Last week, Gridskipper ran a feature on Burek in New York. Djerdan 34-04A 31st Avenue between 35th and 34th Streets in Astoria; 23-01 65th Street at 23rd Avenue in Brooklyn; and 221 West 38th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Manhattan) topped the list.Cevabdzinica Sarajevo (37-18 34th Avenue in Astoria) was there too. A few non-Slavic places were there as well, and just might be worth checking out:
- Zerza (Moroccan, 304 East 6th Street between First and Second Avenues in Manhattan)
- Café Roma (Kosher, 175 West 91st Street at Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan)
- Tony & Tina's Pizzeria (Albanian, 2483 Arthur Avenue in the Bronx)
- House of Pita (Middle Eastern, 32 West 48th Street in Manhattan)
- Tasty Shawarmy (Middle Eastern, 71 7th Avenue South at Bleecker Street in Manhattan)
- Aroma (Israeli, 160 Wooster Street at Houston in Manhattan)
Previously on Slavs of New York: Another Cevapdzinica opens in Queens, Bosnian Grocery Shopping and Cravings takes on Bosnian and Polish cuisine
4 comments:
Yes! Finally, Djerdan is awesome!
The reason Bosna Express isn't well know is because it is relatively new and somewhat secluded from the others.
Keep in mind, there's also a restaurant called Stari Most on 30th Ave... I don't know the cross street.
Also, on one of the previous posts about Pittsburgh, I was going to mention a grocery store that sells cevape. It is located in the Brentwood area.
there's also a bosnian burek place on 30th Ave. in astoria at maybe 41/42st? It's on the South side of the street, open late, and pretty cheap!
I am alarmed to see how much veneration is given to DJERDAN. Given the low quality, or at best mediocrity of their food, I can only conclude that their good standing among general populous is due to New York Times’ and New York Magazine’s write-up about them some time ago and all which follows such great PR. Given that cevapi are mother’s milk to “Balkanese”, DJERDAN has started to acquire somewhat of a bad reputation among us. Lepinja/pita bread is too tough, the works suck (little-to-no ajvar, no kajmak (milk fat)…) and the meat is sub par. Have I mentioned that I got only 8 chevapi in “big” portion last time I went there, instead getting the holy standard of 10?! I also found the atmosphere somewhat uncomfortable, to be honest. As my girlfriend politely pointed out “it’s too ethnic” (that’s true for the Astoria location for which it is to be expected and for Manhattan one for which it’s not; I’ve never been to their Brooklyn location).
For the burek lovers, their burek is “Serbian/Shiptar” pita-style, as opposed to “Bosnian” gibanica-style. I know many would say burek is burek, but not so. DJERDAN’S is a bit too tough (maybe because it’s not fresh, but baked and then frozen, defrosted, and microwaved), with scraps of meat that gave me indigestion.
Chevapi are much better at STARI MOST in Astoria, or at BOSNA EXPRESS in Brooklyn (also, the owner is a real “domacin”). Again, the atmosphere at both places leaves a lot to be desired, although ex-Yugoslavs will feel like fish in water. I have not tried BOSNA EXPRESS’ location in Astoria/LIC, but plan to do so soon.
Hi! I have to say that I am very suprised and really happy to find you. I live in a community where there is nobody from my country and it would be great visiting the place and meet new people. It is definately the place I want to visit.
Love & Peace 4 ever ! :)
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