I’ve created Eataku as an online home for people passionately obsessed with food. People like me. I travel a lot. I eat a lot. I cook a lot. As the Talent Scout for Marvel Comics, my job takes me around the world. While I do thrive on the thrill of constant travel, being on the road and away from home for extended periods of time does take its toll. So when not meeting artists or reviewing portfolios, I keep my batteries charged by exploring the culinary culture and cuisine of whatever city or country I find myself in. Photos of food. Videos of vineyards. Reviews of restaurants. Recipes for refreshments. This site is now my way of sharing my international epicurean adventures with you. Enjoy! (You can also follow me on Twitter at @cbcebulski and visit my comic book blog at www.chesterfest.blogspot.com)Tumblr (3.0; @eataku)http://www.eataku.com/<p>Walnut&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r6srNJ6M1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>More cherry&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r6u9FRa81qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><span class="st">Rogač, which is locust bean&#8230;</span></p> <p><span class="st"><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r708Pd1X1qb3qcf.jpg"/></span></p> <p><span class="st">And a nice, flavorful honey rakia to close out my stay in Makarska&#8230;</span></p> <p><span class="st"><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r71iU2n21qb3qcf.jpg"/></span></p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23955672932http://www.eataku.com/post/23955672932Mon, 28 May 2012 18:13:25 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4qvsx560B1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Croatian gas station/mini-mart chain INA isn’t in the same class as Autogrill yet, but with a nice selection of cured ham sandwiches, they’re off to a good start…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23940480300http://www.eataku.com/post/23940480300Mon, 28 May 2012 14:10:00 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4q1o2fBeL1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>I wasn’t able to make it out to my buddy @melcaylo’s annual Memorial Day BBQ, but @justjenndesigns was there, and she brought green tea & chocolate Hulk cookies!</p> <p>You can check out more of her goodies at <a href="http://justjennrecipes.com/" target="_blank">http://justjennrecipes.com/</a></p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23918163552http://www.eataku.com/post/23918163552Mon, 28 May 2012 03:19:00 -0400<p>Easily my favorite restaurant in Croatia, as well as on the entire planet. Fresh food, minimal ingredients, traditional recipes, prepared from scratch.</p> <p>There&#8217;s no menu at Kalalarga. You get whatever the fishermen hauled out of the Adriatic Sea that morning. The owner selects his seafood and chooses to make five or six dishes depending on what was in that day&#8217;s catch and what he feels like cooking. He then hand writes it on a notepad you&#8217;re given when you enter&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4oh91v7ph1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>When something sells out, it gets crossed off.</p> <p>(I&#8217;ll leave the translation here to someone else.)</p> <p>You order your main course and are then brought a selection of daily appetizers to kick things off. Everything&#8217;s made in-house, except for the prosciutto and cheese which are both produced locally&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ohf02tPo1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>White anchovies&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ohd01PJr1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>These seawater salted sardines are mind-blowing&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ohgkKEer1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>The main course I chose on our first day there was &#8220;patarača&#8221;, which I finally figured out was turbot, in a delectable marjoram sauce over pasta&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ohnqjGtf1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>There&#8217;s more coming&#8230;</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23856010095http://www.eataku.com/post/23856010095Sun, 27 May 2012 07:14:29 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4ogxviWwu1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Who needs kebabs or disco fries at 3am to fill your belly after a night of drinking when you have ćevapčići?!</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23855526069http://www.eataku.com/post/23855526069Sun, 27 May 2012 06:53:55 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4n2coF9ko1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Despite the uptick in tourism here on the Croatian Coast thanks to the Greek crisis, prices still remain relatively low, with big mugs of local beer like these for only two bucks!</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23821286523http://www.eataku.com/post/23821286523Sat, 26 May 2012 17:57:34 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4n27qIQHV1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Nothing like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%86evapi" target="_blank">ćevapi</a> for breakfast!</p> <p>Although I usually prefer mine with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kajmak" target="_blank">kajmak</a>, not “ivar”, which is the red pepper paste you see slathered on here…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23803127894http://www.eataku.com/post/23803127894Sat, 26 May 2012 12:38:00 -0400<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakia" target="_blank">Rakia</a> is the national drink of Croatia and comes in countless flavors. Most rakia tends to be homemade, with the taste and strength of each batch differing from restaurant to restaurant and bar to bar. So much like I tried to catalog my caipirinha consumption in Brazil, I thought I would do the same with my rakia reveling here in Croatia&#8230; for scholarly and sociological purposes, of course!</p> <p>Pear rakia kicked off the trip in Zagreb, as I posted earlier, and the second flavor rakia I came across this trip was from a fruit known as &#8220;zuzula&#8221;, which I had down in Skradin&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mk3juAmP1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>This one was very sweet, almost like a dessert wine.</p> <p>Later that evening, we ended up at a party kicking off MaFEST in Makaraska, and each table was given a bottle of local cherry rakia&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mk7i4tpk1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>Almost too sweet for my taste, but not to worry, many shots were consumed&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mk936UDW1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>This next rakia was super strong and as bitter as could be, made from a local fruit called &#8220;chichindra&#8221; and served as an apertif&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mkbtoVex1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>And after dinner, as a digestif, the restaurant served their own sour cherry rakia, which I much preferred to the sweeter one from the day before&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mkdaUWfS1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>The evening ended with more cherry rakia, a popular flavor this year, that the owner of a local bar produces, one that rode the line perfetly between sweet and sour&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4mkewKoWX1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>More soon&#8230;</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23789024905http://www.eataku.com/post/23789024905Sat, 26 May 2012 06:18:00 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4lc8juqO11qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Tried a different type of Croatian prosciutto today, made further down the Dalmatian coast here in Makarska. Looking at it, you can clearly tell the ham was fattier, seemingly aged a bit less, and this one also had a slight smoked flavor to it, which I preferred over the ones I had back in Zagreb.</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23743094682http://www.eataku.com/post/23743094682Fri, 25 May 2012 14:19:00 -0400<p>In one of the food or travel magazines I subscribe to, I recently read an article where Chef April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig and John Dory Oyster Bar in NYC made mention of the fact that her favorite sandwich in the world was the roast pork at Roast To Go in London. So when I found myself with a free afternoon there last week, guess where I headed&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l6elPutB1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l6f89g621qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l6eysMLl1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l6fuFvMo1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l6g7VtEb1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l6ghkkXs1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>It was superb! (Or should I say bloody superb?!)</p> <p>While Chef Bloomfield recommended it with apple sauce, I don&#8217;t like crossing the meat and fruit streams, so I went with mustard instead which really gave it a nice pop and played well off the fattiness of the pork.</p> <p>Forget Gatorade and Power Bars&#8230; I hope to find the athletes in London for the Olympics this summer fueling themselves on these!</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23737906718http://www.eataku.com/post/23737906718Fri, 25 May 2012 12:20:56 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4kpreVW0E1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>In some countries, creative directors and designers try and get all artsy-fartsy in coming up with the most aesthetically pleasing imagery to properly convey flavors on a bag of potato chips. Here in Croatia, they just make it as simple and direct as possible…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23727061923http://www.eataku.com/post/23727061923Fri, 25 May 2012 06:14:02 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4jdyuMreZ1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>An actual edible comic?!</p> <p>Sent to me by @KimHelt, who spotted this at KAPOW in London last weekend!</p> <p>Looking for more details now…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23677276055http://www.eataku.com/post/23677276055Thu, 24 May 2012 13:01:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4hwjj8lls1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>My first rakia of the trip!</p> <p>Pear to kick things off…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23669503202http://www.eataku.com/post/23669503202Thu, 24 May 2012 08:57:33 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4hwf96Clh1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Superhero cupcakes from KAPOW, made by <a href="http://www.cherryscupcakes.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cherry’s Cupcakes</a> in London…</p> <p><em>Thanks to <a href="http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2012/05/kapow-on-saturday-photo-report.html" target="_blank">Lew Stringer</a> for the pic.</em></p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23629538916http://www.eataku.com/post/23629538916Wed, 23 May 2012 17:45:09 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4g9zntklI1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Dalmatian prosciutto…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23604955921http://www.eataku.com/post/23604955921Wed, 23 May 2012 08:01:42 -0400<p>Now this is my kind of breakfast!</p> <p>Burek is a Croatian &#8220;meat pie&#8221;, with spiced ground meat rolled into phyllo dough, ringed like sausage, then baked.</p> <p>A tasty way to start my day&#8230;</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4h1vgdhE81qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4h1w4SdWi1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4h1wo3LNS1qb3qcf.jpg"/></p> <p>Croatian Burek is also C.B. for short! :)</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23603206580http://www.eataku.com/post/23603206580Wed, 23 May 2012 06:48:00 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4h123knun1qbpmvho1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>A Starburst milkshake? Another McDonald’s menu item I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or heard of in the States…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23602737988http://www.eataku.com/post/23602737988Wed, 23 May 2012 06:27:39 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4foj9DoAx1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>My first meal in Croatia… veal medallions with a sauce made from local truffles! And lots of them!!</p> <p>Just exquisite.</p> <p>Savored at Trajbar restaurant in Zapresic.</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23549941811http://www.eataku.com/post/23549941811Tue, 22 May 2012 12:59:33 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4d9cejAat1qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Another interestingly named London pub…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23486888852http://www.eataku.com/post/23486888852Mon, 21 May 2012 13:15:54 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4d9aqNRO51qbpmvho1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Was able to enjoy a proper British Sunday Roast yesterday…</p>http://www.eataku.com/post/23485773059http://www.eataku.com/post/23485773059Mon, 21 May 2012 12:55:13 -0400