A Culinary Mirage
Here in Banska Bystrica there is a relatively new shopping mall called Europa that was built within the last 2 years. Like most malls, there is a food court that Slovaks oddly enjoy. So when we asked for a good place to go out for dinner and it was recommended, we met the thought with American skepticism. Something that should be know is that there isn’t a lot of culinary diversity here; if it’s not Slovak, it’s Italian (rarely is the Italian any good either). There was once an Indian restaurant but it closed shortly after opening.
Anywho, among the various offerings at the food court (in addition to KFC, not so great for the American vegetarians, but quite popular with meat-loving Slovaks) happens to be a restaurant by the name of Sante Fe, claiming to offer California cuisine. Having not had a decent taste of Mexican food in months I decided to investigate. I’ll spare you the gruesome details and just say that it was far from Mexican food or anything California related at all to be honest. They did, however, give all of the menu items “clever” California city names. The irony of it all is that I ordered a relatively Slovak meal: deep fried cheese. I love me some cheese ahm nam nam, but needless to say, I was disappointed.
Oh, and we would like to encourage you to leave us some comments. While our site analytics shows that you all read these musings of ours we like to hear back from you. I know, the Sante Fe is probably not the most thought provoking material but I like to think our other posts aren’t so bad.
Nate:
I want to know the city names!
Lisa:
If only the culinary gurus in Santa Fe, New Mexico were aware of the translation of their specialties in a food court in Slovakia…..
Burke:
The city names were entirely SoCal and in no way reflected the cuisine of the area. My favorite was SF and a picture of Chinese food.