Balkan Food

The island of Vis, the farthest inhabited off the Dalmatian coast, has long been known for its fishing and its fishermen. Some go so far as to claim that the inventions of these …

Last summer, I published my recipe for Bosnian Ćevapi with Kajmak, Ajvar, and Lepinja. Although I privately considered it the first chapter of a survey of grilled meat in former Yugoslavia, maybe …

Like nearly every European country that’s been invaded by Muslim Turks at some point in its history, Albania counts pilaf in its culinary repertoire. This is a rice dish that can be …

Recent visits to Yugo restaurants like Kafana left me craving more grilled meat. Something slightly different from my usual Caucasian and Central Asian kebab experiments, yet not completely unrelated — after all, the …

In most people’s consciousness, Eastern Europe does not evoke delicious seafood dishes. Apart from caviar or smoked fish (which most people actually eat rarely), the images that come to mind tend to be of thick brown meat …

I’m finally starting to act upon my New Year’s resolution of blogging more national dish recipes! Earlier this month it was Liberland, now it’s Albania’s turn. And you even get two dishes for …

A few weeks ago, I welcomed the arrival of Liberland, a new Eastern Bloc country by virtue of geography, if not ideology. I vowed to offer my services as the state’s first executive …

Inspired by my most recent visit to Sammy’s Roumanian and, posthumously, by a dinner at the now defunct Kutsher’s Tribeca, I decided to try my hand at the Romanian tenderloin — that …

A note about my restaurant reviews: New York City counts many Eastern European restaurants scattered across the five boroughs, most of them ignored by restaurant critics and diners alike. I intend to visit …

Call it my resolution for 2015: I’ve decided to extend (complete?) my collection of national dishes this year. I’ve already covered Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, maybe a couple more, so I’ve got, …