All humans have to eat, but the preparation and serving of food changes drastically depending on where in the world you are. Traditional dishes often reflect a lot about a country's environment and history. One of the best ways to fully experience and appreciate a culture is to try all of their different foods. Sometimes you might encounter something that you haven't seen before or that might not look that appetizing to you at first, but most often it ends up tasting great!
Today I went with a friend of mine to a Slovenian restaurant called a gostilna, which basically translates as a restaurant specializing in traditional comfort food. We each had a different typical Slovenian main dish, and we also split a side of traditional Slovenian sausage called kranjska klobasa. I had a type of potato cake prepared two different ways that also came with a side of buckwheat, which is a grain sort of similar to rice. My friend had pumpkin gnocchi in a cream sauce.
Everything was delicious! The potato cake dish that I ordered was very unlike anything I have ever had back home in the U.S., but I really enjoyed it. It's fascinating to me how the same thing can be prepared in two completely different ways and taste very distinct yet equally good each way. I've also never had buckwheat before. It went well with the potato cakes.
