20-VI-2020.
Lena and Milan came, and we all sat in the van and went to domaćin for lunch. I preferred to take just one vehicle, knowing how it can be tough to park in the area, and I got lucky, found a spot almost by Šanta, really close, just 150m. There being nine of us, we crowded the sidewalk along that stretch. We're a swarm.
The hospitality industry was just recovering from two months of curfew, and was still under this or that limitation - sometimes the staff would have to wear masks, or disinfectant had to be available in easily accessible spots, a limited number of guests inside, to maintain the distance, early closing time (19?), all of which affected the sales. We expected it would be somewhat more expensive than before the corona, as it was in many places already, they were all trying to recover from the setback. Here it wasn't bad at all, the prices didn't go up as much as they did elsewhere, and the menu was quite interesting. We two ordered the „bečkerek secret“, which seems to be their cook's invention. Something like a gulaš but less simmered. The meat is in larger chunks, about spoon sized, and chunks of squash of the same size, smaller tomato halves. Served in a grne, which is a terracotta pot, sized for one person's čorba, but packed in a parchment paper bag, tied up with twine. Untie and eat... Of spice, I mostly felt basil. The photo doesn't quite show it, her hand is over her pot, she was reaching for something. Too bad I didn't make a shot while it was still tied.
We liked this a lot, so she made sure to rebuild it at home, by memory, and actually succeeded in that. Good that she did, because the thing vanished from their menu, the cook left somewhere, the secret remained secret and she its keeper.
All three sisters had good time playing in the corner - the tavern has its own bit of kids' playground, and they used it. Sanda stubbornly wears that one dress, until it gets dirty enough, and than grabs it as soon as it gets washed and dried, and will keep doing so for at least one more year. The dress came from exchange with Vera - her daughter gets Violet's grown out garments, the twins get hers. Linda, though, doesn't have such a preferred piece.
Mentions: 09-VIII-2021., čorba, domaćin, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Linda Sredljevich Aquilla (Linda), Milan Nastić, Sanda Sredljević Aquilla (Sanda), Šanta, Vera Vraneš, Violet, in serbian