A Journey to The Black Mountain

In 1954, Mr. Wolfe journeyed to Montenegro, where he dined on a variety of Montenegrin delicacies and drank the wine of the region. While we may arrange for a future trip to the "old country" and the newest European Republic, this event provided a typical Montenegrin dinner right in Manhattan. The Wolfe Pack dined on authentic Montenegrin cuisine at Bona Fides Ristorante Giardino where the chef and owner are both from Montenegro. They served a delicious traditional meal without any Albanian spies.

A Report from the Webmaster
(aka The Golden Spider)

The Montenegrin Dinner was GREAT. 35 or so of us trekked to a newly renovated section of Manhattan called The East Village.

I met Katie and Bill Pasko for pre-beers at a “beer boutique” called DBA, then we went over to the dinner on the next block.  The decor and ambiance at Bona Fides are wonderful. It is an Italian restaurant owned by Montenegrins. The owners were delighted to devise a special Montenegrin menu for our group.

I actually got up and walked around and randomly talked to tables of people – an unusual act of amazing savoir faire on my part. A wonderful chance to chat with old friends and meet some new ones. We had a most convivial evening. I got home at 11:45 or something. Tough for a worknight.

I stood in the middle of this long aisle to present the Black Mountain Quiz questions. As I asked each question, someone could shout out the answers. I had devised -- and still feel terrible about – one of those ridiculously complex things you could only figure out if you had taken scrupulous notes from a reading of the book when you also knew the focus of the questions. Jonathan got almost all of them.  And no one else got hardly any of them. WHAT DOES THAT tell you about the quiz.  Sigh. To try it, click here (heh, heh, heh).

The owners were extremely friendly. While I stood there, I randomly stopped our host, Dino Mandic, or his wife, Chef, Sonja Mandic, (astute of me to figure that out, I thought) to ask for various Montenegrin pronunciations for all to hear or about cultural or historical references, etc. For instance, Mr. Mandic told us that the last name Wolfe is very popular in Montenegro.  It is about as common as Smith is in the US. They seemed really happy to be included! It worked out well despite a Mephistophelian quiz. 

The menu is listed below. For starters, the appetizer was antipasto-style sausage, cheese, etc. that was superlative. Both choices for the main course were excellent. Everything arrived hot and delicious.

I should have brought my camera but forgot. I’ve even acquired a cheap, web-suitable, digital camera that avoids the development and scanning time.  Most tables were for 4, some for 2 or even 8. One couple brought their grandsons who were in their late teens. It was really nice to see young faces. Alas, no camera!

VENUE

Bona Fides
60 Second Avenue
(between 3rd and 4th Streets,
East Village, NYC)
212.777.284

Menu

Appetizer: Mezza (This is akin to a cold antipasto.  Dry sausages, cheese, air cured lamb (similar to prosciutto), etc.

Soup:  Rašyan (Soup of greens, potatoes and dry lamb)

Entree: Choice of Ljcurek (Mediterranean Sea Bass) with potato and spinach or Cevapi (three types of meat ground and baked with potatoes)

Dessert: Strupla (apple strudel) with home made phylo dough

Beverage: Coffee or tea