Breakfast may be "the most important meal of the day," but the early evening giro is the most fun. In my opinion, this tradition is the very best part of being in Venice. Plan to do it every night! I promise you'll get hooked and want to bring this pastime home with you.
What is it?
A giro di òmbre (literally "turn of shadows") involves a nice, leisurely walk to two or three enoteche (wine bars) where your friends are hanging out. At each stop you have an ombra (a little glass of wine or a "shadow," so called because wine was once sold in the shadow of the Campanile on hot days). Sometimes your ombra comes at a reduced price because it's smaller than a regular glass, or because it's just the house wine, depending on the enoteca you visit.
With each ombra you also have one or two cicheti (little snacks, a lot like Spanish tapas). Maybe you have a crostina (little slice of bread with something delicious on it like baccalà, which is dried cod moistened and whipped with milk and oil - mellow and unusual). Or you'll try sarde in saor (fried and marinated sardines with onions and raisins) or a cute little arancino (a "little orange" that's really a ball of leftover risotto stuffed with cheese, breaded, and deep-fried). Believe me, in a very short time your giro can become your supper!
Above I show you Cantinone già Schiavi. People just call it Schiavi, or sometimes al Bottegon. And when I say people, I mean the locals: everybody in town knows this spot. It's a favorite from lunchtime to closing because the wide selection of wines is fairly-priced, the food is fresh and authentic, even innovative, and the family that runs it is very hospitable. Especially the papa.
The cicheti are mostly crostine - but oh! what crostine! I hope they have my favorites when you come: pistachio-mascarpone cream, tuna with cocoa powder, ricotta with pumpkin cream and parmesan sprinkles, gorgonzola with walnuts and sweetened balsamic vinegar, aged parmesan with a slice of ripe fig, three kinds of baccalà!
If it's warm enough, you can take your plate and glass outdoors and eat canalside. Just don't sit on the bridge, please.
And don't miss the vast selection of wines by the bottle for take-away. Lately I've heard complaints that the prices here aren't as good as they once were, but they still seem fair to me.
Cantinone già Schiavi
Dorsoduro 992, Ponte San Trovaso
041-523-0034
Closed Sunday afternoon & evening
