Eat Like A Local With Rick Steves' Pick For Traditional Food In Venice

The city of Venice, Italy, is a dream destination for many people. It's also where Jeff Bezos chose to have his extra bougie wedding. The famed canals, gondolas, and majesty of Piazza San Marco are the stuff of photography dreams, and the city's uniqueness makes it high on bucket lists around the world. Of course, this reputation draws huge crowds during tourist season, often resulting in mediocre food to feed the masses. But Rick Steves, the renowned expert European traveler, has some words of advice on enjoying local fare in the bustling city.

On his Rick Steves' Europe website, he advises that to get a true taste of Venice, visitors must try cicchetti (pronounced chi-ket-tee), a Bellini or other prosecco-based cocktail, and "weird sea creatures pulled from the lagoon." Cicchetti are Venice's version of Spanish tapas, or small bites of food that are meant to be enjoyed with wine. A popular evening practice among locals is to patronize several cicchetti bars (called bacari), or essentially bar-hop. A Bellini is a delicious cocktail made with white peach purée and prosecco (it's different from Champagne), invented at Harry's Bar in Venice. So it's only appropriate to sip on one while visiting the city of its birth. When Steves mentions "weird sea creatures," he's noting that Venice is built on top of a lagoon that is naturally rich in seafood and shellfish. Excellent restaurants will offer seafood dishes that feature local and fresh ingredients.

If you're interested in trying cicchetti in Venice, take a look at what's available at outdoor markets during the day. You'll discover what produce is in season and what fishermen have pulled out of the sea that day. Any good bacari will showcase the same types of ingredients. You may find deep-fried mozzarella cheese, calamari, marinated seafood, crostini, or prosciutto with melon, to name a few. "Eating ugly things on toothpicks in a series of characteristic bars is one of my favorite Venice activities," Rick Steves said on his traveling site.

Other signature dishes you may find in Venice restaurants — that feature those weird sea creatures Steves playfully spoke of in his blog – include caparossoi a scota deo, or clams with lemon and pepper; bigoli in salsa, or spaghetti with anchovies; sarde in saor, or marinated sardines with onions, pine nuts, and raisins; scampi alla Veneziana, or shrimp with olive oil or lemon juice; and baccalà mantecato, whipped salt cod served with bread or polenta crostini. Venetian fried seafood is also plentiful, and may change daily depending on the local catch. You might find a mix of offerings like fried sardines, prawns, calamari, scallops, or baby crab. But whatever you do, don't order a cappuccino after dinner.

Another tip from Steves is to explore the city at night. Most tourists will have disappeared, and Venice is breathtaking in the evening. Without the crowds, almost everything will be more enjoyable, from the restaurants and gondola rides to shopping and city views.