On our first full day in Hvar, our guide picked us up near our hotel in a 4WD vehicle for a tour of the island's picturesque countryside. Included in our tour was lunch – in an abandoned village. The village of Malo Grablje dates back to the 15th century. It was abandoned in the 1950s when a pest called phylloxera devastated the vineyards in the area, driving the residents to the town of Milna, about two miles away. When we arrived at our lunch destination, we disembarked and stood on a deserted gravel road, surrounded by crumbling stone ruins and darkened forest.
The old stone houses of Malo Grablje were gradually returning to nature. The roofs were falling in; trees grew inside the walls; the cobbled pathways were overgrown. We followed our guide up a flight of stone steps, under an arch and through the hollowed foundations of a long-ruined house. As the path turned uphill, we finally reached the Konoba Stori Komin.
The word konoba in Dalmatia means the room in a house where food is prepared and stored. These traditional restaurants are found in the coastal areas of Croatia, offering food prepared from local traditional recipes. Stori Komin's owner was a wiry middle-aged man named Berti Tudor. Berti returned to Malo Grablje in 2005. He opened a konoba in his ancestral home and started cooking for family and friends. As his fame grew, he began catering to guests at a handful of tables.
Berti Tudor in Stori Komin's kitchen Bertie was our maître d', our server and our chef. We were seated at a tablecloth covered wooden table, on wooden bench seats. A spectacular view of the rocky heights of the Grablje canyon framed our dining area.
There were no menus; our only choice was red or white wine. After that, we ate what Bertie brought us. We weren't disappointed. We started with a plate of anchovies and another with prosciutto, cheese, tomatoes and olives. With a basket of fresh bread, we finished it all off.
Anchovies, prosciutto, cheese, tomatoes and olives
As we relaxed with our wine between courses, I noticed our guide standing over a grill, tucked into an alcove in the stone wall. He was admiring a literal mixed grill of lamb, veal, chicken and beef. This was our next course.
Lamb, veal, chicken and beef on an open grill Bertie brought us a large platter of the entire grill, along with potatoes and ratatouille. It was a carnivore's delight and we dove in.
Grilled lamb, veal, chicken and beef, potatoes, and ratatouille Everything was perfectly cooked and delicious; we did away with most of it – with a little help from one of Croatia's ubiquitous cats.
Dessert was roasted almonds coated with cinnamon and sugar; they were warm and full of flavor.
Roasted almonds coated with cinnamon and sugar Our lunch at the Konoba Stori Komin was extraordinary. While we were unlikely to return to the abandoned village of Malo Grablje, we would never forget it. Copyright © 2016 TwoForTheTable.com |
