Eat Like Ushi

I was really surprised to find a tiny falafel joint is the TA #1 in Ohrid. Considering the lake and therefore seafood, as well as the town is probably visited by less budget-conscious tourists made it unusual. Even still the restaurants aren't that expensive, so why is this takeaway place so high?

A lady and her child sat inside waiting for the diners to come - it was a bit early at 5.45pm. But for 170 den, a serve of hummus & falafel (bread 100g, falafel 6x 15g, tahini 15g, salad, chickpeas 100g) was served. The 4 of us shared 2 of these and ordered another 10 falafels to share.

They were good cheap small falafels, a bit salty alone but good with the salad and bread. The tahini was excellent and thick. Salads are quite simple but pickled cucumber is nice. However the bread is served cold and not very soft, which is the only let down.

It's a good change from typical Balkan food and the price is great, although I'd had much better at Pilpel in London and also a random place in Amman. Not essential to try.

January was a beautiful time to be in Ohrid - cool temperatures however we were blessed with sunshine and perfect weather to wander around the cobblestoned town. After watching a marvellous sunset from the Church of Saints Clement & Pantelemon, it was time to settle for dinner. Unfortunately a lot of restaurants are closed during this quiet period, including Kaj Kanevce which was the one I wanted to try most in Ohrid. Next to it is Kaneo, which I had also read a lot about, however the prices are significantly higher and our host didn't rate it. Since it was a bit late and we were feeling a little lazy, we ended up at this restaurant right outside Saint Sophia church.

It had been recommended by our host and additionally the place was actually quite busy, much more than any other restaurant we had walked past.

A good local wine was served by the glass at 180 den for 0.2L. Bargain.

- Eggplant with seeds & mayonnaise;
- Eel in a pan 660 den for 300g - baked and served in a claydish with soft thick cuts and charred flesh. Excellent;
- Fried carp 420 den for 300g - like a soft schnitzel with simple flavour and ok firm flesh. Simple garnishes. It must be price per kg for the plate (as it can't be 300g fish);
- Ohrid cake - burnt hard caramel with walnuts, soft cake, chocolate coat.

A good meal and I did enjoy the eel from Ohrid Lake. It does remind me of the Butrint Lake eel I enjoyed in Albania not so long ago (https://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/the-mussel-house-ksamil-09-2019).

After plenty of Balkans cuisine it was time to have something a little different. Ohrid has a lot of pizza places for whatever reason and everyone from our transfer driver (Cosa Nostra) to our apartment host (Via Sacra) to a lady on the street (Leonardo) had their recommendation.

We tried Via Sacra first but unfortunately they were closed (well it looked open but the door wouldn't) and so wandered down the cobbled streets to Leonardo.

- Lasagna boloneze (meat sauce, pasta) 250 den - strong crusty cheese, meat sauce, and soft sheets served in an oven dish. Really excellent and would make Garfield proud;
- Pizza Leonardo (tomato sauce, yellow cheese, ham, mushrooms, hot sausage, sour cream, olives, hot peppers) 290 den - a little unusual in that the crust had sesame seeds. The ingredients were ok and as expected. Passata was served additionally which seemed a bit odd;
- Macedonian salad (roasted peppers, tomato, onion) 120 den - fine.

A standard pizza and salad held up by an excellent lasagna. I would come back here for the lasagna alone, but otherwise would try a different pizzeria next time.

After the morning seeing the Bay of Bones museum and then the peacocks at St. Naum Monastery, it was time for lunch and enjoying the winter sun. I had Ribar on my list, but our driver called and said they were closed. There was also Rritja e Koranit found from Google maps, but it was on the other side of St. Naum to our return to Ohrid.

Our driver took us here. The hotel part and the higher end decor inside did make me wonder. He did choose the place as it had a terrace across the lake, which meant braving the smoking section. But as the sun gleamed through, it was worth the compromise.

Ohrid bread came out first which was a crispy pretzel with sesame seeds. Really nice and went well with the trout soup.

- Trout soup (trout, carrot, lemon, flour, spices, pepper, oil, salt, parsley) 160 den - thick and delicious with chunks of fish flesh and flavoured with the vegetables and butter. Really really good;
- Ohrid trout style (trout, peppers, tomato, onion, oil, salt, paprika, lemon, potatoes, broccoli, parsley) 1580 den/kg - trout came served whole but already despined. It was expertly grilled until the flesh was firm but not overcooked and not burnt at all. It had good flavour cooked with onion and yellow peppers inside until those additives were sweet. I can't remember how much we ordered, but I think about 500g (of the dish, not the fish alone);
- Fried belvica (belvica, salt, oil, potatoes, lemon, broccoli, tomato, flour) 1900 den/kg - fish seasoned and fried to a crisp skin. Flesh was very soft although not much flavour in itself. Again, not entirely sure how much we ordered but I think about 500g was the 4 fish and sides;
- Salad for 4.

It was a nice lunch even if the terrace sunshine meant smokers were near us. The food was good though and fish very well cooked.

Our driver did say that food was much cheaper on the Albania side of Lake Ohrid and often they are hired for a full day tour of the lake and so have lunch after crossing over. Trout fishing on the Macedonia side is regulated and hence the availability is less and the price higher. In Albania, it is lawless (so he said).

After several days of eating out in a row, we felt like eating in. Unfortunately noone could be bothered going to the supermarket and with the effort of buying ingredients including condiments and cooking, compared to the prices of restaurants in The Balkans it almost didn't seem worth the effort.

I wanted to wander around the Art Bridge at night with the lights over the statues, and so found a Macedonian restaurant along the way. It doesn't look like much from the outside and when seeing the red sign (before the yellow sign) it looks like the subterranean place is very closed. However pass the corridor toilets and into the restaurant, and you get to an open room with a large tree in it. I think that makes it count as technically outdoor and so people do smoke in there.

- Grilled vegetables 150 den - simple and delicious;
- Tavche gravche 100 den - standard. It's the 2nd time we'd had them and probably don't need to again;
- Grilled trout 800den/kg (290g) - salty crispy outside. Inside was a bit dry. Potatoes good but could've been crisper and charred;
- Risotto with mushrooms 150 den - loads of mushrooms in a stock that wasn't too strong. Not al dente, but a nice dish overall.

It wasn't the best meal we'd had and the risotto and grilled vegetables were probably the nicest of the night. We had intentionally tried to order a few different items to the mainly meats so far for the variety. Nonetheless still a hearty dinner and incredibly good value.

The Ottoman rule of Macedonia means Turkish influence is noted in the cuisine throughout. Surprisingly there weren't that many Turkish sweets shops around and I was fortunate to find this lady selling freshly made product. I have no idea what the name of this stall is, and it certainly doesn't come up on Google maps (to be fair most of the Old Bazaar doesn't) but at 300 denars/kg and 10 pieces of baklava costing around 200, it doesn't get much cheaper than this.

The baklava had a small amount of pistachio on top and a thicker layer of walnuts in the middle. Generally I do like the ones with pistachios in the middle too, but this is a cheaper alternative and still good. The syrup had just the right amount of sweetness and the pastry still had some crispness to it.

It lasted a good few days and then all gone...

After the relatively interesting (and long 3 hour) Free Walking tour, we ended up in front of the fortress. A leisurely stroll back down through the Old Bazaar took me past a baklava place, a lot of jewelry and ornamental stores, a fresco, and finally for lunch. I had two options in the Old Bazaar - Destan or Kaj Serdarot. I picked Serdarot for no particular reason, maybe because Serdarot had better Google ratings (acknowledging the limitations of that approach) and Destan has a few other branches to try if I really want to (including 2 much closer to the Airbnb).

It's a simple place and looks like a family one. The older male seems to be the host and waiter and the female seems to be the cook. Of course the food here is the kebab/kebap/cevapi simply grilled. Between the 4 of us, we ordered teleski (10 kebabs and sides), one sharska burger, a grilled cheese and bread. They all came out served together on a nice big platter.

The kebabs were a very smooth beef. Burger was actually a similar mince meat patty pressed flat but with cheese in between. The fries were very. He warned us the ajvar was spicy, but unfortunately it wasn't at all for us, however nonetheless very good and flavoursome with peppers. Grilled bread was very good topped with grated cheese. Grilled cheese was soft and salty.

A very good and cheap hearty meal. I was stunned they didn't have ayran - I can't imagine why especially for a grilled meat place. Ah well.

The area around Bohemian Street is full of lively restaurants (well, less lively on Sunday in winter) but there's plenty around and lots of lights giving atmosphere to the region. I can only imagine what it would be like in summer. Our Airbnb host had recommended finding something and that area and coincidence would mean that Cardak was already on my list. Gostilnica Dukat was also semi-closeby and is rated TA #2, but didn't make it there.

That evening our waiter was very impressive, chatting and joking with us, and also mentioning that a group in the next (smokers) room singing and playing instruments had been in the restaurant for 10 hours already...

- Macedonian salad (tomato, roasted peppers, onion, parsley, oil, spices) 120 den x2 - had a double serve of a simple delicious fresh salad;
- Sarma (stuffed cabbage leaves with rice & meat) 80 den x2 - really nice with meaty juices coming through onto the charred leaves;
- Tavche gravche (traditionally Macedonian beans stew in claypot) 130 den - a simple dish of beans in a mild pepper sauce;
- Braised veal in mushroom sauce (veal, fresh mushrooms, sauce, spices) 330 den - tender veal (shin I suspect) with a thick mushroom sauce;
- Pie with leek 150 den - they are well known for these "pies" and compared to previous versions had thinner rounds, crisper shell, and simple leeks. Overall very good.

A very good meal for me, a great meal for the rest of the family.

We even ended up going back a couple of nights later. This time was a different waiter, also friendly but less skilful English made it a bit harder.

- Sarma (vine leaves with rice & meat) - very good with nice mince. I think the cabbage one was better overall (and cheaper);
- Grilled fresh mushrooms 140 den - standard and nice;
- Claypot Cardak (veal, chicken, pork, button mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, zucchini, pepper, tomato, onion) 600 den - a mix of meats in a meat-flavoured broth which was too salty and had a strong base, like ham. Some of the meat pieces were thin and had been cooked into disintegrating slightly. It really felt like too much leftovers put together;
- Pie with leeks - this time the dough was a bit doughy and a bit undercooked i think. Flavour still good. 

Not the same experience as the first time. Still an ok meal though overall.