Ljubljana Restaurant Reviews

A girl's gotta eat. And when a girl is outside Belgrade, she heads for the ethnic restaurants. It should come as no surprise that our first priority was the Mexican restaurant. Joe Penas was recommended by several friends. Close to the city center, Joe's gets off to a very good start. The decor is right on with tacky signs, colorful walls, and rickety chairs and tables. The delicate scent of greasy tortillas wafts through the air and greets you at the door. 

When we opened our menus, the befuddlement began. No quesadillas? Burritos with potatoes? No cheese? Something was wrong. The European interpretation of Mexican food was worrisome. Undaunted, we ordered a pitcher of margaritas and some guacamole. Then stared at the menu some more. The margaritas showed up frozen (too bad) but were quite strong and tasty. The guacamole was made table side and very well done. All in all, we were quite pleased with the start to the meal. When Bob's fajitas arrived the waiter kindly offered to demonstrate the proper construction technique. Clearly Mexican food is a rarity in the area. I had decided to investigate the chicken/potato burrito. The description had not mentioned the 18,000 spices also included. The potatoes absorbed so much heat during cooking that I couldn't taste a thing after the first two bites. For me, it was all downhill from there. In the end, we both decided that there wasn't anything else on the menu we were interested in. We wouldn't return for anything other than margaritas.

For our second dinner excursion we decided to try out a recommendation from the Rick Steve's guidebook. DaBuDa is an Asian restaurant near Kongresni Trg. Thai and Japanese are the main features. The restaurant itself has a very cool vibe with a nice bar and good music. We were surprised at how empty it was on a Saturday night. Until we realized that 8:00 was probably much too early to eat. When we left at 9:30 things were quieter still. It was only when we were out getting coffee at 11:00 that we saw the street life pick up.  

As soon as we opened the menus at DaBuDa we were overwhelmed (in a good way) with choices. There were plenty of fun drinks to choose from. The house-made cranberry and ginger iced tea made my day after so much walking around. For dinner, I went with the sesame beef with coconut milk and basil sauce. It came with the most perfectly steamed vegetables I've eaten in months. The penang curry was really hard to pass up. I guarantee I won't be able to find that in Belgrade. I'd very highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Ljubljana. Especially if you're visiting as a "local" and maybe not so interested in delving into the Slovenian cuisine.

We also had a great lunch at the As Lounge -- not the expensive Gostlina As next door but the attached cafe. They share a kitchen so why bother with the real restaurant? The glassed in patio made for a great Sunday afternoon. The waiter's wine suggestion wasn't so hot but the slab of roast beef on my sandwich was far beyond my expectations. This was no deli sandwich.

It was a weekend of good eats and, now that our appetites are stoked, we are more determined than ever to locate the best Belgrade has to offer.

Ljovely Ljubljana

Serbians are serious about their Easter holiday so we took advantage of the four day weekend and went to Slovenia to check out Ljubljana. The six hour drive stretched into seven since the border crossing into Croatia took a bit longer than we anticipated on Friday morning. The drive was incredibly pleasant, if a little expensive. Aside from the expected gas-price shock, we were amazed that it costs 15 euros to drive across Croatia (each way). And I thought Delaware was a rip-off. 

As we passed into each new country the scenery improved, as did the roads. It's quite surprising how the character of the land distinctly changes at the border. This was especially the case when we crossed into Slovenia. It was like driving onto the set of The Sound of Music. Little towns with red roofs dot the hillsides. Each one surrounds a  church with a tall steeple. We passed through patches of rain but it was still a sunny day so the grass and trees were bright green and the trees all had their spring flowers on them. Ljubljana is not a large place. Only 265,000 people live there so we didn't even see the city until we got off the highway and drove into it. From our hotel window we had a nice view of Ljubljana Castle which sits above the city.

After dropping our bags at the hotel we headed right out into the city center which was only a few blocks away. We were thrilled to see people actually drinking beer at the bars and not just coffee. We weren't in the Balkans anymore. The next morning we would discover just how deep the Austrian influence ran when the beer drinkers were out again at 10 am. Not loud and rowdy beer drinkers. Just brunch beer drinkers. Very civilized. So, we started our evening in a smoke-free pub with a pint of Guinness. Then, well, of course, we located the Mexican restaurant! 

Saturday was probably the most perfect day for sightseeing I have ever been a part of. It was in the mid 60's and sunny in the morning. We headed back to the center of the old part of town, Preseren Square and briefly considered joining a formal tour. 

In the end, we trusted ourselves to Rick Steve's guidance and, after quickly reading the book, began our day by walking through the open market. This market is sort of like Eastern Market in DC except 1,000 times cuter. People cruise through on their bicycles, complete with baskets, to load up on flowers, bread, vegetables and cheese. We hit the hot spots and popped into a few stores as we made our way towards the Dragon bridge, which seems to be in all the pictures of Ljubljana.

Then it was time to head upwards, Ljubljana Castle sat high above us. There is a funicular you can take, and a little "train" that drives on the road. But there are also a couple walking paths you can take up to the top. Since the weather was so cooperative, we decided to hoof it. The walk along the wooded trail made us feel a million miles from Belgrade. The sunshine, fresh air, space, and lack of honking horns was just what we needed. In the end, the Castle was cute but not much to look at. We got a few good views from the top but the main tower was under repair so we couldn't get to the very top. 

In the afternoon the sun died down and it started to sprinkle on and off. We took shelter in stores when necessary and continued our walking tour through some of the city squares. We ventured outside the old city center to check out some lesser sites. For example, the fairly unattractive office building with the "world's largest digital watch" and the first Slovenian skyscraper which is a towering 12 stories. Ljubljana, once known as Emona, was connected with Jason and the Argonauts. As a result, there are a few fairly interesting small collections of Roman ruins with good signage. There is also one large Orthodox church, and the very adorable U.S. Embassy that looks like a chateau.

All of this was followed by a 2.5 hour nap before we could get up and walk some more. This time for a little stroll along the river on our way to dinner. Which, by the way, was lovely. I'll tell you all about the restaurants tomorrow.

Spring Sprang in Serbia Sunday

When we arrived in November we got the impression that it was always gray, cold, and rather dismal here. Crumbling concrete just doesn't do it for me. While that may continue to be the case most of the time, I am delighted to report that spring does indeed make an appearance here. In the last couple of weeks we have seen temperatures in the 70s more than once and we're supposed to hit 80 later this week. Granted, this doesn't bode well for later this summer but, let's not go there yet.

This weekend I gathered up fresh herbs at the market (language barriers aside, it was an overall success) and put some window boxes together. Next week I might tackle some flowers. Little by little my green oasis in the middle of this paved city is coming together. I also managed to coax Bob out of the house on Sunday for some long over due sight seeing. We went to Kalemegdan, an old fortress turned park inside the city of Belgrade. 

Jealous of the fact that it was peak cherry blossom time in DC, I was very excited to find that it was peak plum blossom time here. The pink trees were all the spring I needed. Better yet, it wasn't nearly as crowded as the Tidal Basin. Of course, there aren't nearly as many trees either.

The park a very popular hangout for the locals who, apparently, do not like to spend any time inside their homes. People stroll around the grounds, sit on benches, and get some sun.  Kids climb on old tanks and torpedos.  There is a military museum on the grounds so this makes some sense even if the flowers and weapons make for an odd juxtaposition.

Tired and hungry we left Kalemegdan and walked a few blocks away to hunt for a good place to eat. Passing cafe after cafe we finally found a restaurant putting out thin, crispy pizzas. It had excellent sidewalk seating to boot. Duomo's maybe? Like most places here, it'll be easier to find again just by wandering to it rather than remembering the name or street. We plunked ourselves down and finished off the afternoon people watching. 

It's amazing what a different place Belgrade is now that the weather has warmed up a bit.

Doin' the Pigeon

As a child, it didn't really strike me as odd that Bert kept a pigeon coop on the top of his apartment building on Sesame Street. In some ways, it seemed like a neat way to keep lots of pets all at once. Now that I am an adult, I find the Serbian fascination with pigeons to be disturbing. Little more than rats with wings, I see no need to feed them on street corners or in parks. Especially when they travel in sizable packs that could easily take over the city if only they could organize themselves. After getting pooped on the other day, I fear that their work has already begun. 

Yet, these winged creatures appear to be an integral part of the older population's social life. Common thought patterns include, "It's a sunny/rainy/cold/gray day, I'll go to the park and throw bread at the birds!" Or, "I'm on my way home from the store and have this nice loaf of bread. There's no way I can eat it all. I'll throw half of it on the sidewalk for my friends." But it's not just the older folks. Most disturbing of all is that we have a real-life Bert and Ernie situation across the street. 

Bert visits his pigeons almost every day. One day Ernie came with him. The birds come and go as they please. Some days there are just a few. Other days the coop is overflowing. I have so many questions for Bert. Why does he keep the pigeons? Does he live there? What is he going to do with all those birds? Is it smelly? Does he have to clean up after them? Are there health-risks associated with keeping all those birds there? What is he giving them that makes them come back all the time? 

Perhaps you are thinking that I need to get a hobby. And stop staring out my window. Maybe I will. But it won't be feeding the birds.