Rahatlokum - Bosnian Turkish Delight

One of the national desserts of Bosnia is "rahatlokum" or basically Turkish Delight. It it not exactly Turkish Delight although the name, shape, and maybe even flavor implies. The texture of this lokum is slightly more gooey or malleable than the lokum found in Turkey. It is as if the baker added extra jam in it making it the slightest bit runnier and more like a candy gum drop. Another feature is that this lokum is sweeter.

From the variety pack purchased at one of the cafes in the old town section of Sarajevo, Bosnia, it appears that the flavor of choice leans toward walnut. The rose flavor is light and not too sweet and had a better texture than the others sampled. However, this sampler missed the favorite pistachio that is not too sweet or salty. Perhaps the hunt for the elusive pistachio lokum will be found on a deeper endeavor through the small streets of Sarajevo. Butik Badem on Abadžiluk 12 in the old town carried the Bosnian variety of lokum, but the pistachio here was jazzed up to an almost unrecognizable sweetness.

Divaka

With a reputation for good food in a cozy environment at a cheap price, Divaka is a little Bulgarian treasure that cannot be resisted. The lure of delicious and large portions at an excellent deal was enough to elicit a vist. Nestled on a quiet street, you feel as though you are stepping into someone's home.

The restaurant is divided into a few little subrooms, each with a few tables. The server was very helpful speaking a little English and offering menus in English for those not well-versed in Bulgarian Cyrillic. Wine was cheap and the selection displayed the best of Bulgaria. A prominent ingredient in most of the dishes is a white cheese, which is subtle, yet distinctly tart. The shopska salad made from peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumber, and white cheese was an excellent way to open the palate for fresh flavors. The hot stuffed peppers warmed the body well from the cold outside air in order to relax at the table and prepare for the main event. Items from the grill were quite popular and heavy in lamb varities. The chicken with a sort of tangy, barely sweet, and savory orange sauce was chosen for a lighter taste and paired well with the house white wine.



Divaka is leisurely and comforting way to end a long day of roaming the streets of Sofia. Main courses from 5-8 Lev - a really good deal for someone looking for delicious national cuisine on a bit of a budget.

Divaka. 41A 6th Septemvri St, Sofia, Bulgaria

Reason to Eat

A long morning of browsing the extensive shops and stalls at Camden Market calls for an immediate energy booster that will not weigh you down. What you need is Reason to Eat. Located a short walk down from the busier end of Camden High Street, the cafe offers a haven to collect your thoughts and review your purchases. It is basically a cafe offering the usual espresso selections and sandwiches, salads, soup and a few thoughtful baked goods.

The selection is simple, but incredibly fresh and made to order. The people working the counter were extremely helpful and eager to assist, offering an ease in the mindset of indecision. In addition to the specialty salads and sandwiches, you can also elect to design your own salad or sandwich for an incredibly cheap price (£3.75 and £2.75, respectively, at time of visit). The first visit called for the Classic Spinach Salad of baby spinach, wild mushrooms, chopped egg, bacon bits, tossed in mustard vinaigrette and accompanied by a big piece of fresh bread. The salad was prepared in a large tossing bowl right before your eyes scooping up generous portions from the protected case of salad fixings. It was tempting to order one of the cookies or bars, which would totally offset the purpose of ordering a delicious salad in the first place.


The dining area in the back was quiet with softly playing music, perfect to relax and enjoy the meal. The salad portion was quite large and extremely satisfying that the baguette that came with the salad was almost unnecessary. This place could easily turn into your daily lunch and breakfast spot with its cheap prices and healthy selection. Reason to Eat is a great offshoot to the increasingly growing trend toward health conscious eating in London.

Reason to Eat. 104 Candon High Street, London, NW1 OLU. www.reasontoeat.com

London Restaurant Week - Papillon

A meal deal through London's Restaurant Week means that those with a tighter budget with a taste for high end will get to enjoy a gastronomical pleasure with a guilt-free wallet. It gives a chance for these restaurants to showcase their cuisine and expertise to a more accessible audience.

Papillon looks like the picture-perfect corner bistro in a smaller, upscale neighborhood that you would frequent once a week or so. Draycott Avenue is a lovely, charming street in South Kensington dotted with unique shops and indulgent places to eat. The interior matches the vibe and is not too fussy. As "another stunning venture from Danish born restauranteur Soren Jessen, owner of top London eatery 1 Lombard Street," the food is expected to match the high caliber of the top City restaurant.

The fixed menu was divided into vegetarian and omnivore with little options for starter, entrée, and dessert. When the food produced by Head Chef David Duverger arrived, the conclusion is that it is decidedly French. From an amateur French palate with simple understanding of French cuisine, the dishes were characteristically buttery and salty - too salty and buttery.


The stand-out dish of the meal was the starter, foie gras on a bed of lentils with a drizzling of some sort of balsamic reduction and rocket. Decadent. The foie gras was lightly grilled to develop a subtle caramelization. The buttery texture was contrasted with the peppery bite of arugula and intense flavor subdued with the lentils. The meal went somewhat downhill from that point. The other starter was a mushroom creme soup which was more creme than mushroom flavored. Sea bream on a bed of spring vegetables with an olive paste was the beautifully presented main. It was unfortunate that the presentation did not match the flavor and the bright color of the green baby vegetables covered the thoughtlessness in choice. The entire dish tasted as if it were mopped with clarified butter and then dehydrated with salt. The purpose of the olive tapenade was not clearly understood as it more masked the taste of the sea bream than enhanced it. For dessert was a simple apple tart, which had no distinguishing qualities from any high street bakery.


Papillon was worth the one-time visit only to experience what everyone else in the world believes is characteristic of French food leaving the diner heavy and bloated afterward. It would not be advisable to have your cholesterol tested the next day as a few days after would be required to siphon off the unnecessary use of excess butter and salt from your system after a visit to this restaurant.

Papillon. 96 Draycott Avenue, London, SW3 3AD. www.papillonchelsea.co.uk

Lahore Kebab House

After an evening of post-work drinking in the City, the stomach was yearning for something to dilute and digest all the alcohol sitting in an otherwise empty cavity. At this point, the kitchens of most nearby restaurants have closed, giving way to late-night dining, fast food, and kebab shops to stave off the next morning's hangover. But where to go from the bars and fancy restaurants dotting the financial center? It was time to travel outwards for something more gratifying. Time for late night curry.

Away from the well-known Brick Lane famous for being paved with curry houses is Lahore Kebab House in Whitechapel offering authentic Pakistani cuisine. Off Commercial Road on a small street, the no-frills restaurant gets to the point with its food with wiped down tables and only Bollywood films offering extra color on the walls. Upon entry, a server immediately opened his arm as guidance towards the ground floor dining area was open and took pick any table suitable. You pass glass windows opening up the large kitchen so you can peep inside to view the culinary action. Even late at night, most of the tables are full of people and more arriving honoring the BYOB policy with bottles from the off license next door. Excellent option as the restaurant is open until 1:00am.

The menu is vast and simple, emphasizing the curry side of Pakistani and Indian-influenced cuisine. Vegetarians would be delighted to see the large selection for mains. The server was helpful on clarifying some unknown items on the menu and attentive to ensure that all was correctly ordered. All the food came out quickly and in large portions as if it was just scooped out of the carefully tended to vats marinating throughout the course of the day.



After work drinking on a relatively empty stomach means hungry eyes matching the desire to sample everything within strict budgetary reason and current stomach capacity of a party of two. The seemlingly requisite starter is the grilled lamb chops served on the bone. Juicy and succulent, you can see the spices rubbed into the chops from the next table over. Mains ordered were sag paneer (spinach with cheese) and Lahore Kebab House Special chicken curry on the bone accompanied by an order of pilau rice, tandoori roti and tandoori paratha as well as an order of mango lassi. Both the mains were spicy enough to make you sweat and little sips of lassi prevented your mouth from converting into a Bollywood inferno. The chicken was tender and juicy on the bone with the rice soaking up the curry well. The sag paneer was solid enough to pinch with pieces of bread and the pieces of cheese were not rubbery at all. Thankfully, the paratha was not too greasy from ghee, but had to be eaten while still warm to avoid tasting the texture of cooled fat in your mouth. Going back and forth between the meat and vegetarian dishes kept the mouth adequately stimulated, as if the heat was not stimulating enough itself. However, if you are sensitive to spicy foods or want a little bit more oomph in your curry, the level of spiciness can be adjusted according to taste by request to the server.

If you are willing enough to venture outside Banga-driven Brick Lane, Lahore Kebab House is recommended by Pakistani and Indians alike. It is also a great venue for a delicious curry night with a bunch of friends and BYO beverages.

Lahore Kebab House. 2-10 Umberston Street. London E1 1PY. United Kingdom. www.lahore-kebabhouse.com

Cuba Libre

Located between a string of bars, restaurants, and boutique stores is this little taste of Havana with its promises of authentic food and relaxed atmosphere.


Cuba Libre gets a thumbs down and a major complaint is the significantly high price for sub-par food in small portions. Items on the menu were varied, but hinted more toward Spanish than Cuban cuisine. The Platano Maduro con guacamole or fried ripe plantain gratin served with guacamole at over £5 had a small side salad with a simple, tasteless vinaigrette, a small slice of fried plantain, and a big dollop of guacamole thickly spread across the thin plantain. The plantain was lovely, the salad plain, and the guacamole tasted of unripe, flavorless avocado. £2.60 per individual tapa was overpriced for the sparse serving you get on a wooden plate the size of an ashtray. The calamares were overcooked resulting in a rubbery texture and the sauce for the "patatas bravas" equivalent was not enough to balance the potatoes. The mushrooms with spinach mousse had potential, especially if served with rice. However a side order of rice was £4.45. How much rice are you actually getting for a fiver, especially since rice is a cheaper commodity?!?!? You should expect to get the whole pot! The only redeeming quality of the menu is the way the meat is cooked - incredibly tender and practically falling apart, but unfortunately bland and lacked the excitement commonly found in Cuban cuisine.

Perhaps better for happy hour or other drinks, dining at Cuba Libre is highly advised against unless you want to risk the chance that the day you dine the food will actually be worth its high price.

Cuba Libre. 72 Upper Street, Islington Green, London N1 0NY. CubaLibreLondon.com

Manze Pie & Mash Shop

To sample a traditional London meal of pie and mash, a visit to Manze - the oldest eel and pie shop in business today - is a must. The menu is simple of pie, mash (or mashed potatoes), jellied eels, and a choice of liquor or gravy. You can order a single pie and mash (single serving of pie and a single serving of mashed potatoes) for £2.80 for a satisfying meal or go as far as double pie double mash, which will quell even the most extreme of hunger pains.

The mashed potato is scraped onto the side of the plate, pie set next to it, and a generous pouring of gravy or liquor ladled on top of the pie, dammed in by the mash. The pies are made with minced beef, but for vegetarians, a soya based pie filling is used. The meat inside is very tender and flavorful. Liquor is actually a type of parsley sauce with a lightly starchy flavor from the roux. It is traditionally made from the water kept from eel preparation. The subtle flavor of the liquor goes well with the potato mash and the pie. You can also add your own chili malt vinegar as desired.

Manze is worth a visit south of the river for lunch, as it is a short distance from major tourist destinations. Celebrities including David Beckham are said not to be able to resist a pie from Manze's when in the area. Pie and mash from Manze's could be said as a notable requirement to complete your London experience.

M. Manze: The Noted Eel & Pie Houses. 87 Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey, London, SE1 4TW. www.manze.co.uk

Traktieris

On a quiet street in the Art Nouveau District on the outer rim of the Old City centre and main tourist area is Traktieris, a friendly Russian restaurant playing Russian folk music and adorned with extensive wall murals. Outside, the menu is listed only in Russian and Latvian, but inside, the menu has been kindly translated to rough English. The servers were very kind in explaining the dishes to those unfamiliar to Russian cuisine.



Portions are huge and the prices are even better for its value. On the menu, you can choose from a large variety of Russian specialties. The notable item for the vegetarian is the eggplant salad with fried cheese. The dumplings were not too starchy and the meat inside flavorful. The food tastes homemade to match the rustic interior, but the highlight is in the extensive vodka list to sample from. All the shots fell around the 1.00LVL range enabling you to try simple vodkas up to the more unique flavors like cucumber and cowberry.

Popular with locals and Russians alike, Traktieris is definitely worth visiting while in Riga.

Traktieris. 8 Antonijas, Riga, Latvia

Double Coffee

So far, the best place where the food that is served actually matches the food pictured in the menu - even down to the design of the plate!

Double Coffee offers international cuisine suitable for a budget. The menu is presented in the format of a small, glossy newspaper with pages of dishes and coffee drinks with their respective photos and notes on item variety (sandwiches or clubs, for example). The portions are satisfying and tastes as good as it looks. Really. Service is not exactly the speediest as food arrives about 20-30 minutes after you place your order. For lack of decision of a destination, Double Coffee is always a dependable and reliable choice for good food and drinks. The franchise has extended to Lithuania, Estonia, and Ukraine.