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Thanks to everyone who wrote to me with tips for my trip to Venice.  My
hubby and I had a great time, and as many of you wrote, getting
delicious gf food was no problem.
 
We already had an Italian language restaurant card, but truthfully we
never used it.  Someone sent me a link for the Italian Celiac
Association webpage.  On it, they have a section about foods that are
safe to eat in restaurants.  We found an abundance of safe foods:
salads, grilled meat and fish, fresh veggies, polenta (prepared in
vastly different ways) and risottos (absolutely delicious, but you must
usually order for two people).  Here is the link:
http://www.celiachia.it/voyager/
 
There is also a section on gf friendly restaurants, but only a couple
are in Venice.  However, if you are going to other parts of Italy the
restaurant list might be more helpful.
 
In Italy, there is gf food available in many pharmacies on the shelf,
and through special order.  (one person wrote me that they couldn't get
food through the pharmacies - I really don't understand why - it was no
problem for us, although not all pharmacies have it on the shelf.  Our
daughter was in Italy severeal years ago with her grandparents and also
had no problem getting gf food in the pharmacies.  Although not every
pharmacy has it on the shelf, in the big cities there is a pharmacy
every block or two, there is bound to be one close by that does have
some.)  We found a pharmacy close to our apartment which had bread,
crackers, cookies, and pasta on the shelf.  We special ordered gf beer,
pizza crusts, and croissants.  Every special order we placed arrived
within 24 hours.  Even though everything was very pricey in Venice, the
gf food was not expensive compared to what we pay at home.  The beer was
delicious - much superior to the gf beers we have been able to get here.
The pizza crust was not as good as my h ome-made crust, but still very
good.  It was thick, more like Chicago-style pizza.
 
I'd like to recommend two restaurants esp:  One was in the "san Marco"
district on the main street between Campo Manin and Campo San Angelo.
(street names and numbers are not too helpful in navigating Venice, we
found).  The name of the restaurant is "Rosa Rossa" and it is fairly
inexpensive and specializes in pizza, and has very friendly service.
The first night we ate there my husband(the celiac) ate grilled meat,
potatoes, and fresh salad.   But while we chatted with our waiter, the
owner's brother, it turned out he knew all about "celiaco", so we asked
if we could come back and bring a gf pizza crust and have them make my
husband a pizza.  He was happy to do it, so we went back a few nights
later and my husband enjoyed a real Italian-style gf pizza - he was in
heaven!
 
After awhile my husband was tired of polenta, and risotto, and craving
something a little different in his diet.  We found an Israeli style
falafel place just outside the Jewish ghetto.  If you take the
Vapparetto to the "guglie" stop, when you get off the boat the
restaurant is just to your left (right beside one of the ancient gates
into the Jewish Ghetto).  It was called "Gam Gam" and had some tables
out by the canal. We ate a wonderful lunch of "Falafel and Israeli
appetizers" - a lovely assortment of various spreads, veggies, served in
little dishes.  The falafel came on its own little dish, and the bread
came on the side.
 
We also had a great salmon risotto one night in "Osteria da Alberto" - a
restaurant recommended in Rick Steve's guide book.  It is in the
"cannaregio" district.  It was charming, air conditioned, and filled
with tourists (but everywhere in Venice has a lot of tourists).
  
I will follow-up this summary with a summary of the tips people sent me,
including a few other restaurants.
 
Lynn
 
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