We are in Rovinj for four days.
We had two spectacular food experiences, so here is a food post.
The sign hanging out front says “Wine and something fine."
Inside is a magical little food and wine experience.
This is Male Madlene, and we were here five years ago. It was one of those places that stick with you, so we have returned to see first, if she is still in business (yes) second to see if the food was really that good (it was and is) and third to have a good time.
The owner is Ana. She is retired now, from a career in the History of Art. She lived in Belgrade, then Zagreb, now here in Rovinj. Seven years she has been retired, and seven years she has had this little restaurant.
Her whole philosophy is that food is art.
Her passions are art and food.
This little four table restaurant (now with a newly added outside terrace downstairs) is the fulfillment of her passion.
What you get is fresh, local food, direct from the morning market, slowly prepared by hand during the day. She stores some of it, prepared, in her refrigerator, some of it is cut and folded right on the spot, and it is all put together for you when you order.
It is "finger food," you know, wine tasting sized portions. Ana pairs the bites with local wines.
Essentially you are enjoying an artfully presented wine and food pairing.
And it is all done in the comfort of a home-like setting, with very few people. The streets outside may be crowded with tourists, but inside you are warm and cozy, eating off fine china with linen napkins and appropriate, fine glassware.
The cost is higher priced for Croatia, (and some reviews reflect that) but that cost is a relative thing. The wine and food pairing we do every year at St. Francis Winery in Sonoma is more than double the cost for less than half the food and wine samples. And you are eating finger foods, so if you are just looking for a full meal you might not have enough (but we did as you will see by the list below).
So look, it is not for everybody.
But if you enjoy good, local food, done right, by a local person who is presenting to you her passion, this is the place to seek out.
A few notes: We sat by the window and enjoyed the high surf pounding outside. In fact, the water-side bars are all closed, and one rouge wave splashed in through the window while we ate, much to our amusement.
There was one other couple there, and the third table was reserved. We did not see terrace, because of the seas, but Ana told us about it. We did not have a reservation, but you might want to make one, especially if you want the window seat or to sit on the open terrace.
You can buy just one or two items with a single glass of wine, or you can do a "one course," three or four item sampler (like a fish course or a meat course) or...
Or you can go big and do the "Four Course Taste Menu" of everything for 180Kuna (per person).
That is what we did, then added on the "Taste of Chocolate" dessert course for another 60 Kuna.
This was 15 samples of food each.
We asked her to pair wines with each course, so we ended up with five glasses of wine each.
Actual portion size:
Gail, who is a (most-of-the-time) vegetarian, and who does not eat huge meals, finished everything.
Every.
Damn.
Bite.
She was stuffed, but really enjoyed it.
Me? I was comfortable. We left and I was not hungry, but not stuffed.
The total cost for everything listed below, for the two of us, was about $100 US.
As you can see, we could have reduced the cost by eating or drinking less.
Be sure to see the photos.
First course was three seafood bites: Mussels in a sort of chopped salsa, fresh anchovies in greens, and a shrimp cocktail.
It was all paired with a white wine, Malvasia Istriana Prelac.
The wine was good and crisp, tasted of the grape and mineral soil. The anchovies were the most interesting taste combo, really nice, not salty, slight bitterness, with a nice crunch from the greens.
The second course was three vegetarian based samples: A red pepper stuffed with cheese, then eggplant and olives and goat cheese, and finally tuna pate in zucchini.
This course was paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé.
Again, a nice pairing, and I was surprised I liked the eggplant and zucchini so much as neither is my favorite (In fact I avoid them if possible. Like Lima beans. Gag me.)
Third course was asparagus wrapped with ham, pork with a sauce, and beef with greens and a wine reduction.
This was paired with the local red wine Grimalda Rosso Matošević (I think that was it - sketchy notes here - too busy eating and talking...).
Well, I was all over this meat course. The pork was wonderful, the beef perfect. And who doesn't love wrapped asparagus?
Fourth course, the cheeses: Starting with a fresh goat cheese with fig and orange zest, then aged goat cheese with strawberry and honey, and finished up with gorgonzola with grapes, walnuts, and pears.
This was paired with the Cabernet Sauvignon.
Look at the photo at the top of the gorgonzola bite. The grapes were hand sliced, so the presentation is beautiful.
We finished with a Muscat paired for the chocolate desserts. They were a kind of Belgian chocolate mousse with hazelnuts, and then a raspberry chocolate torte type thing.
It was a great evening, and we spend about three hours enjoying it all.
I spent a couple days here once-upon-a-time hunting for the best truffle pasta.
And so I myself can recommend a couple places you should go try.
But, what do you do to follow that up?
Why, you ask a trusted food person; someone who is passionate about food (and perhaps art) where they would go to get the best truffles.
And if that person was named Ana, she would recommend a place called Konoba Stari Podrum, in Momjan.
What I didn't know is, where is Momjan (thanks, Google)? We have been to some pretty small places, this one was down a lot of one lane roads and a dirt track at the end. And worth every kilometer. It is about 45 minutes north of Rovinj, right up on the border of Slovenia.
This area is called "the Kingdom of Muscat."
Not making this up.
Old village with a castle, from about the eleventh century, but probably first built up in the Roman era.
So, we drove up almost to Slovenia.
You can see it.
Right there.
The other thing I did not know is that Konoba Stari Podrum is widely regarded as a real foodie place, as in perhaps it is the best restaurant in Istria. We went without a reservation, but easily got in at the magic "no one eats at 14:15 hour."
Just as an FYI: If Stari Podrum is closed or full, a back up place in the town of Momjan itself is called Konoba Rino. They have a pretty good reputation as well.
It is a cool little family run place, attached to the side of their home. There is inside seating by a fire, outside in a glassed in atrium, and outside in the garden. We sat outside.
Mom cooks. And let me tell you she is a great cook. Dad makes the grappa and gets the local foods. The sisters are the servers.
They welcomed us in like we were family.
Everything is sourced right here. The wine, the chicken and beef and vegetables. All of it.
I was there for one thing only: the truffle pasta. White truffle is out of season, so I had the Black truffles on the traditional twisted pasta. (You could choose gnocchi, .noodles, etc). I told the sister why I was there and just asked for her recommendation. She paired it with a wonderful red wine and I was set.
The fresh, hand made pasta was in a cream sauce. Truffle was shaved on top, then slices of truffle on that. I have never seen so much.
Gail had an asparagus pasta, and it looked kind of like an asparagus pesto sauce. It was paired with white wine.
Her pasta was fresh and very tasty. Imagine a good pesto, but with asparagus.
Both wines were delicious. I wanted more, but had to drive.
They gave us bread, spread with soft white, buttery cheese, with shaved truffle on it.
You can get a larger or smaller portion of pasta; in fact if you just want to try all they make I understand you can get a sort of pasta sampler. But I didn't try that.
I remarked how great the truffle pasta was. Even Gail liked it, and she does not like truffles at all. It was very subtle yet strong.
So we talked. According to our waitress, the secret is that you simple make the pasta, then shave fresh truffle on it. No oil at all.
That's the key, she insisted.
So I thought back on what I have had before (and paid attention a day later when I ordered truffle pasta at a different place. Sure enough: oil. And it was good, but it was not excellent.) and I think she is correct.
Later that afternoon we stopped in Hum, and I bought some fresh truffles to take home.
Anyway, this is the best truffle pasta I have had, ever. Hands down fantastic.
The waitress liked our enthusiasm, so she gave me a glass of Mistletoe Grappa, made by her father. Turns out that is a big deal around here. It is almost sweet, with a strong, distinct smell and taste. Kind of coats your tongue.
In Hum, I read a little sheet that said, "...herbal brandy of carefully dried Mistletoe leaves... healing beverage...love potion and mystical aphrodisiac characteristics."
I suppose that depends on how much of it you drink?
Gail had a generous shot of port, made from the local Teran grapes. I have a bottle of Teran wine in the room now, it is red wine, tannic with lighter complexity. "Accounts back to Roman times stating that the mother of Emperor Claudius lived to a very old age... due to this wine."
Perfect.
Pasta.
The next two days the good food was just kind of disappointing in comparison.
So, I did what anyone else would do: our last day here in Rovinj I called up Restoran Konoba Stari Podrum to see if we could get a table.
To my surprise, they remembered me, and welcomed us back.
I literally did not eat the rest of the day in anticipation. And, I can tell you that I will probably not eat the next day (today, as I type this) either.
It was raining in Rovinj when we left, but on the way north it got worse and we could barely drive on the highway.
But about 25 km from Momjan it cleared up, the sun was out and it warmed back up.
When we arrived at the Konoba it was a beautiful day.
We were greeted warmly and shown a nice table outside.
All day I had been plotting what to order. More of the truffle pasta, and a beef steak with truffles. It seems to be a very popular dish.
Much to our waitress’ amusement, I asked if she had any other recommendations.
And so that is how we ended up with a starter of scrambled eggs with truffles.
Gail decided to share everything with me, and she got her own order of pork cutlets (like pork chops). We also had a side of potatoes.
And for the next two and a half hours we were in eating heaven.
Slowly the courses were brought out, and slowly we enjoyed each bite. Gail, who hates truffle anything, was eating right along, surprised at herself that she liked the truffles so much. When we told our waitress, she shrugged and smiled. “We don’t use oil,” she explained.
At some point they brought in a bucket of truffles on the way to the kitchen. I wanted to grab ten and stuff them in my pockets. Amazing. Little round black bumpy things, with no smell at all. I was surprised. I have never actually seen truffles, let alone touched them or been invited (almost) to dive into a bucket full of them.
I wanted to have dessert, and so did Gail, but we just couldn’t do it. I would have had to sleep right there on the grass.
So, as as the bells of the village tolled, we topped off the evening with a coffee.
And then...
a sample of the local muscat which was clear, sweet but not sticky or syrupy, more like wine and less like dessert.
And a Mistletoe from the father.
And another shot of the Teran port.
Then some more time to let it all settle, more water, and then hugs goodbye all around. I offered momma a free trip home with us to California; she smiled and said no.
Over three hours of bliss.
It is a rare thing to eat this well.
We walked a little, enjoyed the sunset, then headed home.
When we return to Istria I am going to plan a few days staying n a village here, to try other small Konobas.
Maybe... maybe I could pay to learn how to cook like momma.