The Balkan states are well-represented in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, so a bit of location scouting was necessary in advance of our
Bosnia & Herzegovina meal. I paid visits to
Old Bridge and
Djerdan before settling on
Cevabdzinica Sarajevo, which was situated nearest to a subway station, featured the best array of Bosnian memorabilia on its walls, and was the most difficult to pronounce.
The food here was very tasty, but the staff really made the experience for our group of 4, which included first-timers
austin_res and
karung99. Though this was a counter-service establishment, great interest was taken in making sure we ordered the most authentically Bosnian items on the menu and that we subsequently enjoyed said items (I was told there were no culinary differences in the Herzegovina portion of the country). The restaurant doesn't serve alcohol or coffee, but one of the women insisted that we all have a cup of their employees-only coffee pot when we mistakenly thought it was available for purchase.
I'm sure this would have been a great place to watch one of Bosnia's games in the World Cup (as mentioned in this
Times article I mentioned up-thread), but I didn't get a chance before the team bowed out. This is also another restaurant that is transit-accessible from LGA on a layover/delay - take the Q70 Ltd bus to Roosevelt Avenue, then 4 stops on a Manhattan-bound M or R train to Steinway Street and the restaurant is just a short block west of the station, on 34th Ave @ 38th St.
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