Why care about data journalism?

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Melissa Santos

I drove up to Perugia from Naples for the International Journalism Festival mostly for the great lineup of sessions the  festival organized on data journalism, or stories based on data collection and analysis.

This was something I was really getting into before I left The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. in 2010, and is one reason I am working toward a degree in digital media and web design right now.

At the festival, the European Journalism Centre and Open Knowledge Foundation just launched the Data Journalism Handbook, which looks like a great resource for anyone interested in data journalism. Check it out here.

I am live tweeting from today’s sessions at the festival. Right now I am at watching a panel that consists of Dan Nguyen of ProPublica and Aron Pilhofer, the interactive news editor at the New York Times. I’ll blog and tweet the most interesting points. Stay tuned.

Posted in Journalism | Tagged , | Leave a comment

La Bitta: Good non-seafood fare in Venice

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Melissa Santos

Tagliatelle alla Porcara at La Bitta in Venice.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of food we ate on our recent Venice trip (i.e., not just fried fish platters and cuttlefish ink). La Bitta, a restaurant firmly entrenched in non-seafood dishes, supplied much of that variety.

We had a series of earthy vegetable and meat-based dishes at La Bitta that were as satisfying as anything I’ve had in landlocked Umbria.

Raw artichoke salad with shaved parmesan at La Bitta in Venice.

We started with a salad of raw artichokes and shaved parmesan (insalatina di carciofi crudi e grana a scaglie) that really showcased the tenderness of wild Italian artichokes. (I don’t even think it is possible to eat an American artichoke raw like this, at least not a commercially raised one.)

Then we ordered two primi: tagliatelle alla Porcara (a long, flat pasta with sausage) and gnocchi di patate con carciofi e ricotta affumicata (potato dumplings with artichokes and smoked ricotta).

Continue reading →

Posted in Venice | Leave a comment

Eating in Venice: Anice Stellato

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Melissa Santos

Anice Stellato, a restaurant seated on a small canal in Venice's Cannaregio district.

 

This trip marked my second trip to Anice Stellato. I came back solely for the food, but I enjoyed the experience even more this time due to being able to sit outside on a quiet, peaceful canal in the Cannaregio district. An experience like this beats lunch on the Grand Canal any day.

The service here is beyond excellent. The wait staff remembered my from my previous visit in October even though I came with a different group of people this time. They don’t hesitate to guide you through the menu and make good recommendations.

Scampi in saor profumati allo zenzero at Anice Stellato, Venice.

We started with scampi in saor profumati allo zenzero, a play on the traditional Venetian sweet-and-sour sardines dish sarde in saor, but using shrimp instead of sardines and adding a punch of raw ginger.

I knew from my last visit that Anice Stellato’s seafood dishes are stellar, so I wanted to see what they could do with pasta this time. We ordered three pastas: spaghetti  con moeche e pomodorini ( spaghetti with European softshell crab and little tomatoes); spaghetti con scampi alla busara (spaghetti with shrimp and sauce of tomato and bay leaves); and tortelli ripieni di baccala’ e ceci con fiori di zucchina (pasta stuffed with salt cod and chickpeas and served with zucchini flowers).

Continue reading →

Posted in Venice | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Il Ridotto: The best surprise of my Venice trip

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Melissa Santos

Pea risotto with basil and scallop coral at Il Ridotto, Venice.

 

If you are looking for a place to splurge a little in Venice, Il Ridotto is your perfect choice.

The place isn’t for penny-pinchers, but the food’s effect borders on sorcery. The presentations are so artful and the flavors so well thought out you’ll just want to savor them with a glass of expensive wine and forget about the price. Few places in Italy I think merit charging above-average prices, since moderately priced restaurants can be so good here, but this is one of them. And, the food isn’t just beautiful and clever, it’s also deeply satisfying, so you won’t leave still thinking about the gelato you were eyeing before lunch.

Fortunately, there is a four-course tasting menu for EURO 60 that helps you experience the magic of this restaurant without dropping a fortune. Our bill for three people — not doing the tasting menu — was EURO 200, which included an appetizer, two primi, three secondi, .66 liters of beer, wine and two desserts.  So next time I’ll just do the tasting menu.

Continue reading →

Posted in Venice | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi, Venice

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Melissa Santos

Antipasto misto di pesce e vedure (mixed appetizers of fish and vegetables) at Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi, Venice.

 

So I figured since I’m heading to Perugia this weekend for the International Journalism Festival, I should make sure I wrap up blogging about my recent Venice trip before I’m inundated with new meals things to write about.

Orecchiette con ragu d'anatra battuto al coltello (pasta with duck ragu) at Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi, Venice.

I’ve eaten at Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi several times now and each time it has not only been good, it has also shown me new sides of Venetian cuisine. The first time, a plate of bigoli (really thick spaghetti) in a sweet onion and anchovy sauce introduced me to Venice’s love affair with the onion — one I fully support, as it turns out.  (Thankfully, so does my husband.)

This time, I learned that onions and fish aren’t the only things that Venice does well: our orecchiette in duck ragu (technically called orecchiette con ragu’ d’anatra battuto al coltello) was hearty, rustic and satisfying. And oh, yes, then there’s the wine.

Continue reading →

Posted in Venice | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Al Fontego dei Pescatori, Venice

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Melissa Santos

 

Pasticcia di pesce -- or lasagna with fish ragu -- at Al Fontego dei Pescatori in Venice.

 

Sometimes you don’t realize just how good something was until you find yourself craving it months later. That’s what happened to me with the pasticcia di pesce I tried in October at Al Fontego dei Pescatori: the next time I came to Venice, the first thing I wanted to do was go back for another helping.

The dish, a lasagna with fish ragu, is now labeled as lasagna con ragu di pesce on the menu rather than pasticcia di pesce (the traditional Venetian name, so I’m told). What hasn’t changed is that it is a fish dish that’s rich and satisfying, while light enough to still leave enough room for another course. This time, I noticed my plate was garnished with paprika, which added a unique twist.

Frittura di pesce e vedure at Al Fontego dei Pescatori, Venice.

So far I’ve been unable to resist Al Fontego’s delicious frittura di pesce e verdure as a follow-up act to the fish lasagna. I’ve yet to understand how good Italian chefs manage to make a platter of deep-fried food seem fresh and light, but they do. That’s exactly what Al Fontego’s frittura accomplishes. It has the right amount of crispiness and salt and doesn’t let the batter overpower the fish. Plus, the vegetables — particularly the sweet carrots that counterbalance the saltiness of the rest of the dish — are to die for. The restaurant’s effervescent owner, Lolo, will probably come over and recommend you order it. I recommend you listen to him.

Continue reading →

Posted in Venice | 2 Comments

Bar Al Campanile, Venice

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Melissa Santos

Bar Al Campanile, Venice.

 

OK. I live in Naples, known for having pretty much the best coffee in Italy, with amazing pastries to boot. And this coffee and pastry routine has become a pretty important part of my day. (I pretty much wrote off the entire island of Capri for having bad, overpriced coffee during a visit last year.) So clearly, I take it seriously.

My philosophy in Venice is to get up early to wander the city and enjoy it before it starts to resemble an anthill crawling with tourists. The light is beautiful then, which also makes for better photos, and the vaporetti (water buses) are basically empty around 7 a.m.

However, trying to find bars open at that time in the touristy areas, such as Piazza San Marco, can be close to impossible. That’s why I was thrilled in October to discover Bar Al Campanile, a place with delicious pastries and great cappuccinos just a step or two from Piazza San Marco. After having some dry, cold and otherwise unremarkable pastries at a few Venice bars during my March visit, I made a point of going back to Bar Al Campanile to avoid future disappointment. Now, I’m really sold on the place.

Continue reading →

Posted in Coffee, Venice | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Shocker: Good food in Venice

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Melissa Santos

A view of Cannaregio, one of the better districts in Venice for eating, in my opinion.

 

I spent four days in Venice in late March, and went into my trip expecting that about one-third of the food I consumed would be horrible.

After all, that was how it played out when I spent a weekend in Venice in October: I researched restaurants obsessively and the result was that I had two good meals and one disastrous one. At the time I thought that ratio was pretty good, since during my first visit to Venice in 2007 I remember absolutely nothing positive about the food. Instead I remember being served frozen lasagna (still a bit icy and cold in the middle), as well as unforgivably overcooked pasta.

So this time, when I had five great meals in Venice, I was shocked. Not one miss? Impossible. I expected at least one, if not two, disasters.

So even though I try to focus this blog on places in Naples, not other places in Italy, I feel obligated to share my restaurant discoveries in Venice — simply to help other people avoid frozen lasagna.

I’ll be posting about each place individually, but here’s my list. Thanks to Katie Parla and the Twittersphere (particularly @PeripateticMe) for their help on these. I should have finished blogging about each by the end of the week.

Anice Stellato
Il Ridotto
La Bitta
Al Fontego dei Pescatori
Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi
Bar Al Campanile (coffee bar, not a restaurant)

Posted in Venice | Tagged | 2 Comments

Venice: not just another pretty town

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Melissa Santos

Santa Maria delle Salute in Venice.

 

It was last October that I went to Venice and nearly got pushed off of a water bus by a mob of German tourists. (Clearly October was still high cruise ship season, despite what I had predicted when planning that visit.) Yet the next day when my husband and I went to Venice’s Gallerie dell’Accademia, we saw not a soul. What were these hordes of tourists from the cruise ships doing in Venice? Clearly not looking at all of the city’s fantastic art.

I’ve seen people look at me blankly when I talk about all the great art in Venice. Sometimes it just seems as if they don’t know all the city has to offer, besides shopping and canal views.

It as if visitors think that Venice is just another pretty tourist town, like Sorrento or Capri, and  they forget that Venice was the seat of its own painting renaissance at the turn of the 16th century, parallel to what was happening in Florence.

In fact, there are so many artistic treasures in Venice that it sometimes pains me to see tourists walking by them without stopping to look. Venice may be beautiful, but there is depth and history beneath that beauty; after all, La Serenissima was an independent republic for 1000 years, one strong enough to rape, pillage and strip Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.

My favorite artistic treasures in the city are its paintings, however, not its bloodstained booty from the East (much of which now decorate the city’s Basilica of San Marco). Here are things I constantly try and revisit when I go, and highly recommend to first-time or returning visitors.

Continue reading →

Posted in Venice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

La Campana, another great place in Rome

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Melissa Santos

The sight that greets you as you walk into La Campana in Rome.

 

La Campana
Vicolo della Campana, 18
(+39) 06 6875273
Closed Mondays

For months, La Campana has been on my list of restaurants to visit in Rome. I’ve sent three groups of people there who all left fat and happy, but I had yet to try it myself until my last visit to Rome in late March.

Fiori di zucca ripieni at La Campana in Rome.

Well, it was even better than expected. I’d been directing American guests there while they travelled in Rome without me because I’d heard they had a good variety of solid dishes. I didn’t expect that to translate into these amazing fiori di zucca ripieni, which honestly are among the best I’ve had. Some that I’ve had before have been a bit greasy, with the cheese inside much tougher. These were gooey inside, crispy outside and piping hot. Continue reading →

Posted in Rome, Rome restaurants | Tagged , , | Leave a comment