Wherever you are, Be There

note: the ‘ is actually supposed to be over the c in ´cevapi, but it appear my keyboard is thwarting my efforts at connect accentation

I saw it on the menu over and over again: ´cevapi. Usually near the bottom, usually reasonably priced, and I heard a few people ask after it. I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know how it was pronounced.

After learning a few rules of the Croatian language, I thought it was pronounced chevAPI. So, now I may be able to order it, but no idea what it was, Some sort of meat dish.

One night, we were walking back to our hostel in Split, Croatia. Have I mentioned wine is quite cheap in Croatia? You can buy it in any grocery store, and an expensive bottle works out to $20 CAD. We discovered that $5 CAD was the bottom limit; wines cheaper than that were not worth drinking. You can also buy single beers and ciders in little convenience stands all over the place. They cost about 10 kuna, or $2 CAD, each. You can drink anywhere except beaches. Glass bottles are frowned upon, but still available.

So we were walking back to our hostel. There may have been some beers and ciders consumed. We passed a “fast food” stand (which is anything that is not a sit down restaraunt) on the flat part of two main roads meeting, near a small clump of tiny dumpsters. It smelled a bitt like piss over in the corner, and there were lots of pigeons, and feral cats hanging around earlier that day. Once again, I saw the ubiquitous ´cevapi listed. Well let’s have a street meat adventure! In another language! 10 pieces for 28 kuna ($6 cad)? Sounds like a deal.

I managed to order the ´cevapi without embarrassing myself, and tho most people in Croatia, especially those who interact with tourists at all, speak very good english, this vendor was not such a one. I managed to make myself understood, asking for 10 pieces by holding up my fingers, and he let me know it would be 5 minutes. Sounds good! Whatever I am getting takes 5 min to prepare!

The vendor then pulls out what looks like short thick skinless sausages from the fridge, and throws them on the grill. Aww yeah, we have street meat in the making!

After  a suitable amount of time had passed, the vendor got his younger, more fluent helper to ask us if we would like the red sauce. Umm, sure? His manner was that of the red sauce being the thing most people got, so I assented.

A warm mound of dense bread, cut into a pocket, a bunch of skinless sausages, a smear of red sauce, and we were holding ´cevapi! We took it back to the hostel, and were assured by the guy running the desk, who lived in the area, that this was the best food, and indeed, everyone ate it. We dug in, and it was delicious! The bread was springy, the meat perfectly seasoned, and the mystery red sauce the perfect mild accompaniment to the meat. We enjoyed every bit!

The next day, we went for a walk around Split, and stopped for a ´cevapi at a small stand. They were out! However, a Croatian resident with excellent english heard our plight, and recommended a great place for ´cevapi, by the name of something Pauline’s. It was on a corner in Old Town, we should go there! So we took off, and asking several people for the best ´cevapi, and confirming Pauline’s, we finally found it. For 22kuna, we had fresh grilled meat, soft mild cheese, and superior buns. The red sauce was fresh and delecious, the cheese a perfect accompaniment.

Croatia, I salute your cuisine! From peka (white wine, potatoes, carrots and lamb/beef/octopus) cooked in a cast iron iron closed pot surrounded by coals) to calamari (actually  whole small squid caught fresh and grilled with butter to perfection) to sladoled (cheap gelato-like ice cream available on every other corner) to ´cevapi, things are delicious here.