Due to extraordinary demand the Slovenian "culinary rock festival" will thus take place twice – the first round already happened in spring, and the second one will be held between 18th and 26th October. The list of participating restaurants is longer this time – 77 restaurants and a total of 120 menus.
The criterion for cooperation hasn’t changed – all the participants (with some rare exceptions) had to earn at least four out of five possible stars (or in this case, small suns) in Mencinger’s Gourmet’s Diaries.
MMC’s suggestions by region:
Ljubljana: JB, Strelec, Maxim, Vander, Tabar, Gostilna na Gradu.Dolenjska: Gostilna Rakar, Ošterija Debeluh, Domačija Novak, Gostilna Repovž.
Štajerska: Pavus, Denk, Galerija okusov, Hiša Raduha.
Primorska: Gostilna pri Lojzetu (Zemono), Gostilna Mahorčič (Rodik), DAM (Nova Gorica), Hiša Torkla (Korte).
Prekmurje: Gostilna Rajh. Notranjska: Gostišče Grič (Horjul).
Gorenjska: Vila Podvin (Mošnje), Gostilna Krištof (Predoslje).
The price stayed the same, too – 14 euros for three courses, which mostly comprise an hors d'oeuvre, a main dish and a dessert (few owners, such as Janez Bratovž from the JB restaurant, have opted for two hors d'oeuvres instead of a dessert).
Local and seasonal
The concept is simple and incredibly successful – Mencinger has found that gourmets spend the restaurant week travelling from one part of Slovenia to the other to taste specialities prepared by the best Slovenian chefs.
Virtually all the best Slovenian restaurants have joined the project – JB, Zemono, Strelec, Podvin, Pavus, Debeluh, Mahorčič, Maxim, Vander... –, the only notable exception being Hiša Franko. Slovenians have been so drawn to the culinary fever (more than 12,000 participants this spring) that some restaurants fill their capacities in a single days, which is why it’s wise to hurry up with reservations.
A quick overview of the autumn offer shows two trends that have been present in Slovenian cuisine for a while now – the first is seasonal menus full of mushrooms, chestnut and tuberous plans, and the second is the return to tradition.
The menus (which probably won’t leave vegetarian and vegans very satisfied again) thus offer "govnač" (a stew with cabbage and potatoes), "ocvirkovca" (a cracknel pastry), both on offer in Podvin; a calf’s tail (JB), a beef tail and sautéed potatoes (Strelec), beef tongue (Grič), brawn (Maxim), roasted calf (Domačija Novak), pasta and beans (Gostilna Mahorčič) and a number of other dishes inspired by the cuisine of our grandmothers but brought to a higher, more modern level.
Who will offer the best dishes this time, is something you’ll have to try on your own, we’re only giving our own suggestions for must-go places.
The list of all participating restaurants, menus and reservation contacts can be found on the official website of Restaurant Week.
