Slovenian Supper

Slovenia may sound like an obscure place to visit, and perhaps it is. But the breathtaking mountains and green crystal streams and lakes are a wilderness lover's paradise - and the food isn't bad, either. My first experience with Slovenian food was breakfast: Slovenian coffee with milk (amazing), and a pastry that looked like a croissant, but tasted just like kolache dough! (Kolache is a Slovak pastry my family makes every year for the holidays, honoring the traditions of my grandfather's heritage, and it should come as no surprise that the pastries in neighboring Slovenia would be similar, but needless to say I was excited.)

After a day of hiking we stopped at a restaurant - recommended by a local - in the small town of Bled, by the scenic lake. The menu had everything from pork to poultry, goulash (a Hungarian-style stew), and fish. We went with the mixed grill, which I envisioned would be kebabs with grilled onions and peppers, perhaps, and instead out came a plate of ... meat.

Grilled sausages, pork, chicken, and a spicy ground beef mixture with onions that was incredible. Now I'm not a big meat eater, but this Slovenian meat platter was just too good to pass up. The condiments included spicy mustard and ajvar, an Eastern European sauce made from tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, served with meat and fish all throughout Slovenia and Croatia. Perfect compliments to the succulent, savory meats, and after a day in the mountains it could not have been better.

The other food that naturally we had to try was the cream cake that's famous in the Bled region. Light and airy cream cake, what more can I say? It was divine.