We met up with Mateja, our local tour guide. I didn’t know what to expect but I was hungry. Right away we sat down at this authentic looking spot. What kind of food did Ljubljana have anyway? It was the first time I realized a city like this existed so I was really curious to know what they eat around here.

Andrew, my co- worker, thought I was weird but I had a feeling this was not going to be some ordinary lunch date.  Right away, Mateja, opened the table with about 20 salads that covered the table; I couldn’t even find the silverware. The waitress was cute but quiet. The way she threw the plates on the table was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Can you say speedy Gonzales style?

Which plate should I start with? There we’re too many choice and they all looked crazy awesome. I looked up and already Andrew’s face was smeared with a combination of the foods that surrounded us. I looked beside me and I saw Mateja laughing…I guess Andrew couldn’t escape his American sloppiness.

I finally started to dig in. First a little bit of the orange stuff, some of the Flank steak that was decorated with this green powder, and a little bit of the yellowish pudding-like salad. Sound weird but trust me my taste buds started to sing. I couldn’t stop eating or even get a word in to tell Mateja how delicious this place is.

Everything was amazing, really. I had almost tasted the whole table until I got to the RED plate. I finally managed to get a few words in so I asked Mateja , “Why is this the only red plate?” She started to answer me but as she did it was too late.

I was shoving what was on the Red plate into my mouth. “It’s the SPICIEST food in Ljubljana. Be-Care,” Mateja started to say but it was too late. Before she could finish the sentence my face turned red (I guess that’s why the plate is RED) and sweat started to drip down my forehead. I didn’t want to make a scene but the heat that I felt going through my body was unbearable.

In a matter of second there were four waitresses around our table trying to help me relieve the pain. We couldn’t understand each other but I think they had this situation happen a few times before. I wanted water but they wouldn’t give it to me. They brought me “special bread” and gestured to eat it fast (they didn’t know English and I didn’t practice my Slovenian in years haha).  I shoved the bread into my face and slowly the heat started to go down.

Go to Ljubljana. Eat good food. Meet Mateja and let her feed you. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY DO NOT EAT OFF RED PLATES IN Ljubljana, they will BURN YOU and leave you with a Ljubljananian MARK FOREVER.