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The Greatest Thing I Ever Ate: Coffee And Burek In Mostar, Bosnia
Carbs, cheese and caffeine are simple, everyday fare but once in a lifetime, surrounded by serenading birds and beauty, they can make you feel more contented than ever before.
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A sojourn around former Yugoslavia – beautiful though it is – is not really the best trip to take for the herbivores among us. The national dishes of each Eastern European country rely heavily on fleisch, and my main sustenance on that trip came from cheese and bread, or bread and cheese.
Now, I’m a fan of bread and cheese. As a veggie, a nice rustic doorstop cheese sarnie is a quick and reliable staple – Salad Cream please, no Mayo. Maybe a few choices slices of salad vegetable if I feel so inclined. After all, what’s a life without whimsy? But five weeks of being bound up like a dried out cement mixer took the edge off somewhat, and I was aching for something that would tickle the palate.
From the near-Mediterranean splendour of Split in Croatia, I decided to bod on up to Mostar in Bosnia, having once read about it in a book. It was on the way to Sarajevo and had a really really old bridge that the Croats had bombed four-fifths of a flying fuck out of during the war. Good enough for me.
What stunned me about Mostar, first and foremost, was its beauty. I had a very firm image of Bosnia in my mind that mainly came from ‘Behind Enemy Lines’ – crumbling Soviet tower blocks, an eternal winter, and craggy, scarified old men in dirty vests – a dog end eternally affixed to tar-stained lips.
Safe to say I was wrong. The Ottoman Empire had a huge effect on this part of Europe, and I was greeted by a spicy, heady exoticism of Bazaars and cobble-streets, Backgammon in the sun, the whiff of smoke and strong coffee inducing the giddiness of exploration.
The coffee is brought back up to boiling point again. Apparently it adds depth and flavor. Like it needed more.
Once the 40-degree heat had worn me down sufficiently, I decided to take a break and found a café. It was a wonderful garden-type affair, set in the side of a hillock on the banks of the river Neretva, right next to the now rebuilt Stari Most. From here I could watch the local oiled Adonis’ ransack tourists for money, before jumping off the 79ft structure into the – remarkably shallow – river below.
The waiter – in between playing tune after tune of ear-rape turbo-folk – popped on over and took my order. In need of some pepping up I ordered a coffee and a glass of iced water. Enquiring about snacks, I was told that I should really try Burek – kind of like a sausage roll, with the sausage replaced by melted cheese. Great. Some form of carbs and cheese. Quelle fucking surprise.
I waited for my food feeling rather content. Small finch-like birds played chicken with the ash I was flicking into the ashtray, and the sickly-sweet smell of overripe figs from the trees above me invaded my senses – in a nice way. I tried to catch the eye of a stunning Balkan beauty sat one table over, barefoot and sporting an artfully ripped Sonic Youth tee. Labret piercing glinting in the sunlight as she talked. My reverie was broken with the arrival of my munch.
The coffee was served in the traditional way, grounds floating in the tar-black sludge, housed and brewed in a roughly beaten copper pot. An important distinction to make between Bosnian Coffee (or ‘Bosanska Kahva’) and the more commonly known Turkish coffee is in the preparation. A small amount of water is saved aside once boiling, and then the coffee and water are added to the pot. Once mixed, the remaining water is added and the coffee is brought back up to boiling point again. Apparently it adds depth and flavor. Like it needed more.
I could bullshit at length about how it had the deep lush hue of a summer cornfield – but it looked like it came from Greggs.
I sipped my coffee as is customary, with a brown sugar cube snuggled under my tongue. As it dissolved, it spiked the black diesel liquid with a syrupy sweetness that gave quite the perky kick. Chasing it with sips of iced water had the effect of revitalising my insides. The hot-sweet and bitter coffee and the cool and refreshing water were the devil and god raging inside me. Well, raging inside my guts.
Revived is an understatement – there is weaker Cocaine to be found in SU bars the country over than Bosnian Coffee – I decided to move onto my Burek. About six inches long, two inches wide, greasy and sprinkled with sesame seeds, it wasn’t much to look at. I could bullshit at length about how it had the deep lush hue of a summer cornfield – but it looked like it came from Greggs.
I tentatively chomped down on one end, Sirene (Balkan Goats cheese) oozed into my mouth. And it was everything you wanted in a foodstuff. The pastry was perfect – moist but not too greasy, flaky and crisp on the outside, chewy towards the center. The cheese was salty – the consistency somewhere in between melted cheddar and Feta. Not stringy, but not crumbly either. It had a proper sour twang to it. Nice, if you like that kind of thing.
And as I sat there, breathing deeply the fig-scented air and watching the world pass, Gitane after Gauloises after Camel (fags were so cheap I started a lucky dip process), the coffee starting to supercharge my veins and my mouth a-hum with the stodgy, savoury tones of Burek, I thought to myself that I had never felt quite so contented.
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COMMENTS
Remember, their coffee has to be hot enough to scald a dog when you spit it out
I don't like cheese but even I'd have a go at a Burek.
The 450 years Old Bridge was destroyed by Croatian Army 1993.
Nice description of your coffee and burek experience! Quite fancy finding that cafe in Mostar myself now... although I might have a cool beverage with my burek. As a vegeterian now living in Croatia I here the concrete mixer pain.
I love Burek. I remember eating a particularly tasty one bought from near Zagreb bus station at around 6am with a coffee, of course. Great start to the day. Enjoyed the article. I've yet to make it to Mostar but hopefully will do soon. Turbo folk - I told my mates about this, they won't believe it exists!!! Fucking mental.
Ben, cheese is just the beginning-there is potato pita ( krompirusa pita od krompira or burek od krompira basically all are burek just ask pita -pie- od - from - krompir - potatoes or 'shpinat'- spinach 'sir i zelj' -cheese and spinach - my wife and I sipping our Bosnian coffee - our morning ritual-reading your account of Bosnian pleasure ( 'chef')- you caught the experience beautifully. We're long term veg( 30+years) and find that there are many veg options when in BiH- most people always focus on the meat dishes but as in most countries with strong 'peasant' traditions there are many non meat options usually dismissed, as meat is always seen the food of the rich. Fools that they are. Sarajevo was the first European city to introduce cafes and with that the art of weaving a leisurely hour from a 'fildjan' -cup- of coffee. If you can check out a hotel where they sing some sevdah - Bosnian Blues or if Mostar Sevdah Reunion is still playing give them a listen- someone will translate the 'non- translatable' PS it was the Croats/ Catholics who destroyed the old bridge did you notice the 'little' cross atop the hill- that was one of the firing positions- in a way you were right for if the Catholics didn't then the Orthodox would have got around to it eventually- they don't cope well with differences or reminders that there are many other traditions that have added something to their lives "what have the Romans ever done for us?" scenario luckily you'll find Burek, coffee, music turbo and mellow, colours, spices, love of books, comfort and beauty throughout BiH and ironically Serbia, a lasting legacy of the Ottomans- in Sarajevo check out the old-stari- pivnica -brewery- ( even the Orthodox Christians left it untouched during the Sarajevo siege bombardments) Sarajevsko pivo -beer- last year was awarded one of the world's best beers Zivjeli! To life!
I'm a native from Mostar, and it's always good to see tourists enjoying your hometown so much :) but just a note, the bridge was knocked down by Croatians. Also Burek is the meat pie, what you had is referred to as sirnica or "cheese pie" ;)
Hey Ben: You can have a very similar experience just 2 hours from Portland at Drina Daisy in Astoria. Coffee, pita (burek & zeljanica (beef & spinach)),& much more real Bosnian fare including traditional jagnjetina (spit roasted lamb) which goes down well with some of Mostar's Blatina wine. Saves a lot of tine & airfare compared to Mostar or my favorite place there, Sarajevo.
Thankyou for all the really positive comments. It's a pleasure. RE: The bombing of Stari Most - apologies for that misinformation, it has been changed. And Ken - do you mean Portland Bill in Dorset? Or Portland(ia), Oregon? Because that would be a MUCH larger airfare!
Drina Daisy is in NW Oregon: on the Columbia & close to the ocean (Pacific) - Portlandia is just a better know point of reference with an international airport. And a though about the stari most - its less important about who did what, than the fact it is fully repaired AND the old & new are indistinguishable (which I found truly amazing).
Yes but my point was that I live in NW England - I just happen to be a fan of the Carrie Brownstein/Fred Armisen show! (Very much want to visit Portland though, great cultural history you guys have there). And yes, on the subject of the bridge bombing, I agree. It doesn't matter who did it - the repair job is phenomenal - I just didn't want to be factually inaccurate.
As a Mostar native, I am so pleased to read your comment on the cuisine and this is one of the best ads for my town I've read in awhile. So, the next time you come over to Mostar lunch is on me. Cheers
Mostar is in Hercegovina, not in Bosnia!
Mostar is a Croatian city with a large Muslim community.
Proud it is same country Bosnia&Herzegovina,just everyone call it Bosnia,it is easier .
mostar is not croatian city.it is the city in the bosnia and hercegovina.croatia and serbia ocupied the bosnia and hercegovina in 91-95 trying to divide BiH.they did agresion and genocide right there......
Mostar is in hercegovina ;)
Croats and Serbs fought againist Islamist Bosnian government.
Hercegovina is Croatia.
Just wanted to say I'm glad you enjoyed your time in Bosnia and that you made a story out of it. I liked the way you described my hometown and the memories you carry with yourslef. Keep up the good work and feel free to come back again. :) You're always welcome.Best regards
Hercegovina is southern region of Bosnia and Mostar is Bosnian city.
I live in Mostar and I am a Croat. I consider it a Croat city.
''Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region, its cultural capital and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. '' - taken from Wikipedia
Since most of the native Muslims, Serbs and decent citizens were forced at a gunpoint to leave Mostar by HVO and Croatian Army (and this is mildly put), yes, many (not all) Croats can and do consider Mostar a Croat city. Still, tourists come to enjoy the beauty they wanted to destroy completely during the war.
Mostar city is one of the largest and beautiful city of Bosnia. Here you can find more photos: http://www.worldfortravel.com/2013/07/06/mostar-bosnia/
For all of you who say that Mostar is a croatian city: I dont think you can find it on the map of croatia...there is a difference between considering it as a croatian city and the truth!
