Villa Podvin

Near Radovljica is Vila Podvin. It is a hotel and restaurant that is headed by a celebrity chef who melds traditional Slovenian recipes with modern techniques and flavors. They offer a daily Slovene lunch for locals for €16. Lunch is served from noon to 3 pm daily except Mondays.

Vila Podvin is located in the village of Mosnje.

I ordered a glass of white wine--incredible at €1.80 for a 0.1 liter glass.

Bread offered.

Celery soup with potatoes & chives--this was rich and creamy.

Beef soup with buckwheat noodles and vegetable. The broth was thin and didn't have much depth of flavor.

Chicken stuffed with black walnuts, mashed potatoes. The chicken was dry.

Trout cooked 2 ways with mushroom barley. The trout was well prepared with a crispy exterior but I was disappointed that it didn't have more flavor.

Fruit with vegetables, apricot, homemade honey/caramel ice cream, cranberries. This was boring.

Overall, we were disappointed by the meal. I was expecting more from a celebrity chef.



2016 09 06

Radovljica

Another 21 km and 17 minutes from Kranj is the town of Radovljica.

The main street is pedestrian only. The main tourist attraction is a beekeeping museum.

Monument with student holding a medallion image of Josipina Hocevar, who funded the city's water system.

St. Peter's Church at the edge of town

Near the church, buried into a hillside, is an old WW II bunker. It is now a memorial to Edith Stein, a Polish Jew who was executed at Auschwitz. She was made a saint by Pope John Paul II. She has no ties to Radovlijica but the locals were inspired by her example.

2016 09 06

Kranj

Our next stop was Kranj, 12 km and 20 minutes from Skofja Loka.

This is the 4th largest city in Slovenia with a population of 37,000. 

We stopped at the TI and was informed that the most popular thing to do in town was the tunnel tour. It wasn't available when we arrived. 

The main street is a pedestrian street.

Stone fountain in the center of town

Preseren's Monument

2016 09 06

La Bodega Sonoma Wine Shop

La Bodega Sonoma Wine Shop is a restaurant and wine club in Sebastopol. They source their wines from ultra small wineries in California. On Sundays & Mondays, they offer a 3-course dinner for $24 ($20.40 for wine club members) or $29 ($26.35 for wine club members).

We had a bottle of Wild Hog 2012 Pinot Noir. It's unfiltered. My husband didn't like it but I liked it because it's spicy and earthy. $29.

Fuji Apple & Point Reyes Blue Cheese Salad--Organic Spring Greens, Endive, Caramelized Walnuts, Walnut Oil & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. The apples were shaved thin. 

French Green Lentil Soup--7 Exotic Spices, Brunoise Vegetables, Essence of Porcini Mushroom, Olive Oil, Zhug Sour Cream. This had a nice flavor but the lentils needed to be cooked just a little longer.

Pork Loin Snitzel, Sauteed Yukon Potatoes, Green Beans & Carrots. This was one of the entrees for $24. I liked this dish. The pork was moist.

Rocky Jr. Chicken & Mushroom, Wild Morel, Porcini & Crimini Mushrooms, White Wine, Double Chicken Stock, Fresh Thyme, Cream. The chicken would have been better brined but the cream sauce was delicious.

Alfajores with Dulce de Leche.

Lemon Tartlet--so cute, tangy and just the right amount for dessert.

2016 10 31

Another Wednesday Pork Chop

This week's Farmhouse Dinner at Flavor Bistro featured pork chops again. Yum! All this, plus a white and a red wine, for $18.95.

Spice-Brined Grilled Pork Chops with Sun-Dried Fruit Compote, Creamy Spinach with Homemade Sausage, Whipped Potatoes, Zucchini, Organic Green Salad and Homemade Bread & Butter

Chocolate Foldovers with Whipped Cream for dessert.

2016 11 02

Skofja Loka

We left Ljubljana after breakfast and headed towards Lake Bled. 23 km and 30 minutes from Ljubljana, we stopped in Skofja Loka. It's a small town of 12,000 inhabitants.

It's an adorable town that you can tour in around 30 minutes.

Cappuchin Bridge crossing the Selca Sora River is the oldest bridge in Slovenia.

Skofja Loka Castle at the edge of town

2016 09 06

Gelato at Zvezda

We had dessert at Zvezda near our hotel.

I had the dark chocolate for €1.60. This was slightly bitter and the portion was small. I liked Vigo better.

My husband chose the rice chocolate for €2.60. This was weird. There were actually pieces of broken rice in the ice cream and it was a little too crunchy for me.

2016 09 05