Eat Like Ushi

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.