Eat Like Ushi

There's a few icecreameries in Dubrovnik although none seem to have extremely high ratings. Dolce Vita is a creperie that also has icecream. If I'm honest, I didn't think the icecream looked very good and so didn't try it.

That left Peppino's which is more expensive but appears to be much more a single specialty gelato place.

The Pistachio Premium certainly caught my eye with its thick murky green colour flowing from tart shells. The serve itself was unusual - there's the dark brown sludge on top with some bits of nuts, and this part has all the pistachio flavour. The pale green below was really quite plain and lacking. I enjoyed eating the sludge but not so the pale.

It is likely to be the better gelato place in Dubrovnik, but maybe that just means there isn't a particularly good one (yet)...

This place has remarkably good reviews for its burgers. It seemed like a perfect idea before a walking tour of the city.

Arriving just before opening, we were the first (and for a short while) only customers. There's a counter facing the street where I imagine people will queue for lunch, then sit on the stairs where Barba have placed cushions ready for gluteals. It would be glorious.

On this occasion we were inside and admiring the ridiculous number of creative forks adorning the lamps and walls.

- Anchovies on a bed of arugula with cherry tomatoes 73kn - it was this or the fried squid. Given it was the first meal since waking, we went for the fresher option. It was fine but in retrospect the fried squid looked and smelled fantastic. Don't make the same mistake;
- Fresh oysters 15kn each - I remember having these oysters at the more famous mussel place in the square (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/kamenice-dubrovnik-10-2012). Back then I thought the flavour was pretty good but the oysters themselves are so thin that there is only shivers of meat to chew on. This was the same;
- Shrimp burger 79kn - the octopus burger drew my fancy but the staff member recommended the shrimp. It was a breaded patty with bit of crispy outside texture and minimally discernible pieces of shrimp. The flavour of it was also therefore not that strong in the shrimp department. It was alright but I think I made the mistake of asking which burger she would suggest.

I would go back there but stick to the fried squid and try the octopus burger. The plate Barba might be a good combination of everything fried and fresh.

There's lots of places to choose from within the city walls of Dubrovnik. Knowing which are good is harder. The host of our flat highly recommended Pink Shrimp, and the reviews seemed pretty good. It was also close to the centre strip meaning minimal stair walking to get there. 

From the name you'd expect there to feature a lot of shrimp on the menu, and you'd be correct.

Unfortunately they all seem to be quite small and not all that satisfying. Thinking about this more now, that does seem to be the trend of the Adriatic shrimp.

- Mantecato Orzotto, saffron, shrimp 105kn - barley cooked well and al dente with good chewiness. Small prawns lurking inside. Overall nice;
- Buzara Adriatic shrimp, sea bass, julienne vegetables 115kn - tiny prawns that needed to be peeled. Seemed like a waste of time. Good fish and sauce however.

Expensive for the amount of food in each serve. I think there are better places and better value. I wouldn't go back here.

I had a gelato place in mind in Budva and I knew it was between the bus station and the beach. Perfect. I planned to swing through on the way back after some time basking in the sun.

It's a long stand with many flavours on offer.

The hazelnut and pistachio were both adequate without either being very strong or overly memorable.

The server was very unhappy that she was in my photo. Oh well.

One of the key decisions when planning Montenegro was whether to stay in Kotor or Budva. The lack of beaches in Kotor (not absolute, but the online reviews are mixed - to be fair I thought it was actually ok) is what attracts people to Budva. Budva is supposedly bumping in summer, but once September hits it quietens down a lot.

Before whaling it on the beach, lunch beckoned. I really wanted to eat at Portun. Sadly the opening hours on their front sign didn't correlate with them opening. And so after waiting specifically for them to open, then realising they wouldn't be, I was despondent. The waiter from the restaurant across the path (perhaps opportunistically) suggested eating at Rivijera instead. He didn't know when Portun would open. But they have the same owner. Ok...

Rivijera has a nice outdoor seating area with a canopy overhead that allows sun to filter through. It is certainly pleasant. I was happy to find that Njeguski stek featured after wondering where I would get to try it since missing out in Zabljak (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/konoba-luna-zabljak-09-2018).

- Njeguski stek 400g (pork steak, smoked ham & cheese, cream cheese, homemade baked potato) €15.5 - pork heavily cooked and not very flavoursome or tender. Saved by the parts with cheese and prosciutto which added a big salty flavour hit;
- Special of seafood pasta €13 - black fat pasta cooked in a tasty tomato and slight spicy sauce featuring crisp prawns good calamari. Not al dente.

The food tasted nice. The pork was somewhat disappointing (a common theme in places that only know to cook meat extremely thoroughly). Portun was open by the time we finished lunch. I hope their opening times are more consistent if I'm back in Budva.

I really wanted to eat food cooked under the peka bell. Although I expected it to be much more available in Croatia and the Balkans, it seemed much more difficult a task, particularly because the few places that offered this only did so in 1kg servings. Which obviously meant for 2 people, there wouldn't be the opportunity to try anything else.

Ladovina was a well-related place outside of the Kotor city walls with nice outdoor atmosphere, good reviews, and lo and behold bell-cooked lamb, veal or octopus at a price per 100g. Perfect!

A walk-in on a rainy night meant there were no available tables (other than a couple not under cover) and so I made a dedicated reservation to anticipate the next night. This was a smoother evening, warm and barmy. People around still smoke which was the only annoyance.

- Ribarska supa (fisherman soup) €4 - very thin and watery but very fishy flavour;
- Octopus €16/200g - very tender pieces cooked in a tomato reduction. I definitely prefer grilled for the char flavour;
- Lamb €10/200g - very soft and good flavour although too much fat and not enough meat in our serve. Potatoes soaking in cooking juice all day were very nice;
- Stuffed calamari €14 - these were stuffed with bread and calamari pieces and cooked in the same tomato reduction as the octopus. In fact the dishes looked near identical with the sliced carrots. Maybe they are cooked together. It was also very tender, although I prefer grilled.

A good meal overall and the opportunity to try the peka bell dishes. I know now that I prefer my octopus and calamari grilled, and so would stick to meats for this again. However the lamb on this occasion was too fatty. Veal may be better for this, but also tends to have less flavour. I suppose I'd have to pick my poison. It would be lamb (being cheaper) and just ordering a larger serve.

This little cafe is a cute one full of colour of the adornments and flowers, and also includes a nice view of the stream leading to the lake. The sun shining makes for an excellent place to lunch and escape the city walls and daytrippers.

I was most drawn to the bubble waffles available there and the reviews for desserts. But being lunch time, lunch food was the priority.

- Omlet (3 eggs, cheese) €2.5 - very good, smooth, buttery, tasty omelette;
- Cukar sendvic (cheese, prsut, cheese, lettuce) €6 - you can see the very persistent wasp on my bread. The sandwich was ok but expensive considering the makeup and the general prices of food in Kotor. The bread particularly was basic white;
- Slatke palacinke (kinder cokolada) €3 - a decent crepe with some kinder chocolate sauce.

I was a bit disappointed to not have a bubble waffle or desserts. I planned to go back for it but never did. If for a meal, I'd get the omelette again.

Tanjga is well known in Kotor as the place to go for meat. Indeed I heard a local telling a tourist friend not to bother with anywhere else. It was conveniently located near the bus station and therefore near our flat.

Walking past during the day, I could smell and see the roast chickens rotating outside. Deep in the pits were potatoes left to marinade and cook in drippings all day. These chickens are only for lunch. So for the first night's dinner, we sat inside in front of the trays of raw meat waiting to be selected, the salads, the queue, and the staff who seemed a little stressed, a tiny bit aggressive, and occasionally missing someone's order.

After a reasonably long wait, our food arrived. You have to specially ask for them to put the ajvar on the plate, choosing between a normal looking one and a deeper colour spicier one.

- Mixed meat (600g meat, fries, salad, sauce) €10 - a cheap price for a lot of meat. 600g for one person? Surely enough it just fed 2, although I would contend there wasn't 600g of meat there. The dishes are also inconsistent as to which meats you get. They seem to big roughly at random (or maybe there's a hidden system I don't see). The meat itself included overcooked chicken, but soft pork and kebabs. All the meats were very flavoursome.  We also asked for grilled vegetables but they ran out and therefore gave 2 free pieces of eggplant. I could see more vegetables sitting there raw so...

I thought that I'd try roast chicken next time. Maybe for lunch there would be less chaos.

A few days later for lunch we managed to find a seat outside. We ordered a half chicken, french fries, salad, bread €7.5. They ran out of half chickens so gave 2 legs instead. It was pretty good chicken with flavoursome skin. Potatoes as expected were excellent after sitting in fat all day. There was also some beef which was only ok; crisp outsides but not much flavour otherwise.

I'd eat the roast chicken again, another serve of meat plate for dinner, or try the delicious large looking hamburger (250g meat for €4!!), but definitely not bother with the lunch beef.

The late morning bus to Kotor meant there was time for a nice sit down breakfast. There's a few bakeries around although none looked particularly good for a sit down meal.

Or'O has a nice looking dinner menu and a lovely outdoor space to enjoy the sun and watch people.

- Village Breakfast (2 eggs, beef prosciutto, beef sausage, kajmak, homemade ajvar) €4.7 - tremendously overcooked eggs but the meat was nice
- Homemade cheese pie 350g €4.3 - this was recommended over the buckwheat pie. The cheese flavour was minimal. It was basically twisty pastry. I was expecting a pie (ie. pastry outside with a filling) but sadly not.

3 different breads were given to eat with the breakfast but they charged €0.9.

Not a fantastic breakfast and would try somewhere else (not sure where exactly...) or get a takeaway bakery breakfast next time.

I had marked down the restaurant Amanecer in Arrieta. However when I spoke to the flat host Aduen (who is local and running for Mayor of the town), he thought that since Amanecer had relatively recently changed management, that he had a few complaints from guests who had been there. The more reliable option with good prices, specialising in seafood, and where he goes, is Casa de La Playa.

It has a lovely location on Playa de la Garita with views of the sun rising ahead and settling behind.

The staff are very friendly and accommodated my Spanish.

- Fideua Carabinero €29 for 2 - paella was an option, but the word carabinero drew my attention. It's been a long time since I've been searching again for these prized red prawns known in the waters off Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Considering in London they charge about £20 per prawn in Spanish restaurants, having two of these in the dish was a bargain. They were meaty with the most intense beautiful flavour. The bodies themselves were ok, soft but not very bouncy. The noodles were soft, the mussels nice, and although I was anticipating the lapas clams, they weren't as flavoursome as I hoped. The flavour of the dish was perfectly balanced, and not overly salty like many do.

They offered a chupito at the end and I discovered the delicious Ron Miel (Spanish for honey rum), a local Canarian liquor that is 20-30% alcohol and a sweet after meal shot. I nearly bought a bottle to bring home but opted for local gin instead.

A great restaurant and would happily go again, and so ended up a second time the next night.

- Morena frita €9 - after seeing an eel in a fishmonger live and staring at us, I had been meaning to order this somewhere. I expected rounds of flesh deepfried, but was pleasantly surprised to have long fries of meat instead. The batter was crisp and minimally seasoned, the fish was soft with a moderately strong flavour. Thoroughly enjoyed;
- Pulpo a la plancha €10 - the tenderness and flavour were ok, but it wasn't a particularly great version. There wasn't any char or crispness to the skin and so it lacked a little;
- Cherne €22 - this fresh fish was deemed to be 1.5 servings and was a splayed Stone Bass butterflied and panfried in oil/butter. It was expertedly cooked, excellent in buttery flavour and balanced well with a bit of lemon. The potatoes were a touch heavily salted and the salad added freshness. Ended up taking half home for another meal;
- Bienmesabe con helado €5 - a typical Canarian dessert broken down into bien me sabe ("tastes good to me"). We expected this almond meal based dessert to be more like a cake, but it was served in an icecream dish smothered in caramel and with icecream and cream. Very sweet and indulgent, although I wouldn't order it again.

Overall wonderful seafood and cooking. If I'm ever in Lanzarote again, I will stay in Arrieta and return here.