Thinking Allowed: Culinary trends in Belgrade

Sometimes the quest for cheaper flights leads to pleasant itineraries. Our visit to Belgrade came about as the cheapest flight to Cyprus involved an overnight layover in Serbia. Once you are taking a bus into town you may as well stay a few days. Due to volatile plans, we didn't even end up going to Cyprus - still we enjoyed our days in Belgrade. Our apartment looked over the large Kalemegdan fortress grounds and the river beyond. We got a lot of enjoyment out of living right near a great historically happening park.

One thing we found interesting in Belgrade were two noticeable food trends. There seemed to be a trend towards soft health foods. This was the ideal situation for Tova who has lost a few too many teeth this month. There were ads and stands for the newest energy booster item - pouches with various smoothies and conconctions. I got Tova a pouch and we were surprised that it was essentially a bad version of kids apple sauce pouches. Guess this trend is targeting the recent adults who grew up on apple sauce pouches. Most bakeries and cafes had sections of plastic cups filled with various fancy looking pudding type things. We didn't try this but probably should have. Also hip were various yogurt and oatmeal bowls. We tried this at two seperate cafes. One felt overpriced whereas the other overnight oats bowl Tova loved dearly. Why the trend toward soft foods? Are they really healthier?

Another odd food trend in Belgrade was the large number of dumpling shops. It is not a city with a big Asian vibe or influence so the large number of dumpling shops seemed unexpected. Still, we like dumplings so it seemed like an opportunity. The dumpling shop we chose was run by a young Serbian who was as friendly as he was chatty. It was the middle of the day and it was just us and him in the restaurant so it was a convivial experience. I learned a lot about the difficulties of making it as a small restaurant and navigating the delivery apps and systems. His vision of owning a restaurant did not include all the digital navigation that is required of him. His shop was the second dumpling shop to open in town and he had no idea why all of a sudden in the span of a year the number went from two to many. He had a large table filled with wooden logic puzzles. This was a personal passion and a push to get people off their phones. The girls and I had so much fun with the puzzles we stayed long after our food was done. The dumplings were great.

Finally, unrelated to trends we went to another interesting spot that is worth mentioning because it was run by a former engineer from India with a strong belief that food should never be put in a refrigerator. He rented a small shop front and set it up to look like a well loved living room. From the small kitchen he makes Indian foods and curries and juices in small batches. He says his initiative is not so much a restaurant as a community initiative to bring healthy fresh food for cheap to the community while also serving as a community hub. He has no refrigerator in his kitchen but rather a wall full of spices and a lot of enthusiasm and love for anyone who walks in his door. It was nice to meet someone going counter the money making trends. We enjoyed his meals and his company. Some people exude a certain energy and enthusiasm which is inspiring.