Zlatna Skoljka

My dear readers, Croatia is a wonderland. It makes perfect sense why the Romans made this their vacation spot. From the sparkling white marble city of Dubrovnik to the rough alleys of Split, it is something for everyone. I had many a food adventure, but the one noteworthy dinner during my travels was on Hvar Island.

Zlatna Skoljka, which translates to the Golden Shell, touts itself as a Slow Food establishment. I made a note to try this out, after sub-par meals recommended by others in Dubrovnik. We wandered only a few feet past the main square in town and found the entrance. I usually tense up at restaurants that are virtually empty, which was the case here, following that old notion that it equates to bad food. Not the case here! We were seated in the back patio with a couple celebrating their honeymoon after a wedding on the island of Lake Bled (not bad, not bad!). Overall, I think the four of us had the best meal in Hvar that evening.

I found the key to eating on the Croatian coast was focusing on seafood. They also take a cue from eastern European and Turkish cuisine, but I just can't get on board with heavy, artery-clogging dishes. Don't get me wrong...I can get down with the best of them, but I do that in the right places (see upcoming Berlin write-up), not in a fishing village.

Our evening at Zlatna Skoljka started with an octopus salad. At this point in the trip, I fancied myself a bit of an octopus salad connoisseur. You need the right amount of char, balanced with a steady dose of acid to really make this shine...and shine it did!

I then moved on to the goat cheese soup and let me just say, that soup and goat cheese are unlikely bedfellows....this is one of those situations where one would wake up in the morning and do a double take....and not in a good way! Yuck. The goat cheese kind of clumped a bit and every sip was painful. I left this one alone, but didn't have the heart to tell the server, who would relay it to the chef (who I could see by the way the entire evening...open kitchen) that I detested his soup.

Its ok, because next came the Mussels 'Buzara', which is a garlic, tomato, bread-type paste that is then cooked with either shrimp or mussels. A great 'Buzara' should be neither too thick or thin, but just the right consistency to "get stuck" inside each mussel, serving as a flavor complement to the mussel. It was a beautiful thing, this 'Buzara' and Dave and I sucked it all down.

Lastly, came the main affair....Amberjack in a saffron sauce and Squid in a wild orange sauce. Both were truly beautiful. The firm meat on the Amberjack filet somehow soaked up the rich, aromatic saffron sauce....each bite had a heady golden aroma. The squid was again perfectly charred. Each piece was delicate enough for fork only and further benefited from the accompanying tart orange sauce. I must say I wanted to steal both of these sauces to add to my fish repertoire.

We didn't make it to dessert and in retrospect I'm sad. Instead we hauled ourselves halfway back to the apartment and broke down for sub-par gelato. I guess the beautiful blue azure waters made up for the failed sweet;)

Coming soon....Venitian Chicchetti!