Just Ate The Best Meal Of My Life In Croatia...

[love2travel]

As many of you know, food and travel are my obsessions.  Trying new foods for the first time absolutely thrills me.  I am open to trying anything once (unless it is illegal or endangered or unethical).  This trip we went to a place on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations".  He said it was truly amongs the best food he had ever put into his mouth. 

 

We placed ourselves into the chef's hands and they just kept bringing more and more things to try.  Altogether 16 dishes!!  Some of the less common included:

 

- shark liver mousse with onion marmalade

- conger eel pate

- raw mullet dipped in sesame seeds and lightly grilled with dandelion and arugula sauce

- the best octopus salad I have ever had - exceedingly tender

- steamed squid eggs with smoked chile

- red mullet sashimi with balsamic

- bonito and mackerel confit

- scallops in shells with roe in white wine

- Brodeta (traditional Istrian fish stew) with spider crab, squid and polenta (of course I've had squid and polenta millions of times but spider crab not very often)

 

AND...get this...this place creates gluten free and lactose free desserts every day.  The restaurant closes for the month of August simply because the fish/shellfish are in warmer waters and not as perfect.

 

My dessert was a flourless white chocolate cream cake with a bittersweet chocolate cake base full of almonds.

 

I've traveled all over and eaten at Michelin starred restaurants.  Had veal head and brains in Paris last Fall.  Well, this place is the most superbly fresh food I  have ever eaten.  It was not molecular gastronomy - each dish contained only a few ingredients and really highlighted what came from the sea that day.  The menu changes constantly, depending on what the fishermen bring in. 

 

The chef was very skilled, highly aware of celiac and extremely knowledgable.  What they created for my husband and I was absolutely out-of-this-world incredible.

 

For those of you who are passionate about food, you MUST travel to Croatia.  You can even stay at our house! 

[IrishHeart]

I can be there the next time you go....I mean it.!!

 

I just left a drool puddle on my laptop AGAIN after reading this description because I already drooled when I read it on email

 

meanwhile, my non-seafood loving hubs would be looking for the nearest steakhouse........

[GottaSki]

Oh My Goodness....that is one heck of an "I'm Back" post....drooling here too and my house smells pretty darn good with things currently in my oven....

 

Thanks for sharing

[jerseyangel]

As soon as I saw the name of the thread, I couldn't wait to see what you had (and hear you describe it all ). Sounds incredible!

[Celiac Mindwarp]

I'm sold. Just the squid alone got me interested.

Glad you have been having fun

[IrishHeart]

 Just the squid alone got me interested.

 

rewritten line from Jerry Maguire: " You had me at squid"

[love2travel]

Yes, it was another stupendous trip. 

 

The chef had me at squid, too.    After one quick glance, I sort of noticed that he was hot rather nice looking, if you like tall, dark and handsome with a thick accent.  Usually I do not notice these things...  but this time it could not be helped.

[jerseyangel]

Win-win!

[IrishHeart]

yeah, I am guessing we all may have noticed that? .

[Celiac Mindwarp]

I don't mind another chef for the compound. You had me at rather nice.

[love2travel]

I don't mind another chef for the compound. You had me at rather nice.

       Ummm...yeah.  Croatians are often tall, usually have dark hair with olive skin and lovely Slavic cheekbones.  We tipped well - wonder if he'd join us willingly at the compound???     Their accents make my legs turn rubbery.  You would be so impressed with how well I am learning the language.  It is known to be one of the most difficult grammatically there is.  However, I had a 15-minute conversation with a man on whose land we were unintentionally trespassing.  Of course my sentences were half sentences and broken and he knew absolutely no English, yet we managed to understand one another. 

 

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Croatia?  In case I didn't...

 

I LOVE CROATIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!        

[IrishHeart]

so, love 2......Do you even like visiting Croatia? You really do not talk much about it.

[love2travel]

so, love 2......Do you even like visiting Croatia? You really do not talk much about it.

 

     I think I may have mentioned it twice before, perhaps once in 2011 and once in 2012.  Something like that. 

[notme]

(sorry, i was busy reading karen's status update....)  

 

rewritten line from Jerry Maguire: " You had me at squid"

LOL !

 

that is some menu, love2 !  you may be more adventurous than i - i think the veal head thing would just be too much lolz - spider crab??  hmmmmmmm.....  like a soft shell crab?

 

you couldn't sneak a picture of the very nice chef???!!  or at least the food hahahaa food porn..  the hot guy holding delicious food??  because, that would be worth a thousand words

[love2travel]

(sorry, i was busy reading karen's status update....)  

 

LOL !

 

that is some menu, love2 !  you may be more adventurous than i - i think the veal head thing would just be too much lolz - spider crab??  hmmmmmmm.....  like a soft shell crab?

 

you couldn't sneak a picture of the very nice chef???!!  or at least the food hahahaa food porn..  the hot guy holding delicious food??  because, that would be worth a thousand words

There were several more dishes to the menu but I did not post them all.  They were all spectacular!  Spider crab is a delicacy in the Mediterranean and is delicious.  It is sweet and succulent - fairly different from soft shell crab in both looks and taste.  You must try it.

 

I was too busy focusing on the food to take pictures of the chef and thought of it after we had left, darn it.  But we have pictures of each dish.  I can post a few of our favourites. 

[notme]

 

 

I was too busy focusing on the food to take pictures of the chef and thought of it after we had left, darn it.  But we have pictures of each dish.  I can post a few of our favourites. 

yummmmz.  lolz ^ love2, takes pictures of the food  i'm thinking i would probably do the same thing  we are a bunch of crazies!

[IrishHeart]

(sorry, i was busy reading karen's status update....)  

 

 

 uh boy....what's she up to now??  gotta take a lookeeloo...

[GottaSki]

I'm lost...are we or are we not headed to Croatia to kidnap -- oh I mean recruit this most excellent chef to be L2T's sous chef at the compound?  

 

And what is this Karen's Status update -- I couldn't find what you all are chatting 'bout???

[IrishHeart]

I'm lost...are we or are we not headed to Croatia to kidnap -- oh I mean recruit this most excellent chef to be L2T's sous chef at the compound?  

 

 

YES!!! ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

And what is this Karen's Status update -- I couldn't find what you all are chatting 'bout???

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/statuses/user/33934-kareng/?status_id=5653

[love2travel]

I'm lost...are we or are we not headed to Croatia to kidnap -- oh I mean recruit this most excellent chef to be L2T's sous chef at the compound?  

 

And what is this Karen's Status update -- I couldn't find what you all are chatting 'bout???

YES!  I know where he lives.  Well, not really, but I know where he cooks.  We're going back in four months - this time I'll try to sneak a photo (maybe one from the front and another from the back so you can see all the lovely roses and semi-tropical plants growing in the background   ).