Croatia!

Cleveland is one of the top five cities in the US with the largest number of Croatian Americans and the massive American Croatian Lodge in Eastlake is proof of that. It's a seven acre complex that houses a restaurant, banquet halls, Croatian Heritage Museum, bocce courts, soccer fields, and a strip of retail space housing a salon, dance studio, dentist, and more. There's also the sprawling Croatian Center a few miles away that is 100 acres of outdoor space including a pavilion, chapel, BBQ house, and meat cutting building. 

This made my meal an easy choice, even though there were several other Croatian restaurants in the area to choose from like Marie's Restaurant which we tried on our first weekend visit to Cleveland! But, I figured if I was going to do Croatian food, I should do it at the epicenter of Croatian culture in Cleveland.

That brought me to the doors of Dubrovnik Garden Restaurant! The vibe was very old school in there - burgundy booths, gold framed drawings of the old country, lots of fake flowers, bar full of old timers laughing, Wheel of Fortune playing on the big screen TV. I loved it. Their menu was limited from what I had seen online, so I placed my order: the soup of the day (bean) and wiener schnitzel with potato pancakes. Schnitzel doesn't scream Croatian to me, but every Croatian restaurant menu in town has it on there, so what do I know. Also, schnitzel is great so I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to eat a giant piece of fried meat. Plus, I'd already tried Cevapi from Marie's so I could cross that off the list.

Order in, now I get to learn about Croatians in Cleveland!

The first Croatians came to Cleveland in the 1860s, following jobs in construction and industry as well as their Slovenian neighbors who were also heading this way in large numbers. They first settled in the area of St. Clair and E. 40th Street, which became the heart of the Croatian community. Several fraternal organizations were formed to help take care of the sick and injured and large Catholic church congregations popped up. By 1940, there were over 12,500 Croatians in Cleveland and by 1985, the number swelled to double that. The Croatian Lodge in Eastlake was dedicated in September 1984 and became a centerpiece in the Croatian community.

Croatia is located in Central Europe and is bordered by Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovia. It has a long coastline along the Adriatic Sea which has made it a popular tourist destination in recent years. 

Nazi rule took over in 1941 and it was under Yugoslavia's communist rule for nearly 50 years. In 1991, Croatia declared independence and entered a war lasting until 1995 where over 120,000 people died. Nearly half the population (two million people) sought refuge in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Now, the number of Croats living abroad is almost equal to the number of Croats living in Croatia. 

Croatian cuisine is influenced by Greece, Romans, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, and well, just about everywhere in that region. The country is divided into regions which factor heavily into the cuisine - Southern parts tend to enjoy more Mediterranean style foods, Northern and East gets meatier and spicier. I'm betting that a lot of the Croats living in Cleveland came from the Northwestern area where Austria and Hungary are the main influences -- hello, schnitzel! 

Time to eat! 

First up was the soup of the day which was a white bean soup with veggies and a paprika-heavy broth served with warm, crusty rolls. Eh, it was soup. Nice on a chilly fall evening though! 

The wiener schnitzel was the main event. I kind of laughed when the server brought it out because it was comically large, but I'd been sick all week and not eating much so I felt prepared to tackle it. The perfectly seasoned and crispy breading and tender veal only needed a squeeze of lemon to really make it pop. I chose potato pancakes as a side and alternated topping them with sour cream and applesauce for each bite. The vegetable of the day was green beans and they were the standard canned green beans, which I secretly enjoy. All in all, this was a solid plate of schnitzel.

I'm originally from Lima where pork tenderloin sandwiches from Happy Daz are standard order.
This was an upscale version of that. 

In the name of research, I also had to order dessert. Palacinke was on the menu and I knew that was traditionally Croatian, so this kind of makes up for the schnitzel. Palacinke are crepes made from eggs, milk, flour, sugar, club soda, and butter and fried in a flat pan. I asked the server what the most traditional filling was and she said that the young people typically order Nutella, but the older folks get jam. I went with the apricot jam and something called wine chateau which was finely chopped walnuts spiced with cinnamon and sugar and then a foam made with white wine, sugar, and egg. They were incredible! I was so stuffed from my meal, but I didn't leave a single crumb on the dessert plate. Not the most photogenic of desserts, but very, very good. 

I wandered the halls of the lodge after dinner to burn off a little food and it was huge! There were groups of older folks hanging out and talking at tables in the different banquet rooms. A speaker was talking to a large group in a classroom. A choir was practicing and filling the space with music. Dolls in traditional dress lined glass cases and posters sharing the beauty of Croatia were hanging on the walls. It truly was a community and it was lovely to see!

9 down, 43 to go! 

Dubrovnik Garden Restaurant

located inside the American Croatian Lodge
34900 Lake Shore Blvd.
Eastlake, OH 44095

440-946-3366

Website

Operating Hours
THU - SAT | 11:00am - 7:00pm

(The closing time seemed to be fairly loose, FWIW.)