Venice/Mestre 3: Fiaschetteria Toscana: Incredible Salad: Columbus Pizzeria

By Johntalbott

I'd read about the Fiaschetteria Toscana in several places and despite its being smack in the Middle of Tourist Central, I went.  I saw a waiter standing out front and my heart sank - "oh no, not a tourist trap beckoning the suckers to enter."  No, actually the folks entering seemed informed eaters.  And the menu was dated today's date so this was hardly a trap.

I wasn't in the mood for a big lunch so I ordered up a green salad, thinking it would be one more dreary example - unh unh; it had spicy early arugula and other lettuces and was dressed by my waiter with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper perfectly.  Ahhhright!

Then I had trenette pasta with small sea prawns ("Hot" the menu said; "spicy OK" he asked? [he deduced  I was visiting from France and was alert to their aversion to hot chilis]).  They were tender and delicious and not at all hot or spicy in the Thai/Mexican/Korean sense.

They had wines from a "xxxxxxxxxx dispenser", never seen that notation before but I had some bottled stuff, which with no bottled water, OK bread and a corrected coffee, came to 44 E.