Osteria da Alberto - Wonderful Dining in Venice, Italy

The best meal by far that we had in Venice last July was at Osteria da Alberto (http://www.osteriadaalberto.it/sito/en/index.html). The food was delicious, the menu included Venetian specialties, the atmosphere was warm, and the staff was very nice. It was decorated with lots of antiques.

While it is a bit off the beaten path, on Calle Giacinto Gallina at Cannaregio 5401, I noticed that it has 112 Trip Advisor reviews, of which 49 are in Italian, so it seems clear that a lot of people seek it out.

Before leaving our hotel to walk to the restaurant, I phoned (041-5238153) to make reservations. That was fortunate. When we entered the osteria, I saw that it was almost completely full.

Just inside the front door was a counter which displayed lots of good-looking food. We were quickly welcomed by Manuda, our waitress, who took us to a table near the rear. 

Two of us  had Tagliolini al Pesto for €9 each.

One of us had a green salad (Insalata Verde) for €3.80 and Gorgonzola Gnocchi with four cheeses (Gnocchi Gorgonzola ai Quattro Formaggi) for €9.

As usual, I went for local dishes. I started with Sarde in Saòr, the same sweet and sour sardine dish I'd had the previous evening, for €9. It was wonderful.

I noticed that there were two baccalà dishes on the menu. In most of Italy, baccalà means salted cod. However, in the Veneto region of Italy, where Venice is located, baccalà refers to stockfish (stoccafisso) - cod or other whitefish, which has been air dried. I had never had it before, and wanted to taste it.

One of the baccalà dishes was Baccalà alla Vicentina (Vicenza-style Baccalà). Vicenza is the name of a city and a province just west of Venice. The other dish was Baccalà Mantecato. I did not know where that was from. I asked the waitress, and she told me it was from Venice. When I told her I was not sure what to order, she told me that they could prepare a plate with half of one and half of the other. I decided to do that. I'm glad I did. Both were terrific. The cost was €14.

It turns out that Baccalà Mantecato is a signature Venetian dish. Like so many other recipes, this one has many variations. Among the ingredients are stockfish, cream or milk, olive oil, garlic, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper.

The ingredients in Baccalà Vicentina are stockfish, onion, milk, anchovies, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, flour, and parsley.

Two of us shared a bottle of 2009 Fabiano Valpolicello Ripasso for €30. This is a very nice type of red wine that is produced on the east side of Lake Garda, which is a short distance west of Venice.

For dessert, two of us had Tiramisu. one had Semifreddo Pistacchio, and I had Venetian cookies (Biscotti Veneziani). Semifreddo is a class of semi-frozen desserts like ice cream cakes. This one had three layers - chocolate, pistachio, and vanilla.

Semifreddo Pistacchio

Biscotti Veneziani

One of us had a cafe Americano for €1.80, and two of us had espresso for the same price.

We shared a large bottle of water for €3, and were charged a cover charge of €1.80 each.