{"id":2104,"date":"2020-01-15T02:26:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T02:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/?p=2104"},"modified":"2022-09-30T12:52:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T17:52:17","slug":"la-cocina-casera-serbia-cobra-vida-en-el-norte-de-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2020\/01\/15\/serbian-home-style-cooking-brought-to-life-on-chicagos-north-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocina casera serbia en el North Side de Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Astoria Cafe and Bakery owner Tanja Jeftenic, pictured in her Irving Park cafe that serves Serbian cuisine, on Dec. 10, 2019. Photo by Michelle Kanaar<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dish is our series on immigrant community<\/span> businesses in Chicago. In 2016, <\/span>immigrant-owned businesses in Chicago <\/span>generated $659 million in income, a<\/span>ccording to a joint <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> from the Chicago Mayor\u2019s Office and New American Economy, a bipartisan research and advocacy organization.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Want to share your s<\/span><\/em>tory with us? Reach out to us at <\/span><\/i>michelle@borderlessmag.org<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

When you come to Astoria Bakery and Cafe<\/a> in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood, the first thing you’ll notice is the komplet lepinja. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people come in here they say they\u2019ve never had anything like that before. I had one lady from out of town who said, \u2018Oh my God, Chicago, never mind the deep dish pizza. Komplet lepinja is where it\u2019s at,\u2019\u201d says Astoria Bakery and Cafe owner Tanja Jeftenic. \u201cIt\u2019s very unique, no one else has it [in Chicago]. It\u2019s kinda the poor man\u2019s dish, but it\u2019s so delicious.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Komplet lepinja consists of a homemade bun filled with Serbian cream cheese and an egg that is covered with roasted pork and its juice and then baked.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jeftenic\u00a0was born in Serbia (at the time Yugoslavia) and moved with her parents to the United States in 1999 when she was fifteen. The family lived in Texas briefly and then moved to Detroit. They didn\u2019t speak English, so she and her mother first started working at a bakery owned by a Serbian woman, called Gibbons Bakery. <\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, both her parents found work as engineers in the auto industry, but then lost their jobs during the auto industry crisis. During this time, the woman who owned Gibbons Bakery had passed away and the bakery sat empty for some time. Jeftenic\u2019s parents couldn\u2019t find new jobs so they decided to create their own. She and her mother, <\/span>Snjezana Jeftenic,<\/span> re-opened Gibbons bakery in 2010.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Perfect comfort food for this crazy Chicago weather .. Komplet Lepinja – bun cut in half filled with an egg and kajmak (homemade cream cheese), baked in the oven for extra crispness and covered with roasted pork and it\u2019s juices. ( now available in veal as well) #AstoriaChicago _________ #eaterchicago #kompletlepinja #serbianfood #chicago #chicagofoodie #chicagofoidbloggers #likefoodchicago #312foodchicago #eaterchicago #balkanfood #burek #instafood #foodie #yelp #chicagofoodmag #chicagobest #checkpleasepics #checkplease #mychicagopix #uzice #kopaonik __________<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A post shared by Astoria Caf\u00e9 & Bakery <\/a> (@astoriachicago) on