Venetian Meat and Potato Balls, Bacaro-Style

The meatballs made by Venice’s bacari—the city’s wine bars—are delightfully soft because they contain a large proportion of mashed potatoes. Bacari make them early in the morning and serve them throughout the day at room temperature. Some people ask for them to be warmed up in the microwave, but they are quite good cold, although they never taste better than when they are hot. The traditional version calls for a ground mixture of three meats—beef, veal, and pork—in equal parts