Bosna Express under the Forest M. — Photo by Willy Staley
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s official tourism site calls the Balkan nation “The Heart Shaped Land.” While that is a nice sentiment — the nation really looks like an anatomically correct heart, not the stylized heart we know so well — it should consider selling Bosnian tourism on the sheer strength of their hamburgers, or pljeskavica. Pljeskavica is the best sandwich you’ve probably never heard of. It’s former Yugoslavia’s street meat of choice, and fortunately for those of us in the Bushwick area, we can have a taste of Sarajevo right here in the hood.
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Bosna Express is nestled under the Forest Ave M station, and they serve up the most comically large hamburger you can imagine. Before cooking, the beef-lamb patties are about the size of an LP. Fortunately, these lose a little bit of width while they grill. Then, they’re tossed onto warm flatbread with lettuce, tomato, and for a dollar extra, kajmak — a creamy, salty cheese sauce reminiscent of feta. Throw some red pepper flakes on top, and you’re ready to rock.
The sandwich costs $8 ($9 with kajmak), and can easily feed two, making pljeskavica a great recession lunch-date. The only problem with Bosna Express is that its dining area is as small as its sandwiches are big. There is enough room inside to seat four people — uncomfortably. They do have a little counter, and a bench outside, but Bosna Express is probably best enjoyed to-go.
To-go is not a bad option in this section of Ridgewood; it’s full of other Balkan businesses like Tirana Café (Albanian), or the Ulcinj Café (Albanian and/or Montenegrin, depending on who you ask), and makes for a nice place to stroll around and soak up some Eastern European culture.
If you get really down with pljeskavica — like me — you can find them elsewhere in the city. Stari Most in East Astoria serves up a thicker, more manageable sandwich. And they have seats! If you want a pljeskavica with a bow-tie on (and pork mixed in, Serbian style), look no further than the posh Kafana in Alphabet City. Also, Bosna Express apparently has a satellite location in Long Island City. Or, you could keep it real Web 2.0 and just be friends with the sandwich on Myspace.
Bosna Express | 791 Fairview Ave
718-497-7577
Hours: 11am-9pm daily
BushwickChill February 24th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Dobro
Plazma March 2nd, 2009 at 5:04 am
Wow! I see this place all the time. I don’t know why but I thought it was some kind of Bosnian private club like the Italian one up Forest Ave. I never thought of going in. Anyway, I’ll check them out this week.
Jeremy Sapienza March 2nd, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I had one last week, it was very good!