Doing some web research I ran across this webpage... it is kind of cool, showing some photos of eating and drinking establishments in 1985 and then again in 2005.

Some places are now closed, some have changed hands, and some are pretty much unchanged. I love the picture of the guy sitting in the canalside doorway - but wonder when "Osteria al Ponte ai Biri" ceased to exist.

1985 seems like an eternity ago in some of the pictures.

Thanks for this Shannon, interesting indeed to see how things have changed over the years. Did you also see there's a link to some great Venetian recipes?
http://www.elforce.altervista.org/adas-kitchen.htm
provided by Ada, who apparently worked for no less than 42 years at the Trattoria Ca' D'Oro (also known as "La Vedova") and was greatly responsible for the fame it still has today, in Venice and abroad.

You can even e-mail Ada and ask for a particular recipe that you might be looking for, and she will get it posted on the site.

Unfortunately all in Italian, though.

Wow, che confronto, what great cross-section. Osteria di Dante has closed, I heard...what a shame. And, Ada's successor lives across from me, I'll definitely have to ask him about her!

quote:

Osteria di Dante has closed, I heard...what a shame.

Sorry to hear that. Fascinating photos, Shannon - thanks for the link. And it's interesting that di Dante is the one that looks to have changed least between the 2 sets of photos. It was a near neighbour of mine when I stayed in Castello a few years ago: I'm sorry I never plucked up the courage to go in. It just looked a little too 'authentic' for me...

Jonathan