interesting taste. I remember the cicetti bars where you can stop and have a glass of wine and choose some tasty apps from beneath a glass counter. Very friendly, and often people pop in with their dogs in tow.

And right on the square, we had a small splurge at Caffe Florian, which has been around since the early 1700's. The architecture and decor are very special and it is a wonderful place to stop for coffee. So beautiful and we saw many families in there with well dressed children enjoying a sophisticated coffe break in splendid surroundings. The food was not memorable, but the space and service were pretty spectacular
www.caffeflorian.com/

I was in Italy in the spring and didn't have a meal to complain of once! Even the highway stops have good selections.
We travelled with another couple and all 4 of us agreed our best foodie experience was "Florence for Foodies". It is a 3 hour tour of the market, coffee and wine shops and gelato places. Don't eat breakfast, you will be stuffed. It was fun and delicious--I recommend going as soon as you get there because they give you 2 pages of restaurant recommendations including directions. Just look it up on Trip Advisor.

I agree with WC - you will be well fed just about everywhere. That said, the pizza at Dar Poeta in Rome is the best that we've ever had. EVER. It's the #2 restaurant on TripAdvisor for Rome, but it's equally frequented by locals. I would describe it as the best meal that we had on that trip.

Hi all!

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions. I have added them to my list on my spreadsheet.

This should get us some great meals to remember.

I appreciate all your help :)

If the ferries are running, I would strongly recommend you hop over to Croatia. You can find some amazing food in Istria and along the Dalmatian and unbelievable price. One of the best meal I have ever (and I've eaten at some very expensive restaurant throughout the world) had was at a small restaurant in Split.

The menu was entirely in Croatian, the tables and chair where essentially plastic patio sets, but god it was amazing, and cost about the same as a pizza in Italy!