Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A popular, cheap fast food you'll see everywhere is
burek
(BOO-rehk)—phyllo
dough filled with meat, cheese, spinach, or apples.
Burek
rivals pizza-by-the-slice as
the most popular take-away snack food in the former Yugoslavia.
Grilled meats are a staple of Balkan cuisine. You'll most often see
ć
evap
č
i
ć
i
(cheh-VAHP-chee-chee), orsimply
ć
evapi
(cheh-VAH-pee)—minced meat(typically
a mix of lamb and beef) formed into a sausage-link shape, then grilled. It's sim-
ilar—and similarly named—to a kebab.
Ć
evapi
enthusiasts (a group that includes
pretty much everyone in the Balkans) distinguish between different variations. For
example, Sarajevo-style
(sarajevski
ć
evapi)
is typically eaten with grilled onions and
stuffed into a pita-like flatbread called
somun
; Banja Luka-style
(banjalu
č
ki
ć
evapi)
is one long, continuous
ć
evap
with hot peppers on the side.
Ražnji
ć
i
(RAZH-nyee-chee) is small pieces of steak on a skewer, like a shish ke-
bab.
Pljeskavica
(plehs-kah-VEET-suh) is similar to
č
evap
č
i
ć
i,
except the meat is in
the form of a hamburger-like patty.
Pile
ć
i
is chicken, and
piš
č
an
č
je
is grilled chicken
breast.
Sudžukice
are sausages, and
ć
ufte
are meatballs.
Youjustcan'teatanyofthisstuffwithouttheever-presentcondiment
ajvar
(EYE-
var).Madefromredbellpepperandeggplant,
ajvar
islikeketchupwithakick.Many
Americans pack a jar of this distinctive sauce to remember the flavors of the Balkans
whentheygetbackhome.(Youmayevenbeabletofinditatspecialtygrocerystores
in the US—look for “eggplant/red pepper spread.”)
Particularly in Bosnia, another side-dish you'll see is the soft, spreadable—and
tasty—cheese called
kajmak. Lepinje
is a pita-like grilled bread, which is often
wrapped around
ć
evap
č
i
ć
i
or
pljeskavica
to make a sandwich.
Uštipci
is a fry bread
that's especially popular throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Ajvar
,
kajmak
,
lepinje
, and diced raw onions are the perfect complement to a
“mixed grill”
of various meats on a big platter—the quintessence of Balkan cuisine
on one plate.
Technically,Bosnia-Herzegovinahasthreelanguages—Bosnian,Serbian,andCroatian.But
allthreearemutuallyintelligiblevariantsofwhatwasuntilrecentlyconsideredasinglelan-
guage:Serbo-Croatian.TheCroatiansurvivalphraseson
here
willworkjustfinethroughout
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosniaks and Croats use basically the same Roman alphabet we do,
while Serbs use the Cyrillic alphabet. You'll see both alphabets on currency, official docu-
ments, and road signs, but the Roman alphabet predominates in virtually every destination
covered in this topic. Many people also speak English.
