A blazing fireplace and fabulous food

From the outside, Ranjak looks just like another simple village stone konoba.  Owned and operated by the Rajevic family, it’s about about 5km from Supetar, the ferry port for the island of Brac, as you head out on the main road towards  Nereziscu.

Surrounded by olive groves, with a splendid view back to Split across the channel, Ranjak is also the Rajevic family farm.  So all the vegetables, cheese, smoked ham, spices, desserts and more are home-grown and made.

The sweeping front yard view of the Brac channel with Split in the distance

With the temperature hovering around 32F, our first surprise was when we opened the door and were greeted by a welcome blast from a roaring fire inside an enormous hearth.

Having lived in Maine and Russia, where wood heat and fireplaces are still a necessity, it sure was great to feel such familiar warmth.

Ranjak’s interior is also simple–a single open room with long tables and padded benches, whitewashed walls, an upstairs loft–clean, light, minimalist.

We were invited to lunch as guests of the Brac Tourist Board, which was meeting to discuss a number of projects, including our new DiscoverBrac newspaper.

Since it was a working meeting, instead of menus, the tables were already set with a half dozen different plates each filled with an artful array of tapas.   I’ve eaten all sorts of tapas in Croatia, but most of these were varieties that I had never even seen before.

I put some of the tapas on a single plate just to illustrate how much choice there was

What an unexpected treat–vegetable and cheese roulettes with spice fillings; exquisite, tiny stuffed mushrooms; an astounding rukola and apple salad with who knows what spices; a miniature crustless quiche lorraine, a la Brac that melted in your mouth and half a dozen other yummies I can’t even begin to describe.

Where’s the peka? The roast lamb? Grilled fish?   While these are on the menu, Ranjak’s growing reputation is built on what some people still call finger food.

Rave reviews for Zana Rajevic, who deserves all the credit!

The beautifully prepared tapas are all the creation of Zana Rajevic, the wife of the owner (who was kept very busy piling huge logs on the fire,  pouring wine and clearing the tables!).

One of Croatia’s most popular gourmet magazines recently did a whole page on her favorite recipes, so it was fun to pick up a copy and read about what we were all enjoying.

A simple stone house, but Ranjak's kitchen is anything but

And a feature story about Ranjak in another magazine also was on the counter, so it’s good that this small, family-run, labor of love island restaurant is getting some great publicity.  (The only hot dish served by the way, was an innocent-looking dish

Tiny cubes of liver, slowly simmered in a rosemary and sage sauce

that turned out to be liver.  Not my first choice of entrees, but, hey, the tapas were so wonderful, I dug in.

Wow, sage!  A hint of rosemary, and so tender.  Thank goodness for the delicious bread which I used to sop up every morsel–wonderful.

Unlike nearby Hvar, which has an international reputation as a destination for sun, fun, gourmet restaurants and great wine, Brac like Solta, suffers an inferiority complex.

A sprawling island with a rich, ancient and mysterious history, Brac is now being guided by a strong hand at the Tourist Board and good things are beginning to happen:  new signs for hikers and bikers are going up; a new logo and theme will focus on the island’s food, culture and adventure; and if all goes well, the tiny Brac airport will finally get a direct flight from Europe later this year or next for sure.

Brac is already famous for Zlatny Rat, one of the most photographed beaches in the world (its long tongue-shaped beach changes shape with the tides) and its olive oil–but they are just the beginning of what makes this island such a discovery.

As we headed back to Supetar to catch the 2:30 ferry–full, happy and warm–I thought again about what it means to be able to live in a place where experiencing something as simple as a lunch can become yet another indelible Croatian memory.

Under an hour by ferry from Split, Brac is easy to get to

And just think of how many more I have to discover!

 

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Coming to Split?  www.thehotelsofsplit.com

1940's vintage Roma stapler

A stapler is something so simple.  But why oh why does it drive us so crazy? Jamming, sending staples flying in every direction when we open it–aaargggh! Whether it’s a Swingline or a Bostitch, unless you spend $50 for an industrial strength version, they’re enough to drive anyone crazy.

So when I came across this 1940′s vintage Roma for $1, an all metal beauty with wonderful internal sliding steel mechanics (no flimsy spring pressing a flimsy bar to keep the staples in line!) I couldn’t believe my luck.

Typical spring action stapler

Just compare a “new” stapler to the much more mechanically precise Roma.  Instead of a thin metal piece to keep the staples in line held by a flimsy spring, the Roma has a solid steel shaft presses the staples forward and another metal movement that fits snugly inside the handle so that when you press down, everything is uniformly tight and perfectly aligned.  No jams!

The Ferrari of staplers, look Ma, no springs!

And the Roma looks as beautiful as it works.  The company has been around since 1919 and it’s still a family business making staplers and other mechanical products used in fastening.  The name Roma is actually a contraction of the first two letters of the founder’s first and last name:  Romeo Maestri & Figli.

The company’s building was destroyed during the Second World War, but its customers were so loyal that they paid for new orders in advance to help the company rebuild once the war was over.  No wonder this stapler works so well after a half century of use!

The "brand" name of the stapler is Arely

Now instead of cursing a stapler and tearing a finger trying to pry a stuck stapler out of the mechanism, I smile.

From my fabulous 11 jewel mechanical wind up 1960′s Sputnik inspired Russian alarm clock to a three tined hoe from the 1920′s I used as a kid to rake through our vegetable beds, the more I use well made everyday mechanical tools, the more I appreciate the skills and dedication to craftsmanship that’s so easy to forget in today’s buy-a-new-one-when-you-get-bored world.

1960's Slava 11 jewel windup alarm clock

Enjoy our new Croatian vacation portal

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Coming to Split?  www.thehotelsofsplit.com

A stunning 2ndC Roman covered vase with a wall mural of the excavation site

Overlooking the Zadar harbor in the beautifully restored 1863 historical palace of the Cosmecendi family is Zadar’s Museum of Ancient Glass.  It’s a unique museum, not only in Croatia, but in the entire world, with more than 2,000 glass objects dating from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.

Most of the objects were discovered right here, and the wall murals and videos throughout the 2,500 sq. meter building dramatically show archaeologists busy at work at sites in Zadar, Nin, Starigrad beneath Velebit and in Asseria near Benkovac.

Each piece in the collection is artfully displayed so viewers can enjoy both color and shape

The museum has a ground floor museum shop featuring replicas of the collection as well as glass jewelry–all of which is made in a glass-blowing workshop on the upper floor where visitors can watch masters at work through a glass wall.

The collection includes everyday objects and funerary items found in graves

The exhibits are framed by stunning, expansive wall murals that show archaeologists at work and video screens that document some of the discoveries.  In addition to glassware used in everyday life, there are displays of funerary glass found in grave sites and glass spoons, needles and other artifacts used for making cosmetics, medicines, etc.

On the ground floor there is space for rotating exhibits–the one currently on display is a collection of glass artifacts found underwater.

One of the docents told us that there are only a handful of professional glassblowers in Croatia, and was worried that despite the success of the two-year old Museum, the craft is slowly dying out.

When I lived in the states, I was fortunate to spend some of my years there in Seattle, a real epicenter of glass blowing thanks to Dale Chihuly and others.  The Pilchuk School in Washington state is a mecca for glassblowers from around the world.  

In my travels, I have purchased some remarkable art glass from Romania as well as from other countries.  So i was particularly happy to see an entire museum, with its own glassblowing studio (!) here in Zadar.

                  

                              Royal Rasberry Seafoam, by Dale Chuihuly

        

                                  Another one of Chihuly’s Seaform pieces

The Museum is a marvelous addition to a city filled with history that each year is being enjoyed by more and more visitors.

As we drove back to Split, the sun was setting and with dark clouds and haunting landscape, the scene was surreal…..

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A sensational hit with audiences and singers alike since its premiere more than 135 years ago, Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (The Bat)  has been part of the standard operetta repetoire around the world ever since.

The libretto is full of charm, mistaken identity and wit and the music is memorable from the very first bar, with rousing choral work and terrific solo opportunities for baritones, tenors and sopranos.

Marijana Prohaska shines as the coquettish maid Adele

While the Split Opera company has to be credited with taking the risk of transforming this charming, elegant operetta into something new–creating an endless boozy night filled with gratuitous sexual innuendo lost the very essence of what The Bat is all about.

Thank goodness for the glorious singing and terrific acting, dancing (a short five minutes by the always stunning Split Ballet) and musicianship.  The female leads included a sensational Adele, played winningly by Marijana Prohaska and Olga Kaminska as Rosalinde, in fine voice.

The male leads, normally played by younger men, Rosalind’s husband and her lover, were played by veterans Voljen Grbac (Rosalinde’s husband)  and Sveto Matosic Komneneovic, (Alfred, her lover) both of whom more than made up for their lack of youthful ardor with terrific on stage energy and excellent singing.

Dr. Falke, normally a minor role, was an oddly dominant figure in this production, skillfully played and sung by Armando Puklavec.  Although Ms. Prohaska  dominated every scene she was in, Frank, the prison governor, played by Ozren Bilusic, stole the show.  With Nikola Ivosevic as Frosch, his drunken assistant, the duo were riotous.

I’ve never seen an opera singer like Bilusic able to move so amazingly well and sing at the same time.  His comic abilities were truly memorable.

Champagne glasses never left the stage

The scenic design, by Vesna Rezic, was wildly uneven.  The opening set, an interior sitting room in the Eisenstein home, was decent enough, but the next scene, typically a grand ballroom with costumed ladies and gentlemen, somehow became the deck of a badly designed yacht.  With a quartet of radar domes and tacky fluorescent lighting around a sliding glass door above a staircase, the yacht “effect” was cramped and clumsy and its only purpose seemed to be as a way for the company to lurch back and forth as if the boat was rolling in the sea.

But the final scene, in the jail, was visionary.  The jail was a giant, slowly turning birdcage, with the endlessly singing Alfred perched on a swing!  The rotating stage served as a perfect foil for Frank and Frosch to stagger about and the audience loved it.

But in the final analysis, the production just didn’t work.  The whole libretto seemed to stand on its head–instead of intrigue and mistaken identities, the grandeur and mystery of an elegant masked ball, for some inexplicable reason only Rosalinde was in a mask.  Instead of surprise and intrigue, there was stupidity and grotesquerie.

The whole illusion of an extra marital dalliance because of mistaken identity (The Bat costume which Rosalinde wears to test her husband’s fidelity) was lost.  And the constant pawing, men literally with their pants off and looking under skits (in one scene, Alfred actually puts a champagne bottle between the legs and pours into Rosalinde’s waiting cup) was just too tedious.

Die Fledermaus doesn’t need Brecht or a drunken orgy to make it work.  There are some real kernels of joy in the production which need to be developed. I’d like to see it re-worked to include more of the magic to make it more sensuous than merely sexy.

Enjoy our new Croatian vacation portal

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Ready, set, eat!

Every Christmas, the Riva becomes alive with holiday booths selling everything from local hooch (rakia), hand made ornaments, candy by the kilo and more.  But this year Cromaris, a big Croatian seafood producer, brought in a dozen portable booths and cooked up fresh fish to order for just a $l a plate–including a big fat bread roll!

It didn’t take long for a zillion people to cue up in front of their favorite type of fish booth–sardele, tuna, lubin, mol, tril and more—even shellfish!

Fish lovers unite!

We got there around 11AM and Natasha quickly took her place in line while I hunted up a place to sit—the day was glorious, full sun, in the 50′s, wonderful.

Pretty soon she worked her way through the throngs and came back with a heaping plate of freshly cooked trout–half hour later, we had some fish stew, followed by “dessert” of mol, a very tender white fish.

Long lines all day long, but there was fish for all!

Everybody was chowing down, a local band was playing music, it was really great to see everyone having such a good time–and all for only $1.

Cromaris even gave out free recipe books!

 

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Coming to Split?  www.thehotelsofsplit.com

Posters like this will be put up all over the city

Today we began our “Split’s10Best” campaign–the first promotion is for the “10BestRestaurants” here.  The idea is to help promote off season business for local area restaurants–most of whom suffer a huge drop in business after the tourist season ends in October.

Each page of the Member booklet features a different restaurant

The campaign features a handsome black box inside of which is a booklet featuring a page on each restaurant and how the program works.  It’s pretty simple–just order any main course at any of the 10 restaurants and get a second main course FREE!

The 10 participating restaurants are:  Apetit, Boban, Bota Sare, Duje, Kod Joze, Konoba Varos, LeMonde, Nevera, Nostromo and Zrno Soli.  All are considered among the city’s best.

Each was chosen because of their reputation–some are classic restaurants like Kod Joze and Konoba Varos that have been around for decades  as well Nostromo, Boban and Duje that serve delicious, traditional Croatian/Split cuisine.  Others are newer and more eclectic like Konoba Nevera, Apetit, LeMonde, Zrno Soli and Bota Sare (which has just opened a fresh sushi and oyster bar!).

The only place you can buy your membership is at each restaurant. Inside the box with the brochure is an individually-numbered member card which allows you to dine out at all 10 restaurants twice.

Not only can you enjoy some terrific cuisine, but you can save a bundle.  With an average main course costing $20-30 (and some of them go as high as $100!) you can save this much each time you dine out–$500 or more!   Since the purchase price is just $40 (200kn) we figure most diners will pay for their card after just a few meals.

Member cards look just like a credit card and are serially-numbered

We hope to expand the Split’s Best brand to other services, etc. in the future.  If you have suggestions, we’d love to hear them!

Enjoy our new Croatian vacation portal

Read more about Croatia at secret dalmatia’s unique blog

Coming to Split?  www.thehotelsofsplit.com

 

jutting out into the harbor of Vis Town, the site of an ancient amphitheatre, is the town's largest church

I have been itching to spend a weekend on the island ov Vis for a long time and never seem to find the time to get there.  The main reason is that it’s  far out in the Adriatic, just 60 miles from the Italian coast, making it almost impossible to be a day trip.

So last week Natasha said, “let’s celebrate your birthday on Vis”.  Well, why not!  So we went on line to find a place we could stay and stumbled upon an apartment in a 16thC palace for just 50E a night!  OK, let’s do it!

An e-mail got the reservation secured and the next day we made the 11AM ferry and were as excited as young lovers sitting outside on the deck in the gorgeous sunshine (even in deep November!) watching Split fade away into the morning light.

The trip was surprisingly quick–just a tad over two hours.  The approach to the town of Vis was incredibly dramatic….a gorgeous wide harbor opening up through the cut to reveal a wonderful tableau of stone buildings spreading out like a pair of open hands welcoming us.

We got off the ferry and saw a couple that looked exactly like the folks living across the way from us and wondered, gee, they were on the same boat and we missed them.  But no, they weren’t on the boat, they OWNED the apartment on Vis and WERE our neighbors who lived there on and off and were meeting us!

I’m not even going to try to explain how this happened.

The stairwell of our 16thC palace

A few minutes walk and we were inside a 16thC palace…yes, it had seen grander times, but check out the entrance hall!

The apartment itself was an eclectic blend of soaring 16thC space and modern amenities. We loved it.

A whimsical sculpture on a door frieze in the palace

Walking from one end of Vis town to the other takes an hour…a fabulous stroll around a 180 degree harbor.  Ancient Roman thermae and the remnants of an amphitheatre that faced the sea and is now a church were just two of the many highlights of the walk.

walking along a back street of Vis town

The town’s scale and quiet beauty (99% closed up after the annual  Split-Vis regatta in October) was wonderful.  And it took us by surprise–unlike Hvar with its strong mercantile undercurrents chock a block with all that charm or Solta which is still sublimely agrarian but in November has very few folks moving about–Vis felt immediate and friendly.

Closed to tourists until 1989 (Tito’s partisan headquarters during the Second World War and then a military base),  Vis was obviously spared the development that hit Hvar and Brac.   But the fact that it was THE Greek power in the Adriatic centuries before Christ–and controlled a big chunk of the Dalmatian coast from Tragurion (Trogir) down to practically present day Omis–makes Vis a very special place.  All this tranquility where there once was a mighty military machine ruling Dalmatia from 30 miles away!

An old iron window guard and a lovely interior patio

After poking around, we decided to take a bus (just 10 minutes) to Komiza, the cradle of Adriatic fishing.  It was quite different than the graceful panoramic Vis town waterfront.  But the light was smashing and the tiny knotted warren of narrow streets was great and the closeness of the water wherever you walked really made you feel that this was a place where the sea and the people were very entwined.

The Komiza waterfront in the late afternoon

It was a grand day on Vis, we will surely return.

Enjoy our new Croatian vacation portal

Read more about Croatia at secret dalmatia’s unique blog

Coming to Split?  www.thehotelsofsplit.com

a gorgeous merlot at Split's new wine tasting "club"

Last night I took a small group of friends to experience Split’s first real wine tasting “club” just a few minutes walk from the Green Market.  The “Klub Gurmana i Hedonista” is a real labor of love.  The interior space is beautifully fitted out in custom wrought iron wall and free-standing displays to house a stunning collection of wine from all over the country.

Owner Igor Beros, a treasure-trove of information about Croatian wines, wineries, wime makers, lore and culture; not only does wine tasting, but sells wine by the bottle to locals, tourists and restauranteurs alike.

Our group, Goran Zekan, the suave owner of Konoba Nevera, a top-rated restaurant just above Bacvice Beach here; Barbara Markovic, who owns Dalmagic, a local DMC agency,  Josip Cucic, the equally suave manager of the wonderful Hotel Luxe, and Natasha Aronson, my fabulous wife, spent two plus hours enjoying four different wines from the four different regions of Croatia and nibbling on terrific delicacies.

The first two wines were from Istria and Slovenia, both delicate whites with wonderful noses and smooth finish.  Accompanying these was a fine plate of marinated anchovies (which Igor told us were world-respected because of their special Omega properties due to the unique salinity and temperature of the Adriatic) with olive oil from Primosten.

Later, with the reds, we had special olives grown on Hvar (brought there from Spain) just for eating and spectacular goats cheese.  But the real surprise was octopus on skewers with three different kinds of peppers–from sweet to mild to hot.  Oh yes, the prsut stuffed with figs was also wonderful!

I’ve always preferred whites to reds, and living here I’m constantly surprised by the high quality of white wine in Croatia.  Igor says its due to the temperature, wind, growing season and all sorts of other stuff–and his Malvasia from Istria was all the proof I needed!

Ivan Buhac's luscious Merlot from Ilok

Most of the group, and it seems most of the world, preferred the reds.  And there was no doubt that the smooth, clean richness, marvelous color and satisfying finish made everyone want more.

Sitting around a table with glistening stemware and wonderful food; laughing and listening to wine stories made for a fine evening.  Igor offers his program nightly at 7 for up to 20 people or more (there’s even an outside courtyard than can be used for larger groups).  And he can also be contacted to offer it at special hours for special groups.

Antunovic Grasevina from Erdut, our favorite

With a few minor corrections, the club has a bright future as a much-needed new attraction in Split.  Igor’s high level of expertise and hard-to-find wines are hard to duplicate, so give him a call at 091 380 3966 and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Rising majestically out of the sea and going ????

Walking home the other day, framed against a brilliant November sun, was one of the strangest sights I’ve seen since moving to Split a bit more than three years ago–an aluminum ladder standing straight up out of the sea!

What it’s doing there and who put it there is still a mystery.

But it was too wonderful not to photograph and wonder what it could be or what it was.  Any day now I expect some avant garde artists to put a scultpure of someone climbing their way to nowhere.

Sort of like Talking Heads meeting Mestrovic and deciding to do an art piece.