Also still popular in some regions of Japan (Central Kyūshū, Nagano) including as sashimi, in which case it is referred to as basashi.

I saw horse on a menu in Venice last summer, but didn't get a chance to try it. I've had llama, though, and I heard they're similar.

I'd avoid eating anything in Venice unless you know a local.

They'll charge foreigners one price, people from the Veneto another, and locals a third (cheaper) price. And that's if it's a decent place to eat, rather than one of the many very tourist-oriented locales where anyone local would never set foot.

Grocery stores are key. Especially the chain ones where everything has a barcode. I agree the dining out situation there (and in Italy in general) was a bit hostile/weird, but the rest of the vacation made up for it ten fold...even if I never found out what horse tasted like.

>I agree the dining out situation there (and in Italy in general) was a bit hostile/weird

How do you mean? I've really found the opposite to be true. It's something I love most about Italy; you can find good food prepared by people who are passionate about their food for relatively cheap, and it's always unfussy.

In Rome, my wife and I tried to share a (normal sized) pizza on the patio of an almost empty restaurant. We were told we weren't allowed to share and would have to order two entrees if we wanted to stay. The place we ended up eating lunch had a guy come over every 30 seconds and try to upsell us, and we were completely ignored once it was clear we weren't going to buy anything else. That was our first day, and it didn't get any better. Maybe we were just unlucky, but it seemed like a theme.

Sorry that you had such an unpleasant meal. That sounds like a typical big city touristy place. I don't think you should expect that experience elsewhere, especially outside of major cities.

I've spent more time in smaller towns in Italy, but even in Rome I was able to find good non-touristy places. I've been to places like you describe and they suck.

I think there's a big difference between eating out in really touristy spots, and pretty much anywhere outside them, where you're pretty likely to get a great meal at a good price in a nice atmosphere.

This is highly exagerated! Nowadays there are guides, yelp, tripadvisor and the like. Especially in the medium to high end there are plenty of places with reasonable prices and very good food. Antiche Carampane is a classic for fish, though I've recently tried Il Ridotto and it was amazing. If you want to go on the cheap local students swear by Il Nono Risorto.

Just walk a little bit out of the main tourist thoroughfares, and don't go anywhere that has pictures on the menu, has a touristic menu, or makes both seafood and pizza.

So...don't go to Venice? Or go there and fast?

Day trip from Padova or elsewhere, and bring sandwiches along. There are trains that run pretty late, so you can spend a long day there. If needs be, there are some ok pizza options and things like that near Campo Santa Margherita.

But you'll get much more for your money by eating somewhere outside of Venice, unless you know someone.

I lived in Padova for 15 years, speak fluent Italian, and the only time I ever felt like a got a good meal there was when I went to a place with a local my wife knew who did all the talking for us.

Definitely go to Venice, but as a tourist I found the most of the restaurants where among the worst I've eaten at in Italy, even places among places that had pretty good tripadvisor reviews. Buy food at the market or deli and make your own meals.