{sarajevo: the food}

Bosnians have amazing food. There's nothing exotic; no bugs, no chicken feet, no snakes. Sorry. But there is bread (hljeb), chicken sandwiches (pileci sandvic), fruit, cevapi (beef and lamb mixed together), bread, nutella, chicken salad (pileci salata), bread, fruit...you get the idea. Bosnians add their own touch to things like pileci salata and sandvic's...things like corn, local-made cheeses, interesting dressings and other things I don't know about (but ate anyways). Bosnian chef's also LOVE mayonnaise, and I do mean l.o.v.e. it. I usually had to wipe half of it just to eat the sandvic. So that's Bosnian food in a nutshell. There's more to it and there are definitely other dishes, I just don't remember names. I also feel that I MUST mention Bosnian coffee. It's very strong and I love it. American coffee just doesn't compare. They drink it all day, everyday and cafe's line the streets an alleys in Sarajevo. You can't escape the coffee, it will always find you.

Also worth noting: Sarajevo just welcomed its first McDonalds. I actually saw the location before they even constructed and I must say, it's so neat to see how it has changed (the last picture above is where the McD's is located now). Furthermore, it's exciting to see Bosnia progress; they are one of the last countries in Europe to get a McD's. Say what you want about capitalism, globalization and American imperialism, but this is huge for Bosnia, especially in the post-war era. A recent news report noted,

"We are becoming a part of western Europe, of a world from which we were cut off," local politician Aner Begic, 32, said as he munched on his meal.

"McDonald's is a symbol of the Western world and I'm thrilled that Bosnia is joining it," he said. Years of isolation brought on by Bosnia's inter-ethnic wars of the early 1990s are slowly easing. International brands are moving in and Bosnians can head out to most EU states since December without a visa, even if this still seems a far-off dream in an impoverished state with 43 percent unemployment."

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