| rev:text
| - This is not a place I came to because it was recommended by friends, or because I read a review, or because some guy on TV with spikey orange hair says it is off the hook. No, I was on my way to the going out of business sale at the furniture store down the street and just happened to see the sign and it just happened to be time for an early dinner and I just happened to be hungry.
I don't usually Yelp a place AFTER I choose it and have already been seated to eat but in this case I had a deer in the headlights look as I was reading the short but comprehensive menu and I needed to check Yelp to see if there was anything that was a "do NOT miss this" menu item. Turns out I didn't have time to get any further than to see the place had a 4.8 rating when the very tall (like in basketball player tall) waiter came over and helped us with his suggestions of what were the best choices for first-time Bosnian food virgins. The waiter was a bit shy but he seemed like a super-nice guy. More on all that later in this review when I talk about service.
But first let's cut to the chase ... the food his is off the hook (sorry) awesome and ridiculously cheap. I grew up on middle-European foods so much of what Old Town Sarajevo serves has a family resemblance to the foods I'm familiar with, just different names and different presentations. At the waiter's suggestion I had the smallest order of the Cevapi, which are Bosnian sausages stuffed inside a gigantic thick puffy pita called Lepinja. At only $5 this qualifies for are-you-kidding-me-cheap. It alone would make a very filling meal. The sandwich is a little odd, sort of like if you were to put a few cocktail weenies into a big soft pita. The Cevapi was served with a side of raw onions, Ajvar, which is a creamy roasted red pepper paste (delicious) and sour cream.
Because I am used to stuffed cabbage rolls I tried those as well, also $5.00, and again one serving could be an entire meal. They are the best I've ever had except for my grandmother's. I've posted photos of the Cevapi and cabbage rolls so you can see what I'm talking about. I need to shout out the Lepinja bread too. I'm not a big bread eater but I could eat that delicious stuff all day. I understand it is fresh-baked.
Now let's get to the service. I note that every negative review ignores talking about the food and bashes the service. Here's my take on that in two parts: first, I've always believed that the way people treat you is a reflection of the way you present yourself. Do I even have to go into detail about how rude and boorish some restaurant customers can be? Often that gets magnified when loud obnoxious Americans mix with quieter, more soft-spoken people from other cultures. And second, in my international travels and discoveries of unique family-owned ethnic restaurants like this one the owners and staff are not as polished as you would find in a snooty Rodeo Drive restaurant and often English comes as a difficult second language for them. So they are not being rude but, like our waiter, they come across as shy and reserved using words very sparingly. I pretty much ignore all of the negative reviews that choose to go to a place like this and then complain about the hard-working staff or that the décor isn't fancy. If someone can't review the food why bother posting a review?
Bottom line - this is a solid 5-star place based on what counts, the awesome food and ridiculous low prices.
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