antipasta in Venice
 

We are big fans of the antipasta bars that we have often found in Rome but on my previous visit to Venice I did not find any restaurants that had one. Any suggestions? Would prefer one in thr Frari / Doduroso area. Grazie!

Do you mean the bars where you stop in for a wine (I think called "una ombra" in Venice) and snacks? I believe, and Franco will corrrect me, that the bars are called bacari and the snacks are known as ciccetti. The ones I liked the most are closer to Rialto..Alle Botte is one of my favorites. In Dorsoduro you can try Cantina del Vino gia Schiavi which is a wine shop with a small selection of very tasty ciccheti.

Hi Sue,

I think you want antipastO.

((I))

Ira - hmmmmm anti(before)pastA so why would the correct spelling be antipastO? I'm not sure which is correct but what I am looking for is grilled/marinated veggies! on a buffet where you can fill your plate up and they charge by the size of the plate you pick.

Hi Sue,

One antipastO, 2 antipasti.

I don't recall seeing any antipasto bars like you describe in Venice, although many restaurants do set out the antipasti of the day and allow you to select what you want.

((I))

Anti: Before
Pasto: Meal
Antipasto. The course "before the meal."

Cicchetti. ("Chee-ketty")

XXOO,
The Spelling Police

Ira, there are bacari throughout Venice (some streets are virtually lined with them close to Rialto) that spread out small plates to be taken at the bar with a glass of wine. I spelled it out on my earlier post. They are not referred to as antipasto bars. The snacks they serve or called cicchetti.

Just for fun type "antipasta" in Google and see what it asks you. Don't ask me why.

Meanwhile why is it "anti" instead of "ante". Why do we say "antebellum" for before the war, but "antipasta" for before the pasta? Is this a gender thing? War is masculine but pasta is feminine? Forgive me -- it's been too many years since my two years of high school Latin.

Ooops. I left my post half done and then completed it, so missed ira's and kt's posts. But is it really before the meal or before the pasta? And ira, where is "pasta" the often used version rather than pasti or pasto?

You can have your antipasti in the anteroom of the restaurants. Good question, Neo...we need a Latin scholar here. You would think it would be ante, as in before, not anti, as in against!

Anyway, those antipasti are taken before the primi piatti, which is usually pasta either sauced or in a soup (as in tortellini). You have them seated before a meal, before the pasta. If they are taken at a bar they are not referred to as such in Italy.

Antipasto: primi piatti or first plate: secondi or main course: and dessert is the order in Italy.

Ira - pasto translates meal? I thought it was the pasta (noodles) and meal would be something like cena?

Damned if I know. In English, anti- is normally used for opposition (e.g., antiwar, antibiotic) but ante- for preceding (antebellum, antenatal). Both are Latin prefixes. And Italian usually uses anti- for oppostion, too (anticonformista, antisociale). But it also uses anti- for preceding, at least some of the time (antipasto, antidiluviano).

XXOO,
The Spelling Police, Clearly Not the Linguistics Police

The main couse is the secondo in Italy. Their meals are taken as a succession of small courses rather than everything on the same plate at once.

"Pasta" is a term used for the whole array of noodle dishes. But "una pasta" refers to a pastry. I say let's repair to the bacari and discuss this with una ombra and a plate of sardines in saor!

Pasto definitely means meal. That's where "repast" comes from, but why the "re-"?

Even though the antipasto is part of the meal, it still translates to "before the meal." It's at the beginning of the meal, even if the meal doesn't include pasta, and even in parts of Italy where pasta is not traditional.

ekscrunchy, you can keep your sardines. BTW, it's un'ombra. But when we meet, it will be due ombre, so it matters not. :-)

Rick Steves has a nice article about a Venetian pub crawl which might help:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...y/nlpubven.htm

Have a wonderful trip!

Oops. Was too quick to post. I haven't done his route, but have found a number of very nice places near the Rialto. If you aren't going too soon, I'll dig up some cards of places I really liked.

Thanks, KT! I'll skip the sardines if the smell gets to you. Give me that whipped cod spread instead, and lots and lots of any kind of shellfish on offer that day! And what about tre ombre?

There is a very tiny bacari, just a hole-in-the-wall facing the Rialto market that I thought was great..can never think of the name of it. You pretty much have to stand outside with your drinks and snacks. I also loved Alla Vedova across the Canal from the market. Gosh there are SO many, I like to walk from one to the next and check out what their special dishes are.

Chicago Heather - we are going in about a month. Please email me at [email protected] if you find some of your cards. Grazie!

Will do, Sue.