(Glendale, Arizona, U.S.A.)

After our hike in Cave Creek Regional Park, we went to the nearby town of Cave Creek for lunch. There seem to be two distinct parts of town: the tourist-oriented section (see the photos immediately above and below), and the more “local” section slightly to the east. Seeking an authentic experience, we headed east after exploring the tourist shops.

And what could be more authentic than going to a saloon? And so it was that we found ourselves entering Cave Creek’s Buffalo Chip Saloon.

The food was solid and plentiful. And the saloon seemed to be quite a haven for fans of the Green Bay Packers. But it looked like this place really comes alive in the evenings and on weekends…as I guess one would expect from a saloon. They have live bull-riding two evenings/week in a large enclosure behind the saloon. They also have line-dancing, a mechanical bull, and lots of live country music (at lunch, it was “canned”).

Unique restaurants continued to be hard to find closer to our hotel. Most were chains, and often served bloated portions of uninspired food. But I did find something a little out of the ordinary, about 20 minutes south of our hotel in a nondescript strip mall.

One of my most memorable trips was my 2014 journey through Bosnia & Herzegovina. I stayed for multiple days in each of Sarajevo, Mostar, and Trebinje. Since then, I don’t think I’ve encountered a single Bosnian restaurant. So I was very surprised to find a place in Phoenix called “Old Town Sarajevo”.

Eating at “Old Town Sarajevo” really did feel like being back in Bosnia again. The decor: 100% Bosnian. The food offerings made few concessions: the menu was in Bosnian first, and then English. But it was exactly the kind of food you would find in a local restaurant in Sarajevo.  

My wife and I opted for “Punjena Pljeskavica”, which is a large meat patty topped with cheese and mushrooms…and served inside fried bread. My teammate chose “Ćevapi” (a.k.a. Ćevapčići), which is basically a lot of small beef sausages…once again inside a traditional bread, and served with ajvar (a red pepper and eggplant condiment).

While this was rather heavy food, the desserts from this part of Europe are impossible to pass up. Bosnia has had a tumultuous history, but the food has had the resulting benefit of influences from (among other places) Austria, Hungary, Greece, and Turkey. I found myself having some Bosnian baklava, with walnuts. But my dining companions went for something more strudelesque. I think we all won.

As it turned out, this evening was our last chance to be tourists in Arizona. My final two bowling events were quite successful – as a result, I was on the green all day for the final four days of our trip. It just means that I still have some things to explore if I’m able to return again in the future.