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Archive for Croatia Split

Split Croatia – Boban

Aug24

Restaurant: Boban

Location: Hektorovićeva 49, 21000 Split. Rezervacije: 021/543-300 info@restaurant-boban.com

Date: July 21 & 24, 2012

Cuisine: Dalmatian

Rating: Split Institution

_

Boban has been around for almost 40 years, which is forever in restaurant time. And while not the most modernist place in the universe they still do a very good job.


There is a nice interior (clearly updated since 1973).


And a lovely patio.


Poship is another Dalmatian white grape and widely available. This particular midrange example is easy to find and makes a good food wine with seafood.

The menu as usual is large but also fairly typical.


We started with some fish pate, this one being a mix of different white fishes.


“Fish carpaccio.” While the Croatians inherited this dish from the Italians, they don’t follow the “no cheese with fish” rule – in fact, they love the combination. This was a nice carpaccio and styled more like a beef one than seafood.


“Steak tartar.” I do love good steak tartar and this was a very generous portion. The beef was also good. The prep was a little reminiscent of hamburger meat given it’s strong Tabasco/Worchester sauce flavor (there was tons of other stuff in there too). Tasty on bread but not peppery enough and a little smooth to enjoy as easily straight up.


“Penne pomodoro.”


“Fuzi with smoked ham and truffles.” This was a typical form of the Istrian dish. Good, but not as reach and creamy as the one at Kadena.


“Gnocchi with shrimps and butter sauce.” Croatian gnocchi are huge, but tasty.


“Mushroom risotto.”


“Scampi risotto.” This is also a typical Croatian risotto in that it’s soupier and less buttery than the Italian equivalent. When done well, like this one, they are quite good.


“Black cuttlefish risotto.” Very common in Dalmatia and hard to get right. It’s salty and briny  and requires a good balance (which this one had).


Salads tend to be small side courses tossed on the table like in Italy. This is a typical “mixed salad.”


And a “tomato salad.” I was told by those who can tolerate that much tomato that the Dalmatian tomatoes were fantastic.


“Almond semi-freddo.” A very nice dish with local candied oranges and cinnamon.


My son amused himself at the end of the meal by mixing the leftovers into a “soup” and trying to get us to eat it.

Overall, Boban is a very good place. It was probably the second best place we ate at in Split after Kadena. The atmosphere and service were lovely and the dishes quite good, if sometimes a bit “classic.”

For more Croatian dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Split Croatia – Konoba Nevera
  2. Split Croatia – Kadena
  3. Game of Thrones – Croatia
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: 1973, Adriatic Sea, Boban, Croatia, Croatia Split, Dalmatia, eating-croatia

Split Croatia – Kadena

Aug17

Restaurant: Kadena

Location: Ivana pl. Zajca 4, Split. tel./fax. +385.21.389.400 info@restorankadena.com

Date: July 19 & 23, 2012

Cuisine: Dalmatian

Rating: Best kitchen we ate at in Split

_

Food in Dalmatia is of a generally fairly high standard but sometimes a bit repetitive. Most restaurants have a very similar menu and the influences of modernism are infrequent. The ingredients are quite good, particularly the Adriatic Seafood, but sometimes flavors are a bit more muted than I prefer. Things have less zing than in Spain and even considerably less garlic than in Italy.


Kadena was probably the best place we found in Split and is quite good. The view and outside patio was absolutely delightful too.


“Fish pate” is the traditional Dalmatian amuse. It’s basically tunafish but this particular example was very good. Besides various seasonings it’s dusted with almonds and olive oil, both excellent and local.

Croatians tend to be very protective about products that they do make, and hence we rarely saw any international wine. Given the seafood heavy cuisine I tended to stick to whites, trying to find interesting local wines as opposed to generic new world variants. “GRK” (Greek in Croatian) is a Hellenistic Greek that came to the Island of Korčula in recent centuries. It was my favorite and this is a great example. This is a full bodied white grape with a fairly high alcohol (hot weather = 14+ %!). It has a lot of flavor and is an excellent food wine made only by three producers.



Have a little menu!


As usual at better restaurants we were offered the fish plate to chose our victim. The Adriatic lobster was still squirming.


We chose a large sea bass (Branzino) and this John Dory. Ugly but tasty.


Local Croatian cheeses. Croats make fine cheeses along the Italian model. They tend to be mild to middle powered and  flavorful.


“Rucola, Cherry Tomatoes and Grana Padano Cheese.” This Italian cheese is in the Parmesan family (hence the Grana bit).


“Vegetarian Salad. Rucola, lamb’s lettuce, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, grana padano.”


“Salad with Shrimps. Shrimps, arugula, cherry tomatoes, green salad, grana padano.”


“Ravioli stuffed with Spnach and Curd.” Curd is ricotta-like cheese. For my three year-old’s palette the mushroom sauce was subbed out for tomato sauce.


“Surlice Pasta with smoked ham and truffles.” I had this pasta dish at least half a dozen times in Croatia and this particular version was one of the richest and tastiest. It had a lot of local smoked ham. This cousin of Prosciutto is stronger flavored, closer to a Virginia ham.


“Risotto with Scampi, Mangold, and Brie.” A seemingly odd combination, with was one of the two best rissotos I had in the country, and I had a lot of them – many good!


A different producer of Grk, this one more common.


“Fillet of Sea Bass stuffed with Scampies. Broccoli veloute with flavored potatoes.”


The grilled sea bass. Simple but good.


The John Dory.


Some excellent grilled vegetables.


“Lamb chops marinated with Mediterranean herbs.” I’ve been spoiled by New Zealand lamb. Here in Croatia it’s a little more old school, tougher, and cooked more.

Overall, Kadena is a very good place. A lovely patio, a large menu, fresh ingredients, and good execution. Definitely the best we had in Split and one of the top couple  we had during our entire month in Croatia. If you are staying in Split you shouldn’t miss it.

For more Croatian dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Split Croatia – Konoba Nevera
  2. Game of Thrones – Croatia
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Croatia Split, Croatian cuisine, Dalmatia, eating-croatia, John Dory, Kadena, Korčula, Wine

Split Croatia – Konoba Nevera

Aug10

Restaurant: Konoba Nevera

Location: Firula Road 17, 21000 Split. Tel: 021/388-736

Date: July 17, 2012

Cuisine: Dalmatian

Rating: Tasty

_

Our first stop in Croatia was Split, a seaside town in Northern Dalmatia. During the third century AD, the Roman Emperor Diocletian “retired” to Split and built a great pleasure palace by the sea. He had toured all of the known world and pronounced Dalmatia to be the loveliest part of it. It sure seems like a pretty choice spot. The Adriatic is sparkling blue, the weather is warm, but seasoned by a brisk maritime breeze.

As we were fresh off the transatlantic haul, we chose a casual place not far from our hotel. Konoba seems to roughly translate as “tavern” in English and appears to mean a traditional and informal eatery.

Despite the casual vibe, Konoba Nevera rates #3 for split on Trip Advisor. Nothing like a good kitchen!


Konoba Nevera is a block or two back from the water with a delightful breeze.


The interior is cute and casual.


Perhaps leaning a hair toward kitcsh.


This is one of those huge multipage menus. I was lazy and only photoed about a third of it. As latter travels would prove, the contents are archetypically Dalmatian. Menus don’t vary a lot here, but execution does.


Posip (pronounced Poshipa) is a popular Dalmatian white varietal mostly from the Island of Korcula. It’s medium bodied, maybe even full bodied, and not unlike a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Fuller, less sapidity, and more fruit perhaps. A very nice food wine and not boring like many international whites.


This was good home baked rustic bread.


“Caprese.”


“Fish soup.” There is rice, not to mention a lot of olive oil, in this soup.


“Treasures of the sea.” This is a mixed appetizer plate. We have some marinated octopus, sardines, anchovies, fish carpaccio and a bit of salad. The balls in the scallop shell are an awesome tuna salad cousin that is sweeter and more briny than the American standard. This was all nice stuff, all fresh and light.


“Spaghetti pomodoro.” A very light olive oil, tomato sauce with a bit of herbs.


“Seafood risotto.” I love this form of risotto and this was a fine example with a nice bright tomato and brine taste and very fresh shellfish.


Some really tasty grilled vegetables.


“Dorade, grilled.” Salty and succulent, fresh white fish doesn’t really get much better than this. Very very similar to the same dish in Italy or Greece — and probably much of the rest of the Mediterranean for that matter.

This was a great first taste of Croatian cuisine. I found it flavorful, yet light. There isn’t a lot of butter or animal fat in most of these dishes. They lean toward seafood and olive oil. Somewhere between Italy and Greece, literally and a culinary way. I’m liking it so far.

For more Croatian dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Game of Thrones – Croatia
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Adriatic, Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Croatia Split, Dalmatia, Diocletian, eating-croatia, Konoba Nevera, rissoto, Seafood, Split
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