Tucked away in a large compound just past the Gracanica monastery is Etno Kuca, a cavernous restaurant complex were the portions are as generous as the staff.
The place has been lovingly and meticulously designed and decorated like an old house from the 19 century. Light fixtures fashioned from old butter churns hang from the ceiling, and the tables and chairs are a sweet hodgepodge of colors and woolen seat cushions. The restaurant is huge but it still feels cozy, and its outdoor terrace area is full of flowers. We were brought back to the 21 century every so often by the plasma screens set up for watching World Cup matches.
We had prepared ourselves for a feast and cycled from Prishtina to Gracanica to whet our appetites but we still could not know what awaited us. We started off with a mezze platter for the table: Njegoski prsut (Montenegrin prosciutto), Sharr cheese and kajmak, and a Hunter’s Salad (a kind of chop-it-yourself veggie plate.) It was a joy to eat the homemade bread, straight from the oven, with the kajmak and urnebes. Classified as a salad, urnebes is actually a cheese and chili spread from the area of Nis, Serbia. The name translates as “disorder” but it is sure to put everything right in your mouth.
The menu is expansive, with a full selection of every kind of meat as well as fish, and waiter urged us to be cautious ordering, as the portions are humongous. On his recommendation, I opted to ask for a smaller portion of the veal cooked under a sac, a shallow bell-shaped vessel for slow roasting over a fire. It was roasted with hints of rosemary and tasted so soft. Another diner ordered two kremenadle, or pork chops, which were perfectly juicy, with none of the dryness that one worries about with pork.
Another diner ordered sausages: two tasty but impossible to finish links surrounded by French fries. They were good, but the least exciting dish by far.
After the four of us had almost had our fill for the evening, the waiter brought the piece de resistance: an epic portion of “cabbage with meat.” Despite its simple name, this is a classic, and Etno Kuca’s version did not disappoint: just touching the ham bone, the slowly roasted meat fell off. Then it melted in our mouths. The cabbage cooked with it was full of flavor, creating a kind of sauerkraut-y effect. The dinner table discussion degenerated into a series of grunts of pleasure and paeans to the food itself.
Even though we needed a doggie bag, we did not skimp on dessert. We shared a ‘Tufakija,” an old-style apple stuffed with walnuts and topped with whipped cream. Even the waiter laughed when I said I wanted “Tufakija.”
The owners, Bata and his Bosnian-Albanian wife, Indira, know a thing or two about hospitality: they used to run a hotel in Prishtina that hosted many journalists during the war. The couple had many stories to share over a glass of Viljamovka, a nice pear brandy, on the house. In the coming months they also plan to open a hotel.
19 June 2014 - 10:00
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