A Pound of Flesh: 11 year anniversary

Yes, we are married now and have a new anniversary to celebrate, but two celebrations is twice the fun, and twice as delicious. And while we're living in Venice - the most romantic city in the world some say - we would be crazy not to continue our September anniversary dinner tradition. So, making a selection from the cena per due section in our osteria guide book, we made a reservation at La Bitta, near San Banaba (over Academia way), for 9pm.

Celebrations started at home first of course, sharing a bottle of prosecco, a jar of anchovy wrapped capers, and a wedge of creamy brie with Michael and getting a run down of the days adventures. (Walking for miles, getting lost in the maze of tiny calle, finding amazing museums, learning a lesson about handling fruit and vegetables at the supermarket - familiar Venetian experiences.) Then it was time for we two to set off across Venice.

Dinner at La Bitta

We selected La Bitta on the grounds that, not only does it get great reviews for food - deliciously well handled locally selected produce - but also for its cosily romantic atmosphere, and of course it's achievable price bracket. It's a small osteria comprising two tiny dining rooms (the one facing the street also housing the bar) and a tiny enclosed courtyard at the back. While the evening wasn't as warm as we became accustomed to during July and August, it was perfectly mild and we were relieved (especially after our brisk walk there) not to be seated in one of the small, overly warm dining rooms.

La Bitta is a no seafood restaurant, a rare occurrence in Venice. As an island in a lagoon inhabited by seafaring people, 'traditional' Venetian cuisine prides itself on the bounty of the local waters. Going by what you see these days at the Rialto market (Italy must be credited for their origin labelling), most of these stocks (as with fisheries the world over) have been seriously depleted and seafood is being imported from far and wide. (Although just out our door the other morning we passed a man carrying a bucket full of cockles, presumably freshly gathered nearishby. And during the summer days we spent at the beach on Sant'Erasmo, we saw many people out in the shallows of the mud flats with nets and buckets, likely gathering shrimps.) Whether the falsity of Venetian seafood is a reason for it or not, there are a small number of local restaurants opting to steer clear, and La Bitta is one of them. Instead they focus on land-based specialities and look further out to the surrounding Veneto region for larger-species offerings.

Our night's one page menu, presented one per table on a small stand, offered a brief but nice selection of vegetable, cheese, and meat options. We chose meat. Their roast Treviso pork had been one of the dishes singled out by our guide, and on our night it was served cold, sliced rice paper thin, with a creamy horseradish sauce. It was so so soft, so soft. For mains we shared a rabbit stew with lightly smashed herby potatoes, and veal braised with red and yellow capsicums served with soft soft polenta. Both were rich, very tasty dishes. The rabbit was succulent and smoky from its pancetta cooking companion. The veal could've done with slightly longer cooking to make it melt, but the flavouring with the sweet peppers was delicious. We had a nice, although not incredible, bottle of light (in both colour and flavour) chilled red wine (recommended by the very friendly waiter), and one of us made a toast which made the other one cry happy love tears, but we're not telling who was who or what was said, just that we had a very lovely evening together.

A man ready for some meaty action.

A pink pork cloud.

A satisfying pile of bunny bones on my plate.

The atmosphere at the restaurant was very relaxed, and the staff were friendly and helpful and in no hurry at all to rush us out, it felt like we could've sat there all night. Eventually we felt up to ordering a sweet, and chose a simple panna cotta drizzled with a lovely strong dark caramel, soft and delicious. Finn had a nicely perfumed moscatello grappa to finish, and it was well after midnight by the time we finally left. The Venice we walked home through was almost deserted and it seemed like we'd been in the last place left open, everywhere else was dark and shuttered closed, which was a bit of a surprise since the restaurant had still been maybe a quarter full when we left. It was nice though and we lingered more than usual - stopping on the Academia bridge to watch the lights of the buildings reflected in the grand canal, stopping in the piazzas to admire the incredible weight of the dimly lit marble church buildings.