I went to lunch in Burano. Since it’s basically a fishing village, they offered an extensive menu of seafood. The restaurant apparently was popular with tour guides, as there was a table next to mine with 30 Americans who didn’t seem to know each other very well at all. They arrived at the same time I sat down at my table. I ordered off of the tourist menu. I thought if I ordered what the tour did, my food would be prepared about the same time and the service would be about the same.
So I got the "mixed fish." Shrimp, mussels, calamari and sole I could handle. Some of the others were some kind of whitefish, cubed, but it was also good. Then there were the unidentifiable things. I wasn’t exactly used to fried breaded shrimp with the shell on, but I think I handled it OK. There were also anchovies and sardines. Fried. Whole. With the tail, fins, eyes, everything. Do I eat it whole? Do I pull the heads off? So I left them on the plate. Then there were the other "things." Not sure what they were, so I decided to try them. Kind of looked like oysters, so I became adventurous. It could have been an eyeball for all I know was that when I first started eating it, it was just "fishy" tasting. Then it got so bad I had to swallow the rest of it whole with the rest of my water to choke it down. I was just hoping it wouldn't make me sick. Next time, I think I’ll stick to the pasta.
