Trattoria da Romano:

Eat the Famous Go

Fish Risotto on Burano
Island
Burano and the Fruits of the
Lagoon
James Martin

Burano is probably the most colorful

land mass in the famous Venetian
lagoon. The houses, it is said, are
colored so that fishermen way out at
sea could recognize their own
abodes. These brilliant colors have
become so iconic over the years that
residents are now required to get
approval from the commune before
painting their houses to ensure the
tradition continues.

Yet with all this color on an island

known for its lace (the lonely fishing
widows had to have something to do!)
the dish everyone seeks is largely
white and served on white plates, a
dish reflecting the Italian genius for
simplicity and purity of taste.

How to Arrive at the

Trattoria da Romano
You can get to Burano directly by
vaporetto from Venice. That's the lazy
way. You don't develop an appetite by
lounging around on a ferry. What you
do is this: vaporetto number 12 takes
you from Venice's Fondamente Nove
to Murano and on to Mazzorbo and
then to Burano. Don't take it all the
way to Burano, but stop in Mazzorbo,
get off and follow the signs to Burano.
That will take you on a nice, flat walk
over a bridge to the island of Burano.
On the way you'll see the famous
leaning belltower, the Campanile of
San Martino church. Not all leaning
things are in Pisa you know.

From the ferry landing walk up the

main street until the canal, turn left
and soon you'll be on Burano's main
drag, Via Galuppi. Walk past all the
restaurants, run past the ones with
hawkers insisting you look at their
badly translated English menus, run
faster if there are pictures of the food.
At the end of the street on the left,
before the piazza enlarges, you'll find
Trattoria da Romano. Towel off and try
to get a seat. You can reserve
online to avoid being shoved into the
atmospheric interior with the locals;
the terrace outside is pleasant most
days.

What to Order
Now that you're tucked into the table,
you're ready to order. You want what
Anthony Bourdain ordered when he
went there. Risotto Buranello or gó
fish risotto.

If you go to the Rialto fish market in

Venice, you'll see these Gó fish, these
rather ugly denizens of the lagoon,
flopping around in their Styrofoam
prisons. You won't find a sliver of one
in your risotto, don't worry, only the
aromatic broth of the fish is used to
make the famous rice dish.

In summer you can augment the

risotto with a seafood appetizer. It
makes for a light, easily digestible
lunch. Now you're ready to hit the
Lace Museum, or take the short hop
on the vaporetto to Torcello island to
see the Byzantine church and
mosaics.

How to Get Great Food in an

Italian Restuarant
As for eating at restaurants in the rest
of Italy, don't just look at the menu
and order. Talk to the waiter. Ask what
the day's specials are. Even if you ask
for a menu in Italian and speak Italian
to the waiter, you're not going to get
the daily specials recited to you if
you're a foreigner, no matter what
region or city you're in. So ask what's
best to eat that day. Really. For
example, Venice's celebrated soft-
shelled crabs from the lagoon, called
Moeche, have a short and variable
season (in spring) and you'll miss
them if you don't ask because they
can't be put on printed menus.

A couple of alternative selections for

good Burano restaurants are found on
Martha and Elizabethʼs article: Burano
Restaurants.

Burano: Day Trip

Extraordinaire!
Burano makes a wonderful day trip.
It's colorful; there are good places to
eat, and the walking is good. The
island tours make a very nice day trip
from Venice. Torcello island, a short
vaporetto ride from Burano, also has
some restaurants.

So go. Eat well. Walk it off. Enjoy

everything in the lagoon, even the fish
that burrow in the mud.