Exploring Small Towns and Konobas
There were so many Istrian specialties that I really wanted to experience and mostly we found these in Konobas, or small, authentic and local inns that are found in nearly every town. Exploring here is easy - it is a small area with diverse terrain and really good signage.
Our favorite Konoba meal in Brsec, a small town on the East coast, at Konoba BatelanI foud a great guidebook - Istra Gourmet - which I had downloaded from the website and then picked up a hard copy in a tourist offie at the beginning of our trip. This book covers the wine roads, the olive roads, and all of the specialties. It also has a great list of restaurants, taverns and agritourism places which was incredibly helpful.
My first taste of truffles at Humska Biska, in Hum, "the smallest town in the world." After this, we were given the local grappa, made from miseltoeThe menus at Konobas followed nearly the same formula at each place. Starters of carpaccios (beef or fish), soups (including the special manestra, or minestrone), a variety of pastas with meat ragus in the interior and fish on the coast, a range of special meat dishes (including the Istrian ox, pork loin and sausages), and simple salads. I was amazed that these tiny places, usually run out of someone's home, could hold that much inventory!
Steak with mushrooms and truffles at Konoba LucianaKonoba Luciana in Nova Vas, the heart of wine country, was the only business in town, with a small terrace in front of Luciana's home. As an Italian, we had a lot of fun with her and her guests. We had asked for an Insalata Verde (green salad) and she said, "I'll see what I have in my garden." Perfect. This is exactly why we came here - I read that most of the food you eat in Istria is probably sourced within 10 kilometers of where you are, and that is certainly proving to be the case. The Italians buy us grappa rifosco, which is a different style. It is sweet and strong, with intense clove flavors.
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Great post! Can't wait - planning a trip to Croatia for September :)