There were several Italian Restaurants serving Easter Meals in Metro Phoenix in 2019. One Italian Restaurant called Veneto Trattoria in Scottsdale Arizona differed from the other restaurants and offered Passover Dinners in Venetian Style to honor the Jews of ancient Italy. It seemed interesting to us so we gave it a try. Incase you didn’t know….Passover is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the Israelite’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. Passover dinners were $42.50. The daily menu was also offered.

We were seated on the patio. It’s a nice large patio with shade and lovely marble top tables.

We received complimentary matzo with a honey nut marmalade. (pictured at top of page)

Our first course was Venetian Style Matzo Ball Soup called Polpette in Brodo di Matza e Pollo all Veneziana.

It’s a light chicken broth with thin bars of celery, other vegetables and chicken. The matzo ball is light and fluffy. I don’t know what makes this Venetian Style but it’s a good bowl of Matzo Ball soup.

For my dinner I picked the Sautéed Petrale Sole with sweet tomatoes and golden raisins that came with braised fennel and sweet potato kanederli (a pasta that is similar to gnocchi).

The sole is mild, tender and flakes well. It’s prepared nicely. The sweet tomatoes with the raisins tastes more sweet than savory. The fennel is almost like a steak and is very good. Sweet potato kanederli are made nicely and have a flavor that compliments everything.

My husband tried the Chicken stuffed with Dry Cherries and Pine Nuts sautéed in dry cherry wine.

I tried a small bite. The chicken is tender like butter. The stuffing is more savory than I was expecting…slightly mineral-like but tasty and delicious.

Last course was an Almond Cake Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce called – Torta Di Mandorle.

The cake is quite great! It’s spongy, light and very moist. It’s not too sweet. It’s studded with a few surprises. It’s just very good!

That was Italian Passover Ancient Venetian Style at Veneto Trattoria.

www.VenetoTrattoria.com

Then on Easter Sunday we did a bunny hop over to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale for Easter.

Incase you were wondering what Easter is I can tell you that it is not about chocolate bunnies and jellybeans. Easter is the Christian Holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the New Testament.

They offered the regular menu, the lunch menu, a brunch menu and the Easter Specials.

They started us off with fresh baked breads, soft butter, olive oil and house spicy oil. We both decided to try the Spaghetti al Salmone.

The home made fresh pasta was very good! it was studded with chunks of wild caught salmon and blistered tiny sweet tomatoes in a saffron laced light slightly creamy sauce that had a little bit of heat to it. It was very reasonably priced at only $18.00 for a holiday meal.

We also shared the Easter Dessert Special of Limoncello Tiramisu.

Wow this is also really great! I like this more than traditional tiramisu. It’s light, lemony, not too sweet with the right amount of tartness. The layers of soaked lady fingers taste like limoncello…. It’s a treat and a sweet ending!

That was Easter at Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante.

www.BoteggaRistorante.com

That was so great that Veneto Trattoria served ancient Venetian Style Passover Dinner and that Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante served the public on Easter with a nice special.

Everything is subject to change I don’t Forking know if these restaurants will serve Easter or Passover next year.