another 'best of 2005' list

this one, from the food person of centerstage.

her blog says:
http://sweettooth.typepad.com/mst/2005/ ... .html#more
(well, it's a coupla weeks late, but i forgot to post it...)

& her 'article' says:
http://centerstagechicago.com/restauran ... -2005.html

Interesting list. Most Eastern European restaurants in Chicago serve cevapcici. Mojitos are Nicaraguan. Giant ground beef burrito, a revelation. The completely ubiquitous throughout Latin America "champagne" cola flavored pop, discovered. Crab rangoon. Guileless.

Considering Misty, MST on this board, has been to nicaragua recently, I suspect she knows they aren't native to Mexico. Maybe she'll respond here, though

But what if she discovers something in the next 16 days? That's certainly what keeps me going...

Considering that the drink is Cuban, is all I meant. And the cevap point, I'm not so sure. Most of the E. European places in Chicago are Polish. Unless Eastern European means "Balkan," I don't think that is accurate. Readers might be confused or disappointed if looking for these.

But I did think the list was interesting and guileless, in mostly a good way, to be clear. I'm prepared to admit it, crab rangoon, done well, is brilliant. I'm not ready to love giant ground beef burritos, though.

I'm not ready to love giant ground beef burritos, though.

After the mojitos, maybe.

From her description, the chevapi she refers to sounds a lot like cevapcici, but I've never seen the term chevapi before, even in the few months I was living in Croatia and Serbia. Is this a common term from some other region?

JeffB wrote:Considering that the drink is Cuban, is all I meant.

I knew something about Mojito+Nicaragua sounded weird.

Wow! You guys on LTH are pretty dang on it. Of course I will reply to the responses.
These aren't necessarily the best things I tasted in 2005 (even though my editor called it that), but as you know, it's not always the best that brings you back for more.
It's the memories, the craves, the initial taste, the cost, the availability, the proximity to my home...all that good stuff.
I did indeed just return from Nicaragua and crazily enough...there were mojitos everywhere. But, you are correct, they are NOT Nicaraguan. I did however learn how to make a perfect Cuban mojito in Nicaragua. Go figure...and made with Nicaraguan Flor de Cana rum, too.
Chevapi? Never seen it spelled c-h-e-v-a-p-i? Wow.
Giant ground beef burrito, no good? Try being a vegetarian for years and coming off of no meat with a huge, cheese smothered burrito stuffed wtih greasy bround beef. A revelation indeed...
And, really why so bitter? My discoveries aren't supposed to be your best discoveries...it's all about spreading the good news. Trust me, there are tons of folks who have never tried "Latin American champagne cola"...including me, until I happened upon it at Restaurante El Salvador.
And, I thought it was awesome.
Never had a crab rangoon addiction? More power to ya~
Really quick, as a side note:
Other things I tasted in Nicaragua and loved...
Just-caught BBQ barracuda, fresh coconut pies, rondon soup, pina colada's, Cuban-style steak, awesome Italian pizza, whole grain pancakes, fried eggs with beans, guava jam, fried lobster, and shrimp ceviche.
Hell, it seems to me that everything is from everywhere...
And, you're right...what else can I discover in 16 days? Hmmmm.....
I LOVE the Mediterranean sandwich at Cafe Iguana...just discovered that tonight...

Hats off to MST....
Honestly, I was thinking the same thing; if I was a long time vegetarian, I'm sure a ground beef burrito must have been heaven....

MST wrote:Chevapi? Never seen it spelled c-h-e-v-a-p-i? Wow

Never. So where did you see it spelled that way?

Regards,

Hey Cathy:
I've seen chevapi spelled several different ways...depends on which restaurant you roll into.
But, really, in the end...try a google search...it pops up chevapi, too.
Maybe it is something that restaurants do to Americanize the word and make it easier to pronounce?

Considering that kebab is another form of the same word, chevapi wouldn't be a stretch.

Misty! I know you don't mean me. I'm not bitter. Some would say soy suave y dulce como kola champagne.

My only concern is that your wide-eyed discoveries be disseminated with correct information so the hip-xies have the rizzle dizzle once they've tasted the mind-blowing flava and Look'd at each other with a wild surmise. I know your snaps rock the Centerstage faithful with recent revelations like Candelite, La Unica, and Andrzej Grill. Those are all long-time loves, so your advice is solid. Anything you can do to keep these places around is good by me.

But it's maybe this kind of thing, "back-alley eateries, holes-in-the-wall and seedy ethnic joints," that had me a little itchy. Seedy ethnics are my people.

We all have our Darién (or Nicaragua), but lets remember one person's discovery is another persons culture. Respect.

And I'm serious about crab Rangoon. Ask the folks at Silver Seafood, where it's jacked up to something special.

Jeff B:
You are a really funny cat.
Seedy ethnic joints is just plain ole verbage....you know what I mean?
Some are seedy and some are joints and I love them all....And guess what? To some, I am the ethnic....and seedy, to boot.
I love all these places and glad you are a follower of the Dish.
I'd eat with you...in the D. Gap, no less.

MST, I'm blushing.

I don't take this stuff too seriously and I can see that you don't either. We need more of that around here if you ask me.

I'll take off my high hat now and get back to my 9 to 5.

Long time lurker here. Looked up chevapi on Google - yup, it's a skinless serbian sausage. I've actually had a good mojito in - gasp- Puerto Rico! And I have never met a crab rangoon that I didn't like. Way to go, MST.

Now we're talking. How's about a PR report on the not-Chicago board and maybe a crab rangoon rundown now that you are out here. The annual after-the-holidays "I'm going to Puerto Rico" query is going to come up soon, no doubt.

Google search results wrote:Results 1 - 10 of about 1,590 for chevapi.

Results 1 - 10 of about 93,200 for cevapcici

You never did answer my question: which restaurant referred as cevapcici or chevapi? Just curious.

Regards,