Back before the Thai conquest of Chicago’s palate, when we went out for an “ethnic” dining experience it was likely to be a cuisine from the Balkan triumvirate–Hungary, Romania, or Yugoslavia (usually Serbian, sometimes Croatian). We never considered French or Italian to be ethnic; there was some special romance to eastern and central European food.
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Much remains to be said for these neglected cuisines of the old Austro-Hungarian empire. They’re highly flavorful, with a complex blending of ingredients, redolent of garlic, onions, paprika, and both sweet and hot peppers. An added attraction is that many of the restaurants offer live ethnic music and sometimes dancing.
Take my favorite Serbian spot, Skadarlija (4024 N. Kedzie, 463-5600), named for a famous artists’ haunt in Belgrade. While the parade of goodies is on its way to your table, your host, Zvonko Klancnik, is up on the bandstand wailing away on keyboards or accordion and a vocalist is pouring out her heart in a perpetually melancholy plaint. To do it right here, open with a platter of cold cuts: sausage, salami, smoked pork slices, a fetalike Bulgarian cheese, the savory puree of green and red peppers called ajvar, and kajmak, a tangy mix of creamed cheeses ($10.95). It feeds at least four.
The preamble to these winners was an earthy, full-bodied, pureed bean soup with smoked sausage ($3.95). The only disappointment in this handsome, old-world dining room was a too-dry half duck with green peppercorn sauce ($17.95). The balance of the menu is in a French-continental mode with a spectacular dessert cart of homemade tortes and tarts.
