October 25th- 27th, 2005
After leaving the chestnut farm in France John and I spent a few days in Venice with my uncles from Chicago who were also visiting at that time. All over Venice are businesses where for a few euro you can fill up empty bottles with very decent wines right from the barrels. This inexpensive option combined with lovely weather made for some excellent picnics.
We enjoyed prosciutto and various delicious cheeses. A few months ago Alberto from Il Forno mentioned a cheese, Caciocavalli, in a top ten list of Italian foods to try. With such a recommendation I could hardly pass up the opportunity to try some.
This cheese (on the right) had a more subtle flavor than I was expecting, though it was bold and delicious hidden just beneath a truly buttery texture. This was a great cheese and I would love to try more varieties of it in the future.
With so much cheese we naturally sought out breads as well. The best bakery we found in Venice was Mauro El Forner de Canton, where for under four euro we purchased 2 Grissini Naturalli, 1 Ciabette, and 1 Pane con olive.
Everything was excellent. Unfortunately we also tried another bakery nearby, Panificio F. Paronuzzi where we bought Strudel con Olive e Formaggio. We were lured in by what seemed to be appealing breads, but were rock hard, dry, crumbly, and made with limp and lifeless olives. But it looked so beautiful!
We stayed in Marghera, just outside the city, in cheaper lodgings than we could find in the center. While it was sort of a pain to take the bus in each day, we did have the opportunity to enjoy the Piccolo Lounge Cafe. One of the best things we ate here were little morning donuts made of lightly sweetened bread and filled with a fine and smooth, sugary-sweet apple filling. Delicious.
One other fun find was this salt bearing my first name. I have never met another Gemma in the states, so it is always fun to see my name in print.
I'm so happy you enjoed Venice...
Here in Italy some years ago there was the "salgemma", a typical kind of salt. So "Gemma" is a normal name for our salt...
Bye ! Laura
Posted by: Laura | December 27, 2005 at 03:27
Venice was great Laura. I had no idea my name could refer to salt in Italian. That is a surprise! I suppose it is fitting, I enjoy salt more than most.
Posted by: gemma | December 27, 2005 at 05:52
Hey Gemma,
I'll be in London the last week in January, and just on the off-chance that you'll be there, too, I thought I'd check...I'm glad your travels are going well!
Posted by: Laura A. | December 28, 2005 at 13:31
Gemma, evething looks delicious, specially the cheeses and the olive strudel! Yum! Happy New Year, many hugs from Panama :)
Posted by: Chef Melissa - CookingDiva | December 29, 2005 at 20:35
Wow, I've found that:
"Salgemma, or sale di rocca: it's a natural and poor product.
Salgemma (95% of the mining salt) preservs his natural integrity, and so is more valued than the normal industrial cooking salt."
From here: http://www.i-love-you-federico.it/salgemma.html
Bye !
Laura
Posted by: Laura | January 03, 2006 at 13:58
you're rite. those olive bread loaves look too good to be eaten. what a waste!
shaz a fellow food blogger
Posted by: shaz | January 06, 2006 at 05:04
Thanks Melissa, Happy New Year's to you too!
Hi Laura, thanks for the information. I'm glad it is good salt!
Hi Shaz, it really was too bad. Luckily there have been many other redeeming bakery experiences on our trip. I am currently in Russia enjoying some fantastic pies and breads. Mmm!
Posted by: gemma | January 09, 2006 at 06:52
I got a kick out of the salt named Gemma, as my name is Gemma Salt!! (I also live in the US)
Posted by: Gemma Salt | September 16, 2007 at 23:09
I keep getting your wed site for "Best Bread" in Venice. Maurao El Forner de Canton" I search for an address or where to find..Pleaes help me locate... I get hungry everytime I see the picutes and discriptions. Going to Venice for 9 days in Mid April. Thanks
Posted by: Jaci | February 17, 2008 at 00:00
Mmm, I wish I was going back to Venice. Here is some information for you Jaci -- I don't know which address is correct, but Venezia isn't too big (Strada Nova sounds right to me though):
El Forner de Canton (Grocery and Bakery)
S. Polo, Venezia: Centro Storico
ruga Vechia S. Giovanni No. 603
El Forner de Canton (Grocery and Bakery)
Cannaregio, Venezia: Centro Storico
Strada Nova No. 3845
Posted by: gemma | February 19, 2008 at 11:18
Um.... WOW. What a trip.
Posted by: Caroline | February 10, 2009 at 19:47
Hmm, nice information about Venice bakeries.
Posted by: Venice Travel Guide | October 13, 2009 at 00:52
It really was amazing Caroline! I'm tempted to do it again, but I should really be saving money at this point in life.
Thanks Venice Travel Guide, though this is probably a bit out of date at this point.
Posted by: Gemma | November 24, 2009 at 10:40