Local Deliciousness



Burek (aka Beef Pie)

I have been meaning to write about this place forever. I keep thinking I've already posted about it, then we eat there again and I realize I haven't. For those of you not in the Mt. Juliet/Nashville area..I apologize. You're missing out on an excellent eatery—Cafe Bosna. For those of you in the area who have never heard of it, or who have heard of it and never tried it...what are you waiting for?!
Mike first heard of this place about two years ago via Urbanspoon or Yelp or some such site. It didn't have a ton of ratings yet, but all the ones that were posted were positive. When we finally tried it for the first time, we were instantly in love. It's nothing special to look at, just a little cafe/diner in the bottom level of a corner strip mall. There are maybe 8 tables in the entire place. But the food...oh, the food. Don't come if you aren't hungry...the portions are meant for hungry people. It was difficult to decide what we wanted to try first, but we ordered the chevapi appetizer, Mike tried the stuffed grape leaves, and I had the chicken paprikash. (Chevapi is a homemade beef sausage, sans casings of any kind. It's served with homemade warm pita bread, feta cheese, tomatoes, and black olives, and it absolutely delicious.) We liked our first visit so much, in fact, that we went twice more that very first week, trying something different each time. 

The menu is predominantly Bosnian, meaning stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage, etc. They also offer other European delights such as Chicken Cordon Bleu, Jagerscnitzel, etc. To date, I believe we have tried everything on the menu at least once and have not tasted anything we didn't like.
Perhaps my favorite thing about Cafe Bosna, however, is the owner/chef—Sevalia. She cooks cooks everything herself, in plain sight of diners on a stove much like any of us have at home. Anytime we walk in, she greets us like we're family members coming over for a visit. I have taken friends and family there, and she always is so excited to meet new people and welcome them. I invited my extended Kansas family to join when they were in Nashville in November 2011, and they made a special stop last August as they drove home from Florida just to eat here again. They literally pulled off the interstate, joined us for dinner, then kept on driving.

A few other good-to-know tidbits: Cafe Bosna was featured on the pilot episode of Cooking Channel's Eden's Eats last fall, where she featured the Stuffed Onions. She is open Tuesday though Saturday, from 11-2 and 5-9. Cafe Bosna is a BYOB eatery (with no corking fee).

Most importantly, try to save room for the dessert. The Walnut Cake and Baklava are always tasty, but she often has daily specials. The Apple Strudel was delish, but my all-time favorite are her Crepes. An order comes with two, with your choice of filling, usually strawberry, apricot, or Nutella. My favorite is to get one Nutella and one strawberry. She doesn't always offer these, so if they are available order them, even if you think you're stuffed. You won't be sorry!


Fresh Batch of Baklava, almost ready!

Comments

  1. Mandy3/10/13, 3:56 PM

    Yum! How do I not know about this place? Let's go!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looks like I've got some catching up to do

Image
So, to anyone who was reading this with any regularity, it seemed as though I fell off the face of the earth. Or quit cooking. Or quit eating. I can assure you none of these scenarios is true. Mike and I still cook together all the time, and now it's even better because we moved last summer, and our new kitchen is far and way better than our old one. We've also still been traveling quite a bit — most frequently to Asheville — where the most frequent question that comes up is, "Where are we eating tonight/in the morning/next?" Along those same lines, for our last several birthdays and anniversaries, we've opted to celebrate by dining out at a restaurant (preferably one we haven't tried yet) instead of exchanging gifts. So I figured to help me get back in the swing of things, I'd share our most recent celebration dinner: my birthday dinner earlier this month. If you're not from Nashville, you may not know, but the food scene here has EXPLODED
Read more

Finally Fall

Image
On tonight's menu...Monday Night Football and Moroccan Carrot Soup!  That peeler is one of the cheapest and best kitchen gadgets I own! Nothing says Fall has arrived like football and soup, and since the temps around here finally dropped below the 80s, it was time to break out the soup pot. I first tried this carrot soup at my aunt's house several months ago, and I couldn't wait to make it again so Mike could try it, too. It's really easy to make, and I believe relatively healthful. I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, so consider this one, "From the Kitchen of Aunt Sheryl." I used Greek yogurt, and doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers for lunches. The recipe as listed says it will serve 4. Drizzling in the honey... Moroccan Carrot Soup 2 Tbl butter 1 cup chopped white onion 1 lb large carrots, peeled and chopped into ½-inch pieces 2½ cups low-salt chicken broth 1 Tbl honey 1 tsp fresh lemon juice ⅛ tsp ground allspice
Read more

Squash and Carrots, Oh My!

Image
When Mike and I were still just dating, Mike's mom was having us over for dinner and introduced me to a brand new dish: Squash Casserole. It was so very tasty that I asked for the recipe at the end of the meal and have been making it ever since. Granted, it's not the healthiest way to eat your vegetables, but sometimes you've got to go for tasty and leave the healthy to someone else. Most recipes I've found call for a full cup of sour cream and an entire stick of butter. I've decreased both these and found it was still delicious. If you're really going for decadence, though, feel free to go all in. Also, most recipes I've seen either mix half the cornbread stuffing mix into the casserole or spread half on the bottom and the remaining on top. I really enjoy the crispy on top, so that's where I put all of mine. All the ingredient amounts are pretty flexible. I've used preshredded carrots, and I've shredded my own. Preshredded will offer a bit o
Read more