Venice

I don’t really think this is an awesome must-​visit restaurant. It’s decorated with linoleum and plain tables. In fact, it seems to be nearly devoid of style. In back, there is a huge space not obvious from the entrance, filled with communal tables.
This restaurant was the absolute closest to our apartment and therefore I selected it. We sat in the back. Alone. It was late. I don’t care. I needed solid and safe food and I needed it now.
I’d just spent a period of time in India. I wanted some food that wouldn’t put my life at risk cooked in a kitchen where cleanliness is a way of life and not an obtuse concept the cook might have heard about during the probationary period.
The pizza I had with tomato, arugula, and Grana Padano cheese was the best thing I’d eaten in a month, perhaps more. Oh my God. How can such a simple dish be so good? Thank you Italy for inventing pizza and perfecting it over the millennium!