There’s already a crowd as the crew at Balkan Treat Box, a food truck, finish preparing the wood-burning oven on a sunny Monday morning.
“What is that?” a local office worker asks, craning his head, as a woman carries a canoe-shaped pide stuffed with ground beef and cheese, dotted with red pepper-infused ajvar and creamy feta kajmak, sprinkled with herbs. The dish, inspired by the Turkish fare that turned up in Bosnia during the period of Ottoman rule in the 16th and 17th centuries, is Insta-gold, regularly showing up on guests' social media feeds. (The photogenic plate was also hailed one of the “Best Bites of the Year” by Food & Wine restaurant editor Jordana Rothman.)
That stuffed Turkish pide bread, and the rest of Bosnian-inspired fare served on the roaming food truck (which is about to open a brick-and-mortar), are part of a glorious moment in St. Louis’ growing food scene.