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When I first returned to Jacksonville, I was still on a Balkan obsession high. I was reading two books about the Balkans and preparing to write a paper about the conflict for use as my advanced legal writing graduation requirement. My enthusiasm has since waned and been replaced by a fervor for Nicaragua (more on that in a later post) but at the beginning of January I needed a place to get my Balkan fix. Google provided immediate answers. There is a Balkan restaurant in Jacksonville called, creatively, Balkan Cafe. The owner/operators are from Bosnia but have lived in Jacksonville for many years. They were understandably surprised by my interest in Balkan cuisine but took the time to explain the menu and answer all of my questions about their homeland.
Ednan and his father run the place. Inspired initially by a warm response to his father's tailgating performances at local Balkan soccer games, the two opened Balkan Cafe about a year ago. Ednan claims that Jacksonville has the fourth largest population of Balkan people in the U.S. Whether this is true or not is for someone else to discover. I am content taking the Balkan people at their oft embellished word.
The food was typical Balkan fare: sausage wrapped in a pita with a side of ajvar (red pepper sauce), eaten with one's hands. Ednan even told me where to find ajvar. There is a European grocery on Beach Boulevard that sells about ten different varieties of God's nectar. I went home stuffed and eager for a return trip.
