Gastronomic Offer of Advent 2023 in Zadar, First Part

Gastronomic standards of Advent in Zadar – sausages, burgers, fritters, mulled wine and gin… - has long been set, those basic morsels are omnipresent icons at other bigger and more well known Advent fairs and will be sought for even this year at Petar  Zoranić Square and Five Wells Square. 

However, a closer look at the applications received by the 25 hospitality workers who got their places under the illuminated tarpaulin clearly shows that the food offer at the Advent of Zadar will be far more interesting and diverse than the basic standards, and that at least some of the hospitality workers are trying to introduce different refreshments and surprises. Along with the entertainment program, the gastro offer will be the most interesting part of the Zadar Advent, and the ambitious and imaginative hospitality workers also need a curious and hungry public that is ready to explore the sea of Advent houses.  In several continuations, we will present the best from the offer of each of this year's houses.

So, let us start in the order of the market stalls…

Red Fox

In earlier years, the Red Fox of Vinko Fain from Zadar offered attractive innovations such as edible chocolate glasses for brandies, liqueurs and gin or a lamb burger, and he has also retained some of these novelties for this year. However, he has a surprise with a courageous novelty – a burger with tripe. He simply decided to fill a warm burger roll with the contents of the cult Zadar and all of Dalmatia brunch, Dalmatian tripe. 

The bread roll is first browned, then one half is coated with Genovese sauce, and the other half with red tomato sauce, and then the cooked tripe is arranged with the minimum amount of sauce that is normally on the plate, with cheddar cheese and arugula are added. This traditional dish has thus approached the idea of street food and has succeeded. The first days have shown that the food will need to be booked on time.  

Jeti Fritters

This is the only Advent house in Zadar that does not offer any meat or salty dishes. The owner Drago Klopko and his team are only sweet offers and this year their main offer is traditional fritters and crunchy choros. But also cotton candy, several types of original lollipops, waffles and pancakes.

Klopka delivered a real fritter machine for Advent– from ten cavities of this special tool, liquid dough is pressed into deep hot oil so all the fritters of ordered portions are fried equally and are light and airy, always warm. The choros in Jetti House are crispy and light and the confectioner, according to the visitor's wishes, tops them all with several types of sweet chocolate, nutella and vanilla sauces.

The Three Wise Men

A powerful wintery, real snowy dessert has arrived straight from the Bavarian and Austrian ski resorts to Tina Buljat's house – the germ dumpling. Although the Three Wise Men House offers homemade sausages, vegan tortillas, sushi and Zadar craft beer Donat, the star of this house’s offer is the germ dumpling.

It will satisfy those who are really hungry. A ball of dough the size of a man's fist is filled with plum jam and then placed in a special steamer for a few minutes. Tina then pours vanilla cream over such a boiled big dumpling. Warm and full of rich sweet flavors, it will also come in handy for warming up during the storms still in store for Advent.

Marvel

The Marvel team has simplified its gastro offer and reduced it to good homemade pork sausages from a drying room of a family agricultural community from Zadar and served in a big and warm bread roll and small Dutch pancakes (poffertjes).

They are similar to the American ones, baked from dough with yeast but are much smaller and called children's pancakes. Mainly, when in Marvel a real little sweet sensation for kids is created with nutella, linolada, crumbled petit beurre or oreo biscuits. And adults also.

Kod Rođe

This is the longest standing house of the Zadar Advent. It has been present at the Zadar Christmas fair from its beginnings, from the middle of the past decade. Its offer has remained traditional: on the counter, they are first briefly placed on a baking sheet and then cooked in a large cauldron.

The offer consists of five types of sausages, from  debrecinka to spicy pork ones. One part is supplied from the assortment of a large Croatian meat processing plant, and another part is prepared by this team from Murvica from pork and beef. Burger and homemade fritters are also the standard part of the house's offer.

The Lion's House

The Lion is the sisterly connection of Kod Rođe House, and this one is always present at the Zadar Advent with the same offer of homemade fritters, a pile of always hot sausages filled diversely and mulled wine and other warm beverages. But it has the best view of the Advent stage!

Finger Food

This house has already participated at the Zadar Advent and it offers homemade sausage and burgers, fritters and sweets but also a particular specialty– (pulled pork) in bread roll with fried batata potatoes. This is a serious Advent dish. The Finger Food team bakes pork for 14 hours at low temperature so it can literally be pulled in a warm bread roll spread with barbecue sauce. Such a sandwich is supplemented with corslow and green salad and there you go! The mulled gin from this house was awarded last year as the best of Zadar Advent.

The offer is more interesting with grandfather's mulled homemade wine that comes from the outskirts of Skradin, and there is also grandmother's rum punch so grandfather can have company and hot Maraschino Hot, a mixture of several types of tea seasoned with real Maraschino from Zadar. Someone has finally introduced this world-famous, and our domestic liqueur, to the Advent in Zadar.