Flavors of home…

This post is about food things I could really go for right now, that I can’t get in Croatia…..

Don’t get me wrong, there are some FANTASTIC food options here in Croatia, but there are a few things I really could go for.

***There are no Starbucks in Croatia.  I really could go for a chai tea latte.  No one here seems to know what chai is.  They call ALL tea “chai.”   (Although they spell it “čaj”.)    For those of you not familiar with chai, here’s a handy dandy link:  CHAI   It’s yummy and full of sweet spices like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and pepper.  So good.  This is the link to the Starbucks page on it – my favorite drink… Starbucks Chai Tea Latte.  (When doing a search on the Starbucks site, the closest location is in Austria.  I’ll drink a few when I get back to Vienna!)

***I could also go for some Philly Soft Pretzels.  I do like the German style soft pretzels in this part of the world, but I’m talking about these little puppies.  (That link takes you to a handy little article about the history of Philadelphia’s pretzels.)  But here’s a pic for those of you not from the northeast USA:

***What else?  I could really go for some edamame.  You know – those pea style soy beans served in Japanese restaurants all over the place, back home in the States.  They’re so yummy, healthy, and cheap!

Here’s a little visual reminder:

We did find a chinese restaurant in the closest city to here, but there wasn’t a trace of edamame to be found.  Maybe in Zagreb?  (The capital city.)  But I don’t think they’re common here at all.  I think it’s gonna be hard to find them in Vienna too.

What IS especially good to eat here?  Well, it’s nice that there are lots more options with truffles.  Yummy delicious truffles.  They’re SO good in pasta and meat dishes.  (Food heaven!)   And prosciutto.  Lots of prosciutto.  This part of the world is famous for it.  Mmmmm…  Since we’re so close to Italy here, lots of the dishes are either Italianate or eastern European in nature.  But as far as lots of varied foods from all over the world and from lots and lots of cultures – they just don’t have the variety that we have access to in the States.