Pictured: Venezia's shrimp scampi. Photo by Heidi Stone.

An elusive dish whose mysterious properties are eternally debated, scampi will undoubtedly take a different form in the mind of each Italian chef you meet. Venezia’s interpretation features a bevy of sautéed sea fare including shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari swimming in a combination of white wine, butter, garlic and lemon. The juicy, chewy-in-all-the-right-ways rings of squid are the real stars of the dish and the sauce’s tangy lemon cuts the butter’s richness—this comes in handy especially on humid summer days when the last thing you want is to dive into a bowl full of oil. Cooked tomatoes, artichoke hearts and chopped parsley round out the frutti di mare, topped with a crown of pizza crostini lightly dusted with parmesan that makes the perfect vehicle for dipping. A sublime après-shopping treat best shared by two, Venezia’s scampi will transport you from St. Armands to the Queen of the Adriatic faster than you can say arrivederci.

Pictured: Venezia's shrimp scampi. Photo by Heidi Stone.

Venezia, 373 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota, 941-388-1400