Along with sardines in saor, risotto alle seppie, and baccala mantecato, fegato alla veneziana is one of the region's most well-known and traditional dishes. It is prepared with delicately sliced calf's liver marinated in a vinegar and water mixture before being flash-cooked in a pan for a minute on each side, then quickly tossed together with chopped browned onions. On local authority, the city's best fegato all veneziana is available at Harry's Bar, Ignazio, and Vino Vino (which for the name alone should summon a visit). Baccala mantecato, or macerated stockfish, is a culinary remnant from the days of the Council of Trent and its austerity laws enforced during the 16th century; it was the chief foodstuff that allowed Venetians to endure the Austrian siege of 1849. The Nordic cod is dried unsalted, split into small fillets, and macerated in olive oil before being pureed according to a recipe with a multitude of variations and enhanced by personal culinary embellishments. The result is something akin to the French brandade, but without the garlic, an ingredient that Venetians tend to avoid. The tastiest way to sample baccala mantecato is on crusty bits of dried bread or pieces of polenta at Da Fiore, Corte Sconta, and Vini d Gigio.
At Ignazio, fish and seafood also figure prominently on the menu, cooked up in a variety of ways by very affable chefs: shrimp dashed with olive oil over white polenta; cernia (grouper) with asparagus; an airy fritto misto, and, when in season, the legendary castraure, miniature local artichokes that are as rare as they are tasty. For dessert, the creme caramel is plain yummy and on days when the weather is inclement, local gallery owners, antique dealers, and decorators tend to converge on the restaurant's garden. Add to that the background music which is nice enough to hear but not intrude, and a kind welcoming staff, Ignazio is a stopover-must for the traveling foodie.
Retire from the day by returning to the Monaco E Grand Canal, a jewel among Venice hotels offering one of the most picturesque views of the lagoon and Giudecca. The hotel's restaurant (transferred during a renovation from the canal side terrace to the gilded salons of the famed palazzo) has only added to its fashionable chic. The cuisine is exquisite, the scene is refined, but you could easily mistake it for the The Ivy in London given the number of movie and television stars, along with the fashion elite and the arts crowd.
