Entry 3: Serbia

 A Carnivore’s Dream

Serbian Living

After almost six weeks in Croatia and Montenegro, we moved on to the former capital of Yugoslavia, the current capital of Serbia, and the most populated city in the Western Balkans, Belgrade. We spent a month there in August, our longest stay in a single place to date. It was a chance to slow down in a city we had heard about from friends but knew nothing of first hand.

Our lodging was a one-bedroom apartment close to Old Town Belgrade 

and adjacent to the green market.

We had a full open kitchen with an oven and dishwasher (we didn’t end up using either),

and a larger than average living room in a building with an elevator (finally no more stairs!).

It was also close to two major bus and tram interchanges, which made traveling around town easy.

The best part, however, was its proximity to the attractions in the Old Town,

the promenades along both the Sava and Danube Rivers,

and the beautiful sunsets over the Sava while having a drink in a riverside bar.

Traditional Serbian Dining

Serbs love their meat! Grilled meats — in patties, sausages, or skewered — can be found and tasted everywhere! Veal, beef, and chicken are the primary meats as pork is not as popular there.

The best traditional meal we had was during a tour to the Iron Gate Gorge in eastern Serbia at the Kapetan Misin Breg, (https://www.kapetanmisinbreg.rs/) a popular tour stop. Luckily, our small group of six were the only guests that day. As we had two vegetarians in our tour group, we had an amazing spread of vegetables to complement the meats.

It was hard to believe the entire meal only cost US$12 per person! To top it off, the property had a greenhouse where the vegetables were grown and numerous pavilions for diners overlooking the Danube River.

That meal was perfect!

Another traditional restaurant we found was a quick-order, cafeteria-style Sač (Сач) cooking outlet (https://www.facebook.com/namineksognjiste/) that was popular with the Belgrade lunch crowd.

Of the many available dishes, we went with bread, meatballs, and moussaka, all cooked sač style.

For more information on sač cooking, check out our video on Dubrovnik:

https://youtu.be/l7gJUdK0ky0

Fried potatoes are the main sides that are served with grilled meat and most

dishes in Belgrade.

However, in more traditional restaurants, you may get other vegetables, cheeses, and breads.

Green salads are widely available. 

Sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and coleslaw with vinegar (no mayo) can be ordered as individual sides. 

Vegetable sides are always ordered in addition to a main dish. Sometimes, sautéed chard and potatoes were offered but there were never more than two vegetables on the menu. 

The tomatoes and cucumbers were always sweet and juicy. You never had to

worry that they were not ripe enough.

Soup options were more common in Serbia than in Croatia. We tried pumpkin, fish soup, and veal broth, which were served with bread. It was a nice option as we had some rainy and cooler days in Belgrade around mid-August.

Another good thing about our flat location was finding a Balkan/Turkish baklava store (http://balkanbaklava.rs/kontakt/) just around the corner.

The choices varied daily so we got to explore their various offerings. Everything was delicious! I especially loved the chocolate one, which was less sweet than most.

Non-Traditional Serbian Dining

We found a few non-traditional restaurants while in Belgrade.

The first was Rodizio (https://rodizio.rs/), a Brazilian churrascaria restaurant chain, with an all-you-can-eat meat-fest option for about US$30 per person. There were a la carte options as well.

It was a treat for our son as he celebrated his birthday when we met with him and his

girlfriend in Belgrade. While the meat options were similar to the US restaurant experience, the salad bar was not offered. It may have been due to COVID-19 restrictions.

We searched for and found a highly rated but small Bosnian restaurant called Sarajevski ćevap „To je to“

(http://sarajevski-cevapi.com/). We were the only diners that day but the food was delicious and inexpensive. They had the traditional cabbage rolls on the menu, a traditional Serbian dish, which can be ordered per piece.

Another good find was a northwestern Chinese halal restaurant a short walk from our flat called YXlanzh d.o.o. (https://glovoapp.com/rs/sr/beograd/yxlanzh-beg/), which served amazing Xinjiang Chinese food with hand-pulled noodles.

The dishes we had there were unlike any we had at US Chinese restaurants. The portions were large and

their menu had various options for vegetarians. Menu items ranged from $5-$30 but were all meant for sharing.

On our last night in Belgrade, we ate at Miradouro (http://www.miradouro.rs/), a waterfront Portuguese restaurant to enjoy the Sava River promenade one last time. The meal was just OK but the pastel de nata was a wonderful treat.

Thoughts on Serbia

So what can we say about our first month-long city stay? It was good to really slow down and plan to sightsee, maybe every other day, or alternate long walking days with shorter ones. I also had the time to cook more meals, especially the Filipino and American dishes we were missing. Comfort food was great for rainy days or when I was feeling under the weather for a week. We highly recommend

slower travel and experiencing a place beyond the tourist attractions and restaurants geared to tourists. Our summer in Belgrade involved numerous walks around town, watching the sunset, and hearing the occasional fireworks around the city (apparently fireworks are lit up for any private occasion in Belgrade like birthdays and weddings).

As for Belgrade as a city for foodies, we were surprised to see a good variety of international restaurants (e.g. Mexican, Japanese, Portuguese) for the Balkans. The cafe and wine culture are evident everywhere with almost every sidewalk and alley filled with tables.

Matt loved Serbian coffee, which is very strong, unfiltered, and sipped leisurely.

We heard of a restaurant with a good Tasting Menu for $70/person, which was above our budget given the variety of dining options. Meals in Belgrade were relatively inexpensive (plan about $20 – $60 for two; higher with alcoholic drinks) even around Old Town.

The average price for a decent bottle of Serbian wine at a grocery was less than $6. We even bought one for $1.50 on sale!

The Sava waterfront has the greatest concentration of international restaurants as it is directly on the port for the Danube river ships and is close to the fortress. While we did not see many American tourists, there were a lot of guests from Russia, Germany, Poland, and other Balkan countries.

Belgrade is certainly a city worth exploring for its rich history, culture, people, and cuisine. There are many things for the curious traveler to discover here that sets it apart from the rest of Europe. Isn’t that the best reason to travel?

Explore food anywhere!

~Avic