\nWhen I arrived in Zadar last summer, I noticed some strange things considering food in particular. There are pizza places all over the town, on every damn corner. Oh, sorry, you could also see the boring corn on the cob on hot spots.<\/p>\n
Since I\u2019m a regular buyer and visitor at Zadar fish market, I know there\u2019s a lot of tasty \u201ccheap\u201d fish and shellfish like sardine, mackerel, shrimp or mussel. And that\u2019s basically all that we as tourists need and want when we hit the city. Fast local, traditional dishes \u2014 buzara<\/em> with mussels or shrimps (affordable and simple as hell, dish with just a few local ingredients), brudet<\/em> (magical Dalmatian fish stew), deep fried sardines, mackerel grilled on gradele <\/em>rack with some parsley, garlic and olive oil \u2014 all with some fresh homemade bread and cheap but decent local wine.<\/p>\n But instead, we\u2019re stuck with pizzas, puffed pastry fast food and pretty expensive restaurants or taverns.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve asked myself a few questions and decided to find answers or at least fail trying. The big four is:<\/p>\n Work less, earn more<\/strong> Their apartments are built by people from other, less developed parts of Croatia, or Bosnia and Herzegovina. It\u2019s similar with restaurants and bars, where most of the employees are seasonal workers and they\u2019re not from Dalmatia. We have something here, but in my humble opinion, nothing to call them lazy. They have just learned how to work less and earn more. And, not to forget \u2014 there are many Dalmatians working their socks off.<\/p>\n * The song <\/em>Maslina je neobrana (\u201cOlive Isn\u2019t Harvested\u201d) is actually a sad song sung by <\/em>klapa (Dalmatian traditional a capella choir), but many use it for mocking Dalmatians. It\u2019s like \u2014 \u201cEight fancy dressed guys singing about olive not being harvested. Are you f***in\u2019 kidding me? Go and harvest it!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Bureaucracy, bureaucracy everywhere<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, first I thought it might be about food safety regulation issues or insufficient local government support, but then I ran into a festival called Night of the Full Moon<\/em>, and ate a lot of brudet, grilled fish and buzara.<\/p>\n There were thousands of tourists. And, as I have mentioned, we (tourists) just love this simple combo of fish and wine.<\/p>\n So, I reached for answers in Istria (Dalmatia\u2019s northern neighbor). I contacted chef David Skoko from Batelina. Konoba Batelina is a place where David transforms fresh underrated fish and shellfish to a culinary masterpiece.<\/p>\n David tells me that there are, in fact, some regulations which allow people to prepare and sell food at fairs and festivals, but permits are mostly issued on daily basis or during fairs \u2014 short-term permits. And, yes, they are issued by the local government.<\/p>\n With minimal regulation corrections, the government can provide better conditions for small entrepreneurs, increase self-employment and we can have all-year-round quality street food. \u2014 said David Skoko.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I also reached out to get information from Maja \u017deb\u010devi\u0107 Mati\u0107 from City Museum of Po\u017eega, the person behind the Museum in a Pot project, who brought us forgotten Slavonian food to the table. Maja also pointed out some interesting things.<\/p>\n Until recently (90\u2019s), you could buy roasted ox during a music festival, but now that\u2019s banned. \u2014 Maja \u017deb\u010devi\u0107 Mati\u0107 explained.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ok, so there are bureaucracy issues related to selling food in the street.<\/p>\n Shut up and take my money!<\/strong> There is a profit perspective!<\/p>\n *Unfortunately, it was just one night, but it provided important information for later observations.<\/em><\/p>\n History, <\/strong>tradition<\/strong> and culture<\/strong> For example, in Po\u017eega, during the fair, an innkeeper would sell sixteen pigs and lambs on a spit in one day. And in the 19th and 20th century there were lots of taverns like that. In the 18th century, you could buy meat dish called vinogradarski \u0107evap (\u201cvineyard \u0107evap\u201d) in the street. It was eaten on the site or taken home, same as the aforementioned pig or lamb. \u2014 Maja \u017deb\u010devi\u0107 Mati\u0107<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n David also mentioned that his late grandfather told him that \u201cwhen Istria was under Italian occupation, you could buy barbecued clams and oysters at Pula market. Also, workers could find tripes and mane\u0161tra soup at the train station.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n We can collect pieces and get the full picture \u2014 street food was alive and well during the 18th and 19th century. They both agree that street food in this form vanished from our streets around mid to late 20th century.<\/p>\n What is the future of Croatian street food?<\/strong> As chef Skoko said, \u201cwe\u2019re under a huge impact of the media, global gastronomy and locals who\u2019re collecting food experience all over the world. Things are changing, and whatever direction it will lead us to, it will be better than this status quo!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I want to believe that we\u2019re at the beginning of something new, fresh, local and tasty in Croatia. And that\u2019s exactly what Maja\u2019s Museum in the Pot is trying to do with exhibitions all over Croatia. They want to raise public awareness and activate tourist boards to straighten \u00a0the position of traditional street food in their cities.<\/p>\n To sum it up… Things we need to do to bring street food where it belongs:<\/p>\n We are creating the cultural identity of Croatian street food right now! \u2014 chef David Skoko<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When you think of street food, you probably imagine an awesome (level Asian) street vendor in a remote village who has Mortal Combat cooking skills and Anthony Bourdain sitting in front of him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nThere\u2019s a stereotype that Dalmatians are lazy and all they do is drink bevanda and rest under an olive tree* all day. Well, they have, as I have learned, a custom called \u2014 mala no\u0107 (little night \u2014 rough translation, similar to the siesta). But that doesn\u2019t make them lazy, just more relaxed and laid-back. They like to be self-sustainable, and by that I mean, to have their own restaurants, wineries, and apartments for rent. They (mostly) live all year from income earned in the summer.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/tasteofcroatia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/ls_large_11875043_10206367284614733_2568863801796362232_o.jpg\")
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\nWalking every night through Zadar with thousands of fellow tourists, I noticed that almost everyone is eating, drinking or licking something. Restaurants, bars, popcorn stands, pizza corners, even corn stands are full. For example, one night* I walked along the seafront and saw simple deep fried fish at one stand. There was a waiting line with thirty-plus people in it. I guess we can draw an easy conclusion from this example.<\/p>\n
\nFrom a historical viewpoint, Croatia has a history of street food offered during fairs, public celebrations, kermesses, festivals etc. Maja said so.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/tasteofcroatia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/ls_large_1-GFhYwOBg4LLZRsEaUlQrxQ.jpeg\")
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\nDemand for fast food is high, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re in Croatia or in Tu\u1ea7n Ch\u00e2u \u2014 you can\u2019t escape corporate fast food. But, you can fight it.<\/p>\n\n