There were quite a few specialty stores – real jewels – I happily discovered while in Italy (in Venice, once found I could not find again)! It’s nearly impossible to find your way back to a nice discovery there.  My favorite gelato stand will, I fear, be forever a figment of my imagination. My repeated efforts to retrace steps ended in frustration, satisfied only by a gelato at some other new discovery.  There are food gems everywhere, really, and you don’t have to go to Venice to find them.  In the Denver area you’ll find Tony’s Market.  Actually, a few of them.  They’re terrific.  They have a robust web site where some of us go from time to time to find a great recipe, or we go to their Chef Mick’s blog for some great food chatter.  Check it out, they are a cook’s goldmine nestled in the grand mountains of Colorado.

Just spent a glorious 10 days in Italy exploring the cuisines of Venice and Acqui Terme in the Piedmont region – a cooks paradise – and a place where time seems to stand still.  Small towns unchanged for decades, old cathedrals, and vineyards on rolling hills as far as you can see.  It’s wine country here, home of the hazelnut (think Nutella), and black truffles.   They know quite a bit about risotto, too, and I had the delightful experience of preparing a terrific pumpkin risotto with Diana Baur who with her husband Michael are the innkeepers of Baur Bed and Breakfast.  They were most gracious hosts who say their inn is “more than just a place to rest your head” and it’s true.  In an idyllic setting in the hills outside Acqui Terme, the Baur B+ B is a refreshing and serene place to unwind, enjoy some good Italian wine and some very fine local cooking.  Michael gives terrific wine tours, and Diana offers cooking classes.  Great fun, and if you are ever headed to this region I highly recommend their inn. Diana’s pumpkin risotto recipe will be posted on our site soon.

Venice is an altogether different experience. It’s a magical city, you feel like you are on the set of a Warner Bros. movie. If you like fish, this is a place to be.  On Tuesday mornings, you can go to  The Mercato del Pesce – the fish market, and watch the fisherman set up their displays for sales that day.  It’s an experience I’ll never forget and anyone that visits Venice ought to see.   A delightful restaurant in Venice is Pane Vino in Campo del “Angelo.  If you go, ask for Memo.  He’ll make you feel like your a guest in his home.