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| Valentina and kids |
Our babysitter, Valentina, watched the kids tonight while Adam and I went out to eat. Valentina was our lunch waitress several weeks ago, and the kids took a liking to her, so I asked if she would like to babysit. This was her second time with the kids.
One of the nice things about not being in a touristy area is that the restaurants here largely cater to locals. So if you are interested in eating food like the locals eat, and regional specialties, our industrial port city is well-situated. Unfortunately, a lot of the restaurants on our travels within Croatia have been closed. Or the kids are STARVING TO DEATH and will die unless they get pizza at the first restaurant we see. These impediments, plus not having a babysitter, are largely why it's taken us six weeks to enjoy the perfect Croatian meal.
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| Surliche goulash |
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| Ugly but amazingly delicious |
We had a drink at a bar -- I had a "marakino" cherry brandy and the cherry in my drink didn't taste anything like what we put on top of ice cream at home. We then walked to Konoba Nebulova (in a translator app, Konoba means tavern, but it really is a word for a family restaurant that serves hearty, local, good food at a reasonable price). And wine and beer. With our half liter of wine, I had pickled sardines over a green salad and they were delicious, a little like pickled herring but smaller and not sweet. Adam ordered surliche pasta, which is an Istrian type of pasta, like penne but filled in and without the ridges, in a cream and truffle sauce (truffles are another Istrian specialty). I had the surliche pasta over a beef goulash, and this is also a famous dish in our region. Adam had a bass that could have been the most delicious fish we've ever tasted. It was grilled with the head and skin on, bones-in, but the skin got thin and crispy, so that it was almost like a battered fish. This is the first time I've ever eaten part of a fish with the eye sockets (at least I think they were sockets, I avoided looking at that part of the fish) staring out at me, but it was so delicious, I'd do it again. Cherry strudel for dessert and an uphill walk home capped off the perfect meal. Valentina made nutella crepes for the kids while we were enjoying our feast, so they didn't feel deprived in the least.
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| Worth the wait |
