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One of my favorite European memories is the joy of a pub crawl in Venice – a reminder of the fun that awaits you in this popular destination.
Venice entertains millions of visitors in a typical year. It is particularly crowded with day trippers when several cruise ships are in port. During a trip a few years ago, a Venetian friend told me that nowadays almost all restaurants cater to tourists. Then, with a smirk, he added, “But there are still the cicchetti bars.”
Cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee) are the local appetizers that line the counters of small pubs in Venice at the end of each working day. My favorite meal is what I call “The Venetian Standing Pub Crawl Dinner Meal”. In a city with canals and no cars, pub crawling is easy and safe – perhaps safer if you can swim.
Tonight I’ll be visiting a series of those signature hole-in-the-wall pubs, eating ugly morsels on toothpicks and drizzling it all down with small glasses of wine. I look forward to the local characters that I will meet along the way. Cicchetti bars have a social stand-up area with a host of comfortable tables. In some of the most popular places, crowds happily pour into the streets.
The Venetians call this pub crawl the giro d’ombra. Giro means “walk” and ombra – slang for a glass of wine – means “shadow”. It dates back to the time, when a portable wine bar spun along with the shadow of the Campanile steeple in St. Mark’s Square. This wine bar is long gone, but the cicchetti bars remain, tucked away in the perpetual shade of the alleys.
While Venice is, it seems, sinking into the tourist crowds, I’d bet 90% of those tourists congregate along the glitzy shopping streets between Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Square. To find a characteristic cicchetti bar, you have to stroll. I’m not afraid of getting lost – in fact, I get lost as much as possible. I remember, “I’m on an island and I can’t get off it. Even though there are usually no street names, when I want to find my way I just look for little signs in the corners that direct me to the nearest landmark (for example, “per Rialto” ).
The cicchetti selection is best early so I start my evening at 6pm. It is in the confines of Venice that I come across the flourishing little bacari (as the local pubs are called). I ask for “un piatto classico di cicchetti misti da otto euro” and I get a classic plate of assorted starters for 8 euros. I taste the fried mozzarella, gorgonzola, calamari and artichoke hearts. Crostini (small pieces of toast with a topping) are also a favorite, as are marinated seafood, olives, and melon prosciutto. Meat and fish snacks (pesce) can be expensive, but vegetables (greens) are cheap. Bread sticks (grissini) are free on request.
Part of the attraction is the funky decor. There are photos of neighborhood friends here for a family celebration, St Mark’s Square the day after a wild Pink Floyd concert, masks from Carnevale evoking a more mysterious past, and Venice of yesteryear, proving that people can change, but buildings essentially stay the same.
The Venetians start the experience with an aperitif, an aperitif before dinner. Know your options. A blackboard usually lists several fine wines that are outlets and available by the glass. Most evenings, I get a small glass of house red or white wine (ombra rosso or ombra bianco). Tonight I’m in the mood for an Aperol spritz – it makes me feel more local.
A man asks me: “The dispiace se mi siedo qui? (Do you mind if I sit here?) Before you sit down next to me. It occurs to me that this is a practical and polite phrase for making new friends. He orders food and drink. When his plate of fish arrives, he picks up one of the small fish, delicately tied in a loop. Holding it by the toothpick which harpoons it, he looks at it with love, says: “Sei il mio piu bel ricordo” (“You are my most beautiful memory”), and puts it happily in his mouth. Pushing his plate, he offers me one of the fish.
Connecting with people makes a pub crawl more fun: you can meet an Italian, learn some Italian, eat better… and collect your own fond memories.
Edmonds resident Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public television and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, “For the love of Europe”. You can email him at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook.
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