Balkan StrEAT opened Jan, 24 in New York’s West Village community, bringing a flavor of the Balkans to the town. The cafe is a joint undertaking concerning chef William Djuric and company companion Jason Correa — both equally hospitality veterans with a pair of many years of put together restaurant expertise in New York.
After attending culinary university, Djuric worked in superior-stop kitchens like Bouchon Café & Bakery, Gramercy Tavern, and Momofuku Ssam Bar. Correa has worked with the TAO Group for the past 10 decades, most just lately in the position of director of operations, overseeing working day-to-day operations at various of the group’s New York institutions.
In early 2020, Djuric started experimenting with cevapi (Balkan sausages) and other common Balkan dishes encouraged by his father’s Serbian heritage and his possess childhood summers expended in the previous Yugoslavia. Balkan StrEAT was born out of a wish to open a cafe featuring the meals of Djuric’s childhood.
The duo is joined by Milan Milijancevic, who leads the restaurant’s bakery and pastry system. He began his job doing the job in common Serbian bakeries in Belgrade, and prior to opening his very own neighborhood bakery in 2021, Milijancevic invested seven several years as the head baker at Belgrade’s storied Resort Moskva.
Balkan StrEAT serves conventional Balkan meals uncovered throughout the varied location, which incorporates Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Albania. The menu highlights regional favorites, which include grilled items like the cevapi, which can be served as a sandwich or a platter. There are also Balkan-design and style burgers, burek (stuffed phyllo dough pies), and kiflice (traditional crescent shaped rolls with savory or sweet fillings)
The menu functions rotating seasonal specials like stuffed pork schnitzel and goulash, and desserts involve walnut baklava and Balkan donuts termed krofne.
“We have welcomed a ton of Balkan attendees and quite a few People in america who are amazingly acquainted with the foodstuff, both as a result of good friends or they have traveled in the area,” Djuric and Correa mentioned via a joint response. “Most individuals who are not from the region want to develop into acquainted with the menu and the cuisine, but most are enthusiastic to try it for the initial time. We feel Balkan food is very approachable.”
The small restaurant has 12 indoor seats, 8 outside seats, and a style impressed by the Belgrade cityscape, with mural-covered partitions, tile columns, industrial lights, and pops of color.
The restaurant gives takeout and third-occasion supply in addition to dine-in business enterprise, and the founders count on that delivery orders will increase into a substantial portion of their revenue.
“It’s undoubtedly a main ingredient of our enterprise,” Djuric and Correa reported.
Balkan StrEAT presently has expansion ideas in the is effective, with a second site slated to open up in the East Village this spring. Sooner or later, the founders hope to open additional areas in New York and broaden into other metropolitan areas.
