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As I wander Europe, I enjoy tasting new things–admittedly often forgetting to take pictures or write about them. Occasionally I do remember to take photos, some of which I will share here. Don’t expect the descriptions to be professional–I’m not a foodie. Some of the foods I eat are more familiar to Americans; others are regional dishes. Some, I could eat every day; some, I would barf if I ever saw them again. Up Today: Croatia
BREAKFAST
Croatia was the first place I’ve encountered a mayo-based peas & carrots mix, let alone at breakfast.
Zinfandel’s, at the Esplanade in Zagreb, had an excellent-tasting breakfast buffet that I thoroughly enjoyed scarfing down.
LUNCH/DINNER
One of the best dishes I ate on our road trip through Croatia was at Mikina Klet in Zagreb. It was a baked dish similar to manicotti, if the manicotti were crepes and they’d fallen into a giant vat of cheese, been scooped out, and served in a smaller vat of cheese. It looked so good that I could not wait to take a bite. I should have waited to take a bite. The cheese was nearly boiling; I burnt my tongue and the top of my mouth, and it hurt for two days.
Also at Mikina Klet, my daughter ordered a local sausage with which we were unfamiliar. What was it called? Yeah, I forget. My daughter did not like it, but my husband did. I tasted it and it was a bit weird and spicy for me. I would not taste it again.
My husband had some skewers of chicken, which he ate along with the sausage my daughter would not eat. I don’t know what the chicken tasted like because I was busy burning my tongue on my own food.
Yep, we ate hamburgers. The burgers from Caffe bar Plum, just outside of Plitvice Lakes National Park, were giant! They weren’t the best burgers of our lives and the buns could have used some superglue to hold them together, but we did not leave disappointed. I would’ve preferred crispier bacon, but alas, the entire non-American world seems to think that bacon should have the consistency of a flip-flop.
One day, we were looking to feed our child something familiar for lunch. There was slim pickins’ at the restaurant, so we chose a club sandwich. She ate three or four during the trip. They weren’t quite like the club sandwich to which we are accustomed—the dressing was different enough to be weird, so we found ourselves scraping it off at some restaurants. But overall, they did not suck.
SNACKS
You know what’s delicious? Anything fried and covered in sugar. That’s why I love funnel cakes. In Zagreb, we came across these little fried balls, which we chose to have sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. I could have eaten 200 of them.
These candy bars were not delicious. I bought them because the kids reminded me of twins I nannied when I was young.
Waffles are all over Europe. They are delicious, and covered with all kinds of toppings–chocolate, fruit sauces, whipped cream, pure heaven. Giant waffle signs entice from outside the restaurants. I lost a picture of some waffles I scarfed down in Germany (I probably ate it).
I’m a fan of baklava. Like, a huge fan. When I first ate Egyptian baklava in Cairo, I was sneaking it into our hotel room and hiding it. I could not believe the size of this baklava in Croatia. It was the size of an actual Egyptian.
To review: If I were back in Croatia looking for something to eat, I would start the day with peas and carrots, as well as pastries; I’d have the manicotti-esque crepe dish for lunch; and I would walk around eating the fried balls. Probably enough to get me through dinner.
Where will I be eating next? Check out my upcoming travel plans! This is the first in the “What I’m Eating Around the World” series. Future posts will include Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK–and who knows where else!
