Dinner in Venice: Hotel Venissa

Every now and then, life just throws something your way that is unexpected (yet not), delightful, perhaps even sublime.

Such was tonight’s dinner. A long drive from the vicinity of Milan to Venice, a couple of vaporetti rides to Mazzarbo, a quick dump the bags in the room, then onto the restaurant. We are the only diners, and they have stayed for us. The dinner is sublime.

We start with a sparkling white wine to refresh the palette, a soup and then order 2 dishes each; the speciality of the area is the soft-shell crab. The crab sheds its outer shell only at certain times, and so it is caught in a state of undress so-to-speak, and then, well, its too bad for the crab, but too good for me. I am a Cancer… well… its the sign of the crab, so I can eat it! It is delicious

Now, the wine (before we move on to the second dish, which I don’t have a photograph of, and it was linguini with local (red) prawns!). I didn’t realise until tonight (and I just made this up, with the help of Daniele and Enrica), that there are 6 primary wine colours. Yes, I know, white and red (oh and Rosé), but no, there are really six:
* Bianco (white)
* Oro (gold)
* Mandorino (mandarin)
* Rosé
* Rosso (red)
* Nero (dark red)

Yes, ok, what is this Mandorino? It is an orange coloured wine, similar technique to how the Rosé is made, and it is similar in spirit to that wine, but quite unique.

The photo looks a little more “peachy” than it actually is. Nero, well, a dark, dark, red.

Oro? Yes, golden, like the desert wines and one other we will try tomorrow or the next night (more on that when we come to it, as it promises to be brilliant).

Some desert accompanied the wine (pears, magnificent!)

Coffee:

A second course of desert

shared with coffee and desert wine (Amaro)

But with all of this, the crab and the mandarino wine are superb, and truly memorable. Sometimes, life leaves you speechless with its bounty, and the fortune to enjoy it.