Covaci Street, like the whole Old Town of Bucharest, was famous in the past for its restaurants and breweries. The most famous was, without question, the “Iordache Ionescu” Restaurant, located on Covaci Street, number 3, just after the corner with Soarelui Street, founded in 1859 and closed in 1948. According to the story, this is the birth place of “mititei” (one of the most traditional Romanian food, also known as “mici”), which literally is a plural form of small in Romanian. One night, Iordache Ionescu, the owner of the restaurant, realizing he had run out of intestines for making sausages, had the bright idea of frying the sausage mix straight on the grill, more so, “to the usual mix of ground-up meat, he added cumin, pepper, thyme, baking soda and a little saltpeter” as a contemporary journalist, Anton Bacalbasa, described.
Inspired by this, another journalist, Nae Orasanu, created his famous list including the new type of small skinless sausages:
• The bread = Abundance;
• Ice = Cream of Siberia;
• The toothpick = A bayonet;
• Tableware = A rulebook;
• Liquor = An idea;
• The bill = The protocol;
• Small skinless sausages = Mititei,
• Large sausages = Patricians;
• Red pepper = A torpedo;
• Sauerkraut = A Belgrade original;
• A wine bottle = A quarrel;
• A wine cup with soda on the rocks = A battery;
• Water = A “natural one”,
• Wine glasses = A half-platoon;
• Turkish black coffee = A table-talk
The terms mititei, battery and protocol are still in use today in Romania, although the latter two are not as well known. This is why Iordache Ionescu restaurant was nicknamed “The Idea” („La o tuica”). The restaurant’s fame was ensured not only by its fine cooking, Iordache made sure personally that service was impeccable, the cellar was always full with “the best foreign and indigenous wines and spirits”, and the atmosphere was maintained by the most famous fiddlers of that time: Cristache Ciolac, Lică Ştefănescu, Jean Marcu, Fănică Luca and others. Almost no celebrity who arrived in Bucharest didn’t missed the chance of seeing Ciolac playing at Iordache’s restaurant.
Strada Covaci, la fel ca intregul Centrul Vechi din Bucuresti, era faimoasa in trecut pentru restaurantele si berariile care se aflau aici. Cel mai celebru era, fara indoiala, “Restaurantul Iordache Ionescu”, amplasat pe Strada Covaci, numarul 3, imediat dupa coltul cu strada with Soarelui, fondat in 1859 si inchis in 1948. Dupa cum se povesteste, aici este locul de nastere al “mititeilor” (una din cele mai populare specialitati culinare traditionale romanesti, cunoscut si ca “mici”), care literal este pluralul de la mic in limba romana. Intr-o noapte, Iordache Ionescu, patronul restaurantului, realizand ca s-au terminat intestinele pentru prepararea carnatilor, a avut ideea stralucita de a praji amestecul pentru prepararea carnatilor direct pe gratar, si mai mult decat atat, “la continutul obisnuit pentru prepararea carnatilor, el a adaugat chimen, piper, cimbru, bicarbonat de sodiu și un pic de salpetru” dupa cum nota un ziarist contemporan, Anton Bacalbasa.
Inspirat de acest lucru, un alt ziarist, Nae Orasanu, a creat o lista celebra care includea si noul tip de carnati fara piele:
• Paine = Abundenta;
• Gheata = Crema de Siberia;
• Scobitoare = O baioneta;
• Tacamuri = Manual de utilizare;
• Tuica = O idee;
• Nota de plata = Protocolul;
• Carnati mici fara piele = Mititei,
• Carnati mari = Patricieni;
• Ardei rosu = O torpila;
• Varza murata = Original de Belgrad;
• O sticla de vin = O cearta;
• Un pahar de vin cu sifon = O baterie;
• Apa = Una “naturala”,
• Pahare cu vin = O jumatate de pluton;
• Cafea neagra turceasca = O discutie la masa
Termenii de mititei, baterie si protocol inca mai sunt folositi in prezent in Romania, chiar daca ultimele doua nu mai sunt asa de cunoscute. Din acest motiv restaurantul lui Iordache Ionescu a fost poreclit “La o Idee” („La o tuica”). Celebritatea restaurantului a fost asigurata de mancarea buna ce se gasea aici, Iordache asigurandu-se personal ca servirea era impecabila, pivnita era mereu plina cu “cele mai bune vinuri si spirtoase indigene sau straine”, iar atmosfera era mentinuta de cei mai celebri lautari din acele vremuri: Cristache Ciolac, Lică Ştefănescu, Jean Marcu, Fănică Luca si altii. Aproape nici o celebritate care sosea in Bucuresti nu pierdea ocazia de a-i vedea pe lautarii lui Ciolac cantand la restaurantul lui Iordache.
| Home | Bucharest | Dobrogea | Moldova | Wallachia | Transilvania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
