Harry`s Bar Cookbook: Recipes and Reminiscences from the World-famous Venice Restaurant and Bar, 

Harrys Bar above all, is a bar. Its distinctive mixed drinks were created by its founder, Arrigos father, Giuseppe Cipriani, and they remain the social center of the establishment. Therefore, youll find careful instructions for making the world-famous Belini--the frosty, frothy combination of rose-colored peach elixir and Prosecco (the Italian champagne)--and the secret of making the Montgomery, named by Hemingway himself, which is nothing less than the driest, most delicious martini in the world.

Harrys Bar is also famous for its sandwiches-mouth-watering, overstuffed, unique concoctions: pale yellow egg sandwiches spiked with anchovies; chunks of freshly poached chicken or shrimp bound with creamy, newly made mayonnaise. The Harrys Bar club sandwich is a legend in itself, knife-and fork food thats simply superb.

But the bars famous risottos and the dozens of pasta dishes--including ravioli, cannelloni, and tagliolini--are the house specialties. Potato gnocchi and simple country food such as polenta, squid, baccala, and beans are transformed into elegant dishes by skillful chefs. Cipriani also invented the sublime dish known as carpaccio and the glorious risotto alla primavera, brilliant ideas that have been imitated all over the world; the original appear here for the first time.