OG Venice is the first, and still the only, strictly "city" guide to Venice Italy.  It is the only guide to Venice  that focuses exclusively on artisan shops, local eateries, beaches, nightlife and providing detailed and accurate practical information about life in the most serene republic of Venice. I started this project more than five years ago, after nine years of watching, listening and learning around Venice, with one not-so-simple goal:  To create a guide that could free other tourists from the theme-park experience and help them discover the living breathing Venice behind the breathtaking facades of this City.  What does such a guide include?  Hmm...

Nightlife.  Don't let the elegant facades fool you!  Venice is a loud-singing hard-drinking town.  As Venetians like to point out, "It's not as though you'll be driving anywhere!"  Adjusting to Venetian nightlife, which seems to begin at around 10AM for those who have the day off, is a challenge.  But here's the thing: Venetian nightlife, especially bacaro hopping, is really not about sloppy drunkenness at all.  It's about the community in Venice and the exchange of ideas.  Bacari are the places where Venetians go together to catch up on life and discuss the goings on in their town and making "bacaro tours" is a local tradition practiced by Venetians of almost all ages and backgrounds.  Children play in the squares while parents enjoy a spritz and groups of childhood friends who have been practicing together for decades perform music of all genres.  That's right, you can't even go out at night without meeting an artist, in Venice!

• Our Bars & Nightlife Section features local-favorite bars in each district of Venice.  Now, Venice has a lot more bars than just those listed here. But those listed here are bars wherein I am absolutely certain that everyone who walks through the door will be treated well and honestly, and where we tourists have a chance of mingling with some real Venetians.  

Shopping.  Venetian artisans have been renowned throughout history for their skill and creativity and the historically famous Venetian arts are still coveted by many travelers today.  Sadly, however, many tourists miss their opportunity to acquire authentic Venetian treasures in Venice.  There are an unfathomable number of fake Venetian products being sold to tourists in the center of Venice itself.  Worst of all, since most people don't even know they're purchasing fakes, this has sullied the reputation of contemporary Venetian artists.  Are they really still making cheap versions of post-war favorites?  Of Course Not!  They are making gorgeous contemporary treasures unlike anything you've ever seen before.  The Venetian artists of today are still among the most creative and talented artists in the world.

• Our Shopping Section proudly features more than 60 contemporary Venetian artists and artisans engaged in crafts ranging from jewelry to glass work, from sculpture to clothing design to leather works.  All of these shops are Venetian owned and many of the artists you will meet in these shops create their contemporary pieces using traditional Venetian methods and materials.  These are places where you can find the new treasures in Venice.

Excursions.  Visitors to Venice  can quickly come to feel disconnected from nature, surrounded as they are by cobble stone streets and marble and plaster buildings.  Venice can seem like an entirely man-made environment (Venice is architecture!), and most of the gardens one sees a wisteria creeping out of are off limits to the rest of us.  Yet, Venice is situated in and dependent upon an extremely unique and beautiful natural environment:  The Lagoon!  There are many Islands in the lagoon, each with its own population and culture, and each of which contributes its own gifts to Venice.  Lido has beaches.  Sant'Erasmo has farms.  Burano has lace and gorgeous colored homes.  Murano, of course, has glass factories… and there's more!  The Island of Certosa, for example, has an enormous marina and acres and acres of nature preserve.  

• Our Excursions Section and our Lido Beaches show some of the myriad options there are for exploring all of the different worlds, environments and lifestyles there are to be found in the lagoon.  All of these places an easy and inexpensive to reach.  And, as incredible as it may seem, they are also all really Venetian.

More!  Oh yes, there's more… 

• Experience providers.  Believe it or not, it is possible to go to Venice, stay for for three days, and still never actually meet a Venetian.  (The percentage ratio of Venetians to Tourists is truly shockingly small.)  Yet, the best way, perhaps the only way to really see Venice, is in the company of Venetians.
• Local Tourism Sites and Key Resources.  OG Venice provides links to the most useful and informative local tourism sites.  Through these links you can buy boat and museum passes, learn about eco-friendly tourism initiatives, read local news…or just book a taxi from the airport…
• The OG Venice Trip Planner.  The very steps I use to plan my own travel to Venice, updated to include the services of some amazing startups - Hopper.com & AllTheRooms.com - Which have made travel planner so much easier not just for Venice, but the world.  

So… It may be a little quiet around the OG Venice Blog for a while as I focus my energy on improving OG Venice Travel Guide.  But hey!  That's exactly what I am here for:  To continue to create the first, only and very best city guide to Venice, Italy.  

At this time of year, with the summer season allegedly over, yet the crowds not seeming to thin out much at all, anyone could be forgiven for feeling a little fed up with traffic and noise and requests for directions.  We can't make the winter holiday season arrive any faster, however Tea Room Beatrice, the business taking the top spot in our Specialty Foods Section today is an excellent place to relax and recharge your batteries before fighting the crowds again.

The only Tea Room in Venice, Beatrice is a tranquil oasis of nearly pure quiet in Dorsoduro.  They have more than 50 varieties of specialty teas which can also be paired with amazing cakes from Vizio Virtu, one of the best pastry shops in Venice.  Enjoy these in the peaceful garden or intimate interior.  

The only problem you could have there would be finding a good reason to ever leave.  Fortunately, that might not be too much of a problem because they also have a B & B just up the stairs!

One of the saddest mis-impressions that people get about Venice is that the food is no good. It is part of Italy after all! And Venetians are just as fastidious about their food as any other Italians. The truth is that there is lots of wonderful food- fresh seafood, vegetables from the island of Sant'Erasmo, local salumi, local wines, northern italian cheeses, fried zucchini flowers -all available at surprisingly low prices in Venice. So why do the majority of visitors to Venice have such an awful culinary experience? And how can you eat well, even on a budget, during your stay in Venice? 

I'll start by telling you an awful truth: There are a lot, a whole lot, of tourist trap restaurants in Venice. These restaurants occupy the spaces nearest the major tourist attractions and tend to be the largest restaurants in town. Sadly these are the places where most tourists eat their meals. During the high season, they serve thousands of meals per day. At that volume of service it would be very difficult to provide haute cuisine. If you want an authentic Venetian meal you will want to avoid these places. So, here are some warning signs that a restaurant may be more geared towards “tourist food” than local cuisine:

• There is a laminated menu in multiple languages affixed outside. The cardinal rule of eating while traveling, which also holds true in Venice, is: The more languages on the menu, the worse the food.
  
• There is a sign that says, in English, “Tourist Menu.” While many Italian restaurants offer multiple course lunch and dinner specials, an authentic restaurant doesn't call it a “tourist menu.” 
  
• There is a glass showcase of whole fish, wine and plastic plants somewhere near the door. I don't really know why restaurants do this. Nor can I think of a reason why they shouldn't. But, I do know that the whole fish is not on the tourist menu in Venice.
  
• All of the other patrons are tourists. Venetians eat out too! Is there a reason none of them are eating here?
  
• There are one or two waiters, dressed in full livery and entirely too well-groomed, trying to persuade you in off the street...in English. There is a difference between a greeting at the door from a host or hostess, as you would get in most restaurants, and the “I'm surrounded” sensation that you can get from these guys as they smile and wink and shove the multi-lingual tourist menu in your face while steering you around the glass case full of whole fish on ice. Don't be cowed! Walk on bye. 

So...where should you eat if the most obvious places are not the best? Start by going on an adventure! Here are some simple tips to help you get on the right track:

• Eat like a local. Meaning that you should both eat what the locals are eating and try to eat locally produced foods. (You will notice that at the rialto market the origin of all the produce is listed along with the prices.)
  
• Eat with the locals. Venetians go out to eat too! And they are almost as demanding about the quality of service in a restaurant as they are about the food itself. If a restaurant is crowded with locals, that's a very good sign that you will both eat and be treated well there. 
  
• Go inside and then go inside. When Venetians say “go inside”, what they mean is that you've got to explore the side streets to find the best places in Venice. But that only works if, once you're there, you go inside of the small restaurants and osterias you find. The best things in Venice are to be found in the least likely looking places.
  

And now for the fun part: What to eat! Before you can eat like a local, you need to have some idea of what the locals eat. Get ready and get hungry!

• Deep fried everything! Well...almost everything. But especially: Fiori di zucca (zucchini flowers), Calamari (and any and all seafood), Olives (which are stuffed with sausage and cheese), Cheese and, of course, Polpetti (meatballs).
  
• Shellfish. Clams, Mussels and Scallops. Especially the scallops! There is a reason that spaghetti al vangole (spaghetti with clams) is on every menu in town. It's good. But even better is everything made with fresh scallops!  In Italian, scallops are: Capesante.
  
• Sarde in saor. Marinaded sardines with onions, pine nuts and raisins.
  
• Fegato alla Veneziana. Ventian style liver and onions. A traditional local dish that you must try in a small local osteria.
  
• Crostini. There is so much more to life than bruschetta! “Crostini” basically are “slices of bread with things on top”, it's what those things are that make them special! They can be virtually anything from the famous baccala mantecata to truffle cream to fresh radicchio salsa. Venice is undergoing a crostini revolution with even the humblest of bacari beginning to offer remarkably diverse and fresh crostini and the more refined making crostini to order with local sausage and fresh fish.
  
• Tramezzini. Tramezzini are overstuffed little sandwiches made with soft crustless white bread. These are the best bet cheap eats for budget travelers, and also just about the only savory food that you'll be able to find prepared in time for breakfast. The ingredients are usually humble- tuna and egg, ham and egg, bresaola and arugula etc...-but they pack a big protein punch and, most of the time, they're made with local foods.
  
• More... There is so much more! There are seafood risottos, baccala and polenta, biscotti, candies, fruits... And, if none of this appeals to you there is always the option to:
  
• Go to the market and do it yourself! Though people complain about restaurant prices in Venice, the prices for fresh ingredients are actually significantly lower than they are in the U.S. Or the U.K.. And there is great shopping to be done in the area of the Rialto market. Even if you just really want to make your favorite recipe from home, the local ingredients you'll find in Venezia will make it taste better.
  
• Or, even better, you could take a cooking class!
  

Hmm…I'm not going to lie, I am  starting to feel a little hungry myself! But there are a couple more things that you need to know about dining out in Venezia. Here goes:

• If you're traveling on a budget, stand up! Ordering snacks and drinks at the bar is much less expensive that having a meal with table service. And, you certainly won't starve if you rely on finger foods during much of your stay. Much of the food I've mentioned above falls under the umbrella of “cicchetti”. These foods will be on display in glass cases on bar counter tops. Nearly all of them can be ordered over-the-counter and they cost between 1 and 3 euros each.
  
• Read prices to avoid sticker shock; If the prices aren't listed ask before you order. I won't pretend not to know about the three pricing levels that exist in Venice. (And don't you pretend that your favorite bartender back home doesn't sometimes forget to charge you for a round of drinks...) But, I also know that by law Venetian bars and restaurants are required to reveal prices and most of them do. Beyond that, it is your responsibility to read the price lists or ask for prices before you order.
  

I could go on... Venice is a tricky town! It is replete with masked villains some of whom are, no doubt, out to trick you out of your chance to sample the best local treats. But with this information you're probably pretty well armed and ready to eat in Venezia!