No passport needed to travel to the Balkan Store & Bakery

I found myself in the frozen north again on Labor Day (that's St. Louis, for those who don't understand my brain) and decided it was a fine opportunity to find a new place to eat. Despite the holiday, I found a wonderful little nook in Chesterfield called the Balkan Store & Bakery. Located in a tidy little strip mall at 13393 Olive Boulevard, "A Taste of Europe" was proudly proclaimed on its sign.

This was the most charming grocery store/restaurant I've seen yet, with a few seating areas up front including wicker couches festooned with colorful pillows. Large oil and vinegar bottles graced the table where I'd normally only see salt and pepper, and the delicate plants, I think they were miniature roses, were real and well tended.

The grocery store took up most of the room, with cold things on the right hand side. I was fascinated with the vast array of cheeses and yogurts, many of them sheep milk based. To my knowledge, I had never had sheep cheese, and I couldn't help but smile because this was about to change. Further down I found a whole case of frozen dumplings of all kinds and rich-looking chocolate cakes. Liquor filled the next aisle over, so many bottles written in exotic languages I didn't understand. There was one particularly interesting bottle of vodka there. I'm not sure how good the vodka was, but the bottle was shaped like a Kalishnakov, so I'm pretty much 100% certain it was Russian vodka. I found the really portable stuff on the left, pouches of sauce bases, boxes of shelf stable sweets, bags of dried stems and blossoms, destined to become tea.

At the very back of the store was a bakery display, complete with the obligatory Baklava, a fairly familiar dish with layer upon layer of paper thin dough soaked in honey and layered in nuts and spices like cinnamon.

Next to the bakery display was the register and counter, upon which the menu was taped. While they had more "American" dishes like a turkey panini, that's not what I was here for. I went straight to the "Grandma's Specialties and Balkan Foods" part of the menu. I started with the Bulgarian Fried Cheese, which came served on an absolutely adorable bright and patterned plate. It was cut into triangles, the cheese ½-inch thick slices, and I was pleased to learn it was indeed made with sheep cheese. I found it rich, smooth, and just slightly tangy, reminiscent of a mozzarella with a slight sharp cheddar twang.

Bulgarian Fried cheese, a sheep cheese breaded and fried until melty, firm and a bit tangy.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

Second came the Bosnian Beef Cavapi, pronounced with a "ch" at the beginning of cavapi. It was a pita stuffed with Bosnian ground beef sausages that reminded me of meatballs pressed into long thin fingers instead of rolled into balls. The sausages were seasoned delicately, with none of the sausage spices that you'd normally find in summer sausage. They were more earthy, more meaty, and since they were grilled, they smelled absolutely delicious when the plate was set in front of me. On the side was a lovely fresh salad, and a small container of what looked like tomato based sauce. The menu said it was called ajvar and upon looking it up, this is a paste made of primarily sweet bell peppers and eggplant, so no tomatoes at all. It was robust, a little sweet, and I first dunked my sandwich on it, then went all-in and smeared it on.

While the Cavapi was good, my favorite try was the Turkish Adana Kabob. Also wrapped in a fluffy pita, this was similar, one big flattened ground beef sausage about two inches wide, seasoned with Turkish seasonings this time. So juicy, the meat was stained orange with the spices used, and little flecks of pepper made it especially pretty. Not spicy hot at all, this was covered in grilled onions, and served with a row of fresh tomato slices and two mounds of seasoned rice. The rice was amazing, heavily chicken flavored with root vegetables, rich and hearty. I'm not sure I was supposed to, but I ate the tomato slices with the sandwich, and it was delicious.

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and took some Balkan treats home with me. The Baklava was divine, and the shop owner was extremely nice and friendly. My husband got to try a Serbian beer, so we left feeling like we had taken a trip across the world, and we didn't even need a passport.