La Cocosatu'

Bucharest, Romania

A legendary Bucharest beer hall and mici institution, operating in various forms since the early communist period in the Floreasca neighbourhood. The name, meaning 'at the hunchback's', refers to a nickname attached to an early owner. La Cocosatu' represents the category of Bucharest bere-and-mici hall: a large, rowdy indoor-outdoor space where cold draft beer and freshly grilled mici are the only things on most tables. The mici are made to a house recipe with a pronounced garlic and black pepper flavour, grilled over a long charcoal rack, and served on paper with a wooden board underneath. A cult spot for Bucharestians who grew up eating mici here, and a marker of the city's grilling tradition that pre-dates the current wave of food tourism.

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Sausages served here

Mici

Bucharest, Romania

Mici are Romania's national street food: skinless grilled cylinders of seasoned minced meat, about 8 centimetres long, eaten with sharp mustard and cold beer. They have no casing. The mix is beef-dominant, with pork added for fat, sometimes lamb for depth. Garlic, black pepper, and dried thyme (cimbru) season the meat; baking soda dissolved in cold beef broth makes them puff on the grill, giving a light interior beneath the char. Every Romanian summer terrace has a charcoal grill running from noon to midnight, and mici are what that grill produces. The dish exists in Moldova too, under the same name and largely the same recipe.

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