One of the reasons I enjoy San Diego is for the diversity. Yesterday I attended a Serbian Festival.
SERBIA, CHEF?
Yeah. You know. Where it’s biting cold and greasy food is a staple to keep warm and satisfied?
Now I’m not complaining because I don’t eat this food every day of the week. But I am reporting back to you that some of the food is seriously greasy. As an unbiased chef, I can say that it was interesting to try on the Serbian Culture.
I sat with several people from Euro Lovers, (one of the meetups I organize), and Judy (who was sitting with us) had been to Serbia. She says sausages are street food, fast food in Serbia…….. that it’s mostly peasant food with lots of pork, cabbage and potatoes. Ah yes, soups too!
Serbia’s location is smack dab in the middle of eastern and western culture in that part of the world. So there’s a turkish, persian influence with lots of phyllo dough, baklava, and on the other hand eggplant, tomatoes and horseradish! Here’s what my plate and dessert looked like:
Beige. Brown. Those are the colors. Who is it that says ‘brown food is good”? They’ve certainly got the caramelization going!
All the vegetables are really cooked down. But of course, pork (which they marinate in wine) always has flavor. And they do meat combinations: Pig/Cow/Lamb.
I was very, very proud of myself. When they started giving me ‘abundance’ (4 of this, 4 of that) I asked if I could do a ‘tasting’. To them, that meant 2 of each, which was just perfect.
I will say that when you grow up in a culture, you love… even crave the food of your childhood. Serbian food is so different to what I was raised on, that I don’t think I had as good an appreciation as I might have. But Judy, who has been there said it all looked good!
Their wine was drinkable, although not worth $7 for 4 ounces. (My server told me this was ‘special’ wine). Special wine? Blessed by the Pope? lol I’m always pretty fussy about what people charge for a small plastic cup of wine. But maybe that’s just me.
Yet I really can’t complain because that plateful of food was only $11. So in the end, with a $3 charge at the door, it was well worth the money and the experience.
They had a handful of gentlemen playing guitars and singing and I remember commenting: “This sounds like Mariachi”.
I went over to the food for sale area, and purchased Ijvar, a staple in Serbia. Got it plain and hot. Want to see the difference. There’s where the eggplant and tomato spread comes in! I wonder if it tastes like ratatouille….
I was glad I came just after it opened. No lines. As I went to leave I noted what a good turn out they had (and thanked myself for coming early)! lol
Happy Eating,
