<a target="_blank" href="http://veciofritolin.it/en/">Vecio Fritolin</a>

Calle Regina, 2262

30135 Sestiere Santa Croce (VE)

+39 041 522 2881

Food:

Mixed seafood
fry (Il Fritto di pesce “in scartosso”)

Seafood salad (Insalata di Mare)

Kamut grain
linguine with squid ink (Linguine al
Kamut mantecate al nero di seppia)

Oil,
lemon and mint (olio, limone e menta)

Wines:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 2013 Valentino Butussi Ribolla Gialla Friuli Colli
 Orientali &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
 </td>
 <td>
 89
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2010 Michel Thoulouze Veneto Bianco Orto di
 Venezia
 </td>
 <td>
 91
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 NV Giorgio Cecchetto Raboso Passito Marca
 Trevigiana &nbsp;
 </td>
 <td>
 91</td></tr></tbody></table>

Irina Freguia is the lovely lady
running the Vecio Fritolin, one of Venice’s most solid and better eating
destinations. In a city not famous for a plethora of fine dining choices, the
best option for the savvy wine loving sybarite is to eat in one of the better bacari (bacaro is the name for the&nbsp;Venetian&nbsp;osteria) or&nbsp;family run
restaurants that are never about glitz but always about fresh local ingredients
cooked expertly in a down to earth, and at times even dowdy, environment. Unfortunately,
you’ll find that most of these very fine eating establishments are removed from
the main downtown area just around St. Mark’s square, which makes them somewhat
inconvenient to reach for families with small children, given Venice’s maze of
small alleys, bridges, stairs and canals. On the other hand, once there, you’re
almost assured of spending your time in the company of Venetians and Italians
only, far away from the madding tourist crowds.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1447424029977-1-+Vecio+Fritolin+Esterno.jpg"> The Vecio Fritolin has been
open for business since 1700 and its name derives from the fritolini, those locales where people could stop by and acquire
freshly fried fish, still today a staple of Venice’s cooking. My meal in Vecio
Fritolin’s slightly dark and decidedly antique interior was uneventful and
satisfying.&nbsp; <img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1447424064182-cartoccio.JPG"> Mixed seafood fry (Il Fritto di pesce “in scartosso”) The fish fry, served in the typical paper cone is, by all accounts,
if not the best, then one of the top five in the city, and the seafood salad
was also expertly prepared and very rich in diverse fish, mussel and crustacean
species.&nbsp;I washed down the crisp, precise fried fish flavors with the 2013 Ribolla Gialla
from&nbsp;Valentino Butussi, a producer who is remarkably adept at turning out
lovely, easy drinking but flavorful wines from this underrated grape variety.
Though not the last word in concentration or complexity, Butussi’s Ribolla is
always a sure bet as an aperitif, given its lively acidity and its bright
aromas and flavors uncompromised by oak or excessively long maceration times or
aging in&nbsp;amphorae&nbsp;or other weird stuff that many producers have been busy
subjecting poor Ribolla Gialla to of late.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1447424182531-nero+di+seppia.JPG"> Kamut grain linguine with squid ink (Linguine al Kamut mantecate al nero di seppia) My ink squid pasta was one of the
best such dishes I&nbsp;have tried in the last few years, its concentrated saline
clout matching heavenly well with the deep, rich and very saline 2010 Orto
di Venezia. This unique wine is made by Frenchman Michel Thoulouze on
Sant’Erasmo, an island in the Venetian lagoon, where winemaking has centuries
old history. A blend of 60% Malvasia Istriana, 30% Vermentino and 10% Fiano,
it’s intensely mineral, herbal and classically dry, showcasing above average
complexity and depth.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1447424381262-docle+limone.JPG"> Oil, lemon and mint (olio, limone e menta) My very satisfying lunch ended after a delicious and
light lemon dessert featuring extra virgin olive oil as well as lemon, but my
time at Vecio Fritolin didn’t end there.&nbsp;It continued on unhurriedly, as I simply sat there reading my Italian sports newspaper while sipping on the&nbsp;NV Raboso Passito&nbsp;by the Cecchetto estate, without doubt the best producer of Raboso Piave wines, both dry and sweet. This Passito is made with air-dried grapes and is not unlike a Recioto della Valpolicella, so I could have easily paired it with, among many other valid potential choices, a chocolate dessert or an aged blue cheese, had I been so inclined. However, just sipping the Passito on its own really did seem like a rather civilized and very Venetian way of wishing the gently warm, setting afternoon sun a very fond goodbye.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1447424556513-vini.JPG"> --Ian D'Agata

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