Al Bocon, Campo Santa Margherita, Venice
/Another trip to Vodafone … where my key works. So, it must be the bad reception at the flat. So I have to work in cafes, where my batteries die, and I drink too much. Al Bocon in Campo Santa Margherita is now my spot. I went in at 11am for a spritzer. I have learned that 11am is the absolute earliest one can ask for a cocktail in Venice, and even then I seem to drinking alone with some pretty local-looking locals. The owner is busy getting her selection of delicacies out. The smells from the kitchen are divine. She offers me a frittata …a loose sort of round ball with the consistency of gratin dauphinois. Then I try the tuna balls and the chicken balls and the mozzarella balls. Now, I know that all of these have names …and I will look them up and add them later. The winner, the dish that will keep me up tonight with cravings, was her mozzarella in carrozza (again, will check spelling later). This is a sandwich of mozzarella and sometimes prosciutto which is then dipped into egg batter and fried. I know, it sounds a bit like the thing Elvis Presley used to do with peanut butter and bananas. But this is divine. And hers are perfect. this is one of my favourites at home, but when I make it, it is heavy and greasy. So I ask: “Come si fa a renderlo cosi leggero?” And she tells me that she adds either beer or sparkling water to her egg batter. Aha. So of course I need to try another, accompanied by a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio by Giovanni Bellia, to better understand how she makes this magic.