After a wonderful time in Kravice Waterfalls, we decided it was time for some grub. The best restaurant nearby, according to a quick scouring of the web, was Pizzeria Colombo. Now, Bosnia is not part of the EU. The first shock we had on entering was that there were people smoking next to us in the restaurant. Madness to us Brits!
Nonetheless, we ordered in the haze of lung destroying ash. and what pizzas! The pictures below shall speak for themselves. The first is the four cheese pizza.
Astonishing crust, great depth of topping. The quality of the cheese was superb and the whole ensemble was superbly impressive.
I ordered the Pizza Colombo, the special of the restaurant. It ought to be noted that parma ham goes hard when heated, not soft. This was a tad difficult to cut up and eat in a civilised way, but then who wants to eat pizza civilly? The egg in the middle was cooked perfectly and the ingredients were of a great quality. Overall, a winning pizza.
Before re-ordering the Colombo special, Louise feasted on the ham and cheese pizza. Aside from the generous slices of cheese garnished upon the pizza, one cannot help but notice Colombo Pizza’s generous sizes. They were huge pizzas, we had to share the last one because we were so full.
There’s nothing like a copious and high quality pizza. Pizzeria Colombo is a great lpace to stop by after a visit to the waterfalls or the shrine. They are cheap, the service is super and the pizzas are huge.
Hidden in a side street off the main road through Old Dubrovnik, far from the maddening crowds is situated Toni. Toni’s story is quite noble. A lovely young waiter called Luka, from Medjugorje, told us that Toni, too, once served tables. He worked his way up the ranks over the years until he became the owner of this fine establishment. Now, onto the dishes.
GARGANELLI WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND TRUFFLE SAUCE
(Various wild mushrooms in a cream sauce)
Now, this dish did not photograph as well as it tasted. My hands must have been shaking rather. What a delightful combination of flavours. Perfectly cooked pasta, as we had come to expect. Really excellent dish overall.
CHICKEN FILLET WITH DUKKAH AND PAPPARDELLE
(Marinated fillet of chicken stuffed with Cheddar cheese, pistachio pesto, cream, Ricotta cheese, and dukkah)
Louise’s dishes was a real show stopper. Pistacchio pesto, dukkah sauce and ricotta. We were bowled over. Tenderest chicken mixed with such accompaniments and pasta on top. There’s nothing quite like this dish I think. Absolutely worth trying.
GREEN PAPPARDELLE WITH MARINATED STEAK SLICES
(Gorgonzola and cream sauce with garlic)
Being a Thursday in Lent, I knew I would have to forgo meat the next day. Hence I stocked up on meat at this dinner. The beef strip pasta was as copious as it was delicious. The gorgonzola and garlic worked magically. I was seriously impressed by this dish. Really excellent.
We shared a Tiramisu for dessert. We were so full from lunch in Bosnia that we could only stomach one. This was not sugary enough for me. The flavours were subtle and well balanced but there was something missing. A small hitch in an otherwise flawless restaurant.
The Plavac wine we feasted on was light and flavoursome. It was almost too easy to drink.
Overall I was really impressed by this restaurant. Tucked away, excellent waiters, great food. And in the end it was not too expensive. I cannot but recommend Spagheterria Toni.
After a wonderful evening seeing one of my two musical heroes, Todd Rundgren, I needed something to de-contract. Afternoon tea in Kilburn set me right. I met a dear old friend at Maison de la Vie. There was only one cream scone left as we arrived rather late. Being a gracious host, I ate it before telling her.
I jest I jest, I let her have it. The tea leaves were infused with gin & tonic which made for quite a delightful cup of tea. As you might be able to tell, the texture of the scone was really quite unbelievable. Beautifully toasted, well made and good quality cream. What more could one ask for?
With my English Breakfast tea, I opted for the apricot slice. I had to eat it little by little because it was so delightful. Beautiful pastry, well marinated apricots. Full of flavour and not too filling, which is a winning combination in a dessert.
On a separate note, I saw this on my way into Kilburn and found it most amusing.
But overall, Maison de la Vie did give me back some life. I felt as infused as the tealeaves, but with joy rather than gin. This was a deeply impactful afternoon tea during which I came to admire the quality of time one can spend with their friends. I recommend it to those in the area who want an economical and good quality afternoon tea. You won’t be disappointed.
After a long day of walking around Split and recovering from the massive amounts of alcohol consumed at lunchtime, the gang and I decided to dine at Buffet Fife. Just to clarify, I am not the head of an infamous Croatian gang, I was merely referring to my friends.
Fife is characterised by its proximity to the harbour and the copious portions of its food. I was impressed by the quality of each of the dishes, especially the one I ordered.
Sauerkraut. There’s nothing quite like it. This dish takes forever to make and moments to consume. Fife did it wonderfully well, the dish was soft and not too vinegary. The pork and mashed potato worked beautifully together. This is a great choice for a light evening meal in Split.
The other two in my criminal(ly handsome) gang had fish dishes. Now, those of you close enough to me will know that I loathe fish. In light of this, I looked on wearily, casting my mind back to a solemn youth where fish was forced upon me. A scene flashed before my eyes when I was chased through a Carrefour by an octopus wielding fishmonger. That, if any, was the moment I decided fish was not for me.
From the muffled positive groans, I could tell they enjoyed their sea bass and prawns respectively. Now, the gnocchi I did try. As you can see from photographs above and below, they were homemade and quite delicious.
Try the Pašticada with the gnocchi. It fairly gnocched us out. See what I did there?
In summation, Fife was the perfect place for an evening meal. It was cheap, well located and excellent quality. The portions were copious and the service was relatively good. Do go there if ever you’re in Split.
Konaba Ma:Toni is one of the finest restaurants I have ever eaten at. Each course left me flabbergasted, and I am not readily flabbergastible. I won’t wax lyrical for the next paragraph, I’ll just get on with it and let you come to your own conclusions.
ŠUNKA OD JELENA | GF |
Smoked and dried deer ham. Fresh cheese with spring onion.
The deer ham was my first course. The quality of this dish is so high that it is difficult for me to put into words. Everything was sublime, from the fat to meat ratio to the flavour and assorted dressings. This is a winning dish which stole my breath. The unusual flavour of deer was brought to the fore in a spectacular way.
St Nick’s shirt went for the special of the day which was boar salami. I’ve had boar in many incarnations during my culinary life and this ranks most highly. The texture was a little tough, as most boar is, but the flavour was outstanding. If this is here when you visit please try it. All the meat is locally sourced which makes it even more impressive.
Now, normally I am not one for beef soup but Louise’s choice was the right one. Light and flavoursome in the best possible way. There was something delicate and lovely contained in this dish. When a dish feels like something your mother would have made during childhood, you know you’re onto a winner.
We went for the Zinfandel to accompany our mains. Given that Ma:Toni has its own dedicated wine store, I knew we were in for a treat and I was not wrong. the restaurant is renown for its wines, and this is no exception. A fine Croatian wine.
Louise went for the pork belly with the gorgeous mashed potato bed. For me this was the best dish of the day. The skin was crisp and the flavour ran so deep I almost teared up.
I went for the other pork dish, whose name I cannot recall! Nor does the menu offer any clue. It must have been a special. But let me tell you the flavour will never leave me. the homemade sweet chilli relish paired beautifully and the roast potatoes were pure heaven.
St Nick went for the beef steaks in their homemade gravy and sensational mashed potato. The potato was a work of art for me. Though this is not one of the prettiest dishes, the experience of eating it made up for any aesthetic drawbacks. There’s something to be said for when a dish is so beautifully balanced that the whole feels like an orchestrated work in your mouth.
AFFOGATO | V* |
Vanilla ice cream with topping made of caramel, coffee and Baileys. Cramelized hazelnuts with Amaretti biscuits.
I went for the vanilla ice cream and was not at all disappointed. Luscious ice cream, mixed with some fine caramel and bailey’s coffee liqueur. This was totally brilliant. But the iconic dish, which we re-ordered when we had finished, was yet to come.
NONINA TORTA | V* |
Cake made of almonds and orange with simple syrup and vanilla ice cream scoop.
The oozing chocolate, fine ice cream, some of which is melted, beautiful syrup…. Words failed me at the time and they fail me now. This is an iconic dessert which will remembered as one of the finest I have ever eaten.
Overall, Ma:Toni was one of the highlights of my recent trip through the Balkans. I cannot speak highly enough of the professionalism with which we were treated as well as the high quality and ingenuity of the food. I remain utterly astonished by this restaurant.
When I first read about this album in the Rolling Stones Best Albums of All Time, I was skeptical. Stevie Wonder for me, then, was just ‘Sir Duke’ and ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’. I didn’t know the depth with which Wonder crafts albums. Innervisions is a wonderful insight into the views of one of the original musical iconoclasts.
Wonder, who was previously more than content to allow his lyrics—both bitter and sweet—to apply to simple love scenarios, had discovered a desire to tap into a larger reserve of collective emotion: in this case, the disenfranchised rage of America’s Nixon era. Slant Magazine
The first half of the album has been described as ‘high stakes’ quite rightly. There is a perceptible rage and agony. One jumps between anger (Living in the City) to love, loss and resurrection of hope (Golden Lady). Wonder is starkly honest about his own remonstrances and conveys them with startling musical integrity.
The second half is more reassuring, staying with the theme of love but in a more hopeful tone. The embedded video below is an example of the spirited response to the first half of the album. Innervisions ends with the exceptional ‘Mr Know It All’ which is impossible not to dance to. It trails off at the end, allowing us to wallow in the enormity of what we have just heard.
“Living For The City” is the album’s centerpiece, and remains one of the only moments in Wonder’s career as a politically-minded pop star where he allows himself to come face to face with utter pessimism and caves in to it wholesale. Slant Magazine
Overall, this album has nothing but highlights for me. Not only is it vocally astounding, it is honest and boasts one of the best efforts at sequencing I’ve ever seen. Sequencing is the order in which songs are placed in an album and Stevie Wonder has done a phenomenal job here. One could dedicate many thousands of words to the magnitude of excellence contained in Innvervisions, but I’ll stop short at 300. Have a listen for yourself and enjoy it’s brilliance.
