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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

Eat Here: Ristorante Verbano

Ahhh…Lago Maggiore. And, how about sitting on a pleasant veranda enjoying a scrumptious lunch on the Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman’s Island). So pleasant. That’s exactly what we experienced on our visit to Stresa on the shore of Lago Maggiore.

In my last article, I shared our experiences in the town of Stresa, which sits on the western shores of Lago Maggiore. Clicking on the map thumbnail to the right will familiarize you with the location of Lago Maggiore in comparison to the other lakes making up the Italian Lake District.

Today, we will relax a bit as we dine at Ristorante Verbano. That’s the restaurant in the photo, below. It is part of the Albergo Vergano. ‘Albergo’ is another way to say ‘hotel’ in Italian.

The dining terrace sits just behind the wall with “Albergo Ristorante” painted on it

We had hoped to stay here at this exquisite hotel on the island, but alas, we waited a bit too long to book a room. See my suggestion at the end of this article for a view of this charming albergo.

Getting There

As Ristorante Verbano sits on an island, we must arrive by boat.

Here comes our ride to Isola dei Pescatori.

This boat dock is situated just in front of our hotel, as explained in last week’s article.

Watch your head Ellen as you descend to the passenger area.

That’s a boat much like ours racing beside us.

See the two white car ferries in the background? We will be riding on one of those in a couple of days as we make our way east through the Lake District to Lago di Garda.

We are getting closer to lunch time as we approach our island dock.

Of course, there is more than just dining on the island.

Eating There

As the menu suggests, we are at Ristorante Verbano, the ‘restaurant on the island’.

But, first things first. It is time for our customary wine toast!

Hmmm…so many choices for just one meal. As we are on an island in a lake, seafood seems appropriate. On the left are the fish dishes, and on the right, the meat dishes. Today’s menu is presented in four languages.

I’ve made my lunch selection. And that is none-other than I, your scribe, enjoying my wine.

As I turn to look at the lake, this is what I see. A beautiful day on a beautiful lake of clear water.

Our food has arrived! And here it is.

Ellen’s selection is whitefish with lemon and capers. The fish is just-caught-that-morning fresh and comes right from the Lago Maggiore.

Notice how the fish has been shaped into a cylinder to form a base for the zucchini…a nice presentation.

Here are our other selections, including risotto and a tasty cheese course.

As we leave Ristorante Verbano, we can see our destination for tomorrow…but that’s another story.

Here are just a few photos from our walk back to our boat that will take us back to Stresa.

Our assurance of a safe boat ride back to Stresa!

A Suggestion for Right Now

I have a suggestion that I think you will appreciate. Take a quick look at the short introductory video on the home page of Albergo Ristorante Verbano’s web site. It presents you with a most pleasant way to start your day…and it will most assuredly give you cause to head to Isola di Pesciatore.

Just click right here and enjoy: Albergo Ristorante Verbano

That was an excellent meal. The location, the nice sunny day, the ambiance, the service, the food, the drink…all worked together to provide us with a memorable experience. An experience that I hope you can enjoy someday for yourself.

Ciao for now,

Steve

Eat Here: Ristorante Antico Martini

“This restaurant has been in continuous operation since 1720, which means that it is approaching its 300 year birthday! ”

One of the charms of Italy is its food. With one exception, I've always enjoyed every meal. Today's article is about one of our favorite Venetian restaurants -- Antico Martini.

Here is a photo of the restaurant late at night. The photo shows one of the four dining areas -- this one the Terrace -- and it was taken from the campo that Antico Martini shares with the La Fenice opera house.

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Like most Venetian restaurants, Martini is open late for dinner, because that's when Italians tend to eat. This makes it an ideal place to eat after an opera, which we did after a fabulous performance of our favorite, La Boheme.

Any idea who the first party to make an Antico Martini reservation via the internet might be? We have that distinction! Long before restaurants created their own systems or began to use those such as Open Table, we used just plain, old email. The owner at that time, the charming Emilio Baldi, had a table set with a nice bouquet of flowers and the prosecco was on the house to celebrate the occasion.

Here is a photo of the main entrance to Antico Martini, on Calle Veste, just over a small bridge.

The location of Antico Martini is especially nice if one is going to the opera at La Fenice, which is right next door.

Like most all of the Venetian restaurants, seafood is the predominate fare. And the seafood is fresh and delicious. Local chefs visit the Rialto Market each morning to gather the makings for the day's meals. You can read more about The Rialto Market in one of my previous articles.

Here are a few photos of our times at Ristorante Antico Martini, starting with a couple of toasts to you and yours.

I've mentioned the seafood served in Venice before...and I will continue to do so. Here is an appetizer of very thinly sliced fish, caught just the previous evening. I'm not a sushi fan, but I had no trouble with this outstanding item. Notice how the candle light shows through my next bite!

One of our favorite things is having the fish presented, then de-boned, and then set before us. Here you see our server de-boning one of our dishes.

And here is our prize!

Antico Martini also has an excellent wine list. Here is a bottle of Valpolicella I enjoyed one evening. Note the 'legs' on this glass of red!

Here are a few photos of other dishes we've enjoyed at Antico Martini.

Always save room for dessert!

How about a limoncello digestivi to end the meal?

And it seems that Craig’s Longhorns have won their football game today…another reason to celebrate!

We have eaten at Antico Martini seven times and for sure, the next time we go to Venice it we will make our eighth visit.

Here is the web link to Ristorante Antico Martini.

And here are two very happy patrons of Ristorante Antico Martini.

And in-laws Leslie and Craig are so happy about Antico Martini that they are jumping for joy!!!

We are always happy to introduce friends to Antico Martini...so join us?!

Ciao for now,

Steve

The Rialto Market of Venice

One of the pleasures of Venice is the Rialto Market. Located near a ninety-degree bend of the Grand Canal, and just a bit northwest of the Rialto Bridge, the market offers both fresh produce in the erberia (vegetable market) and caught-the-night-before seafood in the pescheria (fish market).

All of these photos were taken at the Rialto Market.

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One should plan to go around sunrise if you want to see the stevedores unload crates from barges which traveled up the Grand Canal in the early-morning hours. Or, if you want to sleep just a bit longer, plan to arrive around 8:00am to see the market in full swing. But, don’t bother to go in the afternoon or on Sundays or Mondays, as the market is closed.

Is this a working market? With over 100,000 visitors and locals in Venice on any particular day, this is the main source of food for the islands which make up Venice. If you show up early, you will see chefs from virtually all of the Venetian restaurants gathering items that you will find on their menus later in the day.

So, how is the Rialto Market different from the typical farmer's market in the U.S.? There are three main differences. For one thing, there is an abundance of seafood -- like fish, octopus, squid, crab, scallops and several mollusk types.

Second, the produce that is brought to your farmer's market most likely did not arrive by boat -- virtually everything arriving in Venice comes by boat.

The last difference is that your local farmer's market did not exist until the Rialto Market was about 800 years old. The Rialto Market has been serving Venice's food needs since 1097!

Produce of the Erberia

Talk about fresh produce! Just like our farmer’s markets, fruits and vegetables arrive daily fresh from the farms of Italy and surrounding countries. The photos you've been looking at are examples of this veritable cornucopia.

Seafood of the Pescheria

Though I really like the produce that’s in abundance at the market, the seafood is what I find the most interesting, as we just don't have access to such a fine market as the Rialto where I live. There are ‘creatures’ in this market that I’ve never seen in the U.S. seafood markets. Here are just some of the tasty denizens of the sea that you will find at the Rialto Market.

So that's the Rialto Market in Venice, Italy. If you have a chance to visit, I'm sure you will be as wowed with the seafood and produce as I have been. And by the way, all of the photos above can be found in the Food+Wine section of my website...just click on 'Print Store' below for easy access.

I'll close with a photo that was published in Black & White Magazine as part of a four-page spread on Venice a couple of years ago. This photo was taken during the daily cleaning-up-the-seafood-market event each afternoon. And yes, they still use stick brooms in Venice. The photo at right shows that sticks have been delivered, ready to be attached to broom handles. Amazing, isn't it?!

Thanks for visiting. Feel free to leave comments, below.

Ciao for now,

Steve