It didn't occur to me that I might be enjoying both pizza and cevapi in a single meal, but that's exactly what happened in Hvar, the gorgeous town on the island of the same name in Croatia.

The owner of the lovely Villa Nora suggested Alviz for dinner. "It has the best cevapi in Hvar...Bosnian grilled meat," she advised. Who am I to argue. Off we went.

Alviz is situated by the bus depot next to a parking lot. Not a sexy location by any means, and most people would probably prefer eating at one of the many restaurants around the harbor. Those people don't know what they're missing. What Alviz lacks in views, it makes up for in every other way.

There's a large partially open-air garden terrace in the back of the restaurant, from which you'll get a view of the wood-burning grill. Start with a liter of stupidly inexpensive local red wine from the island.

We weren't expecting much from pizza in Croatia in general, but each time we had it, it was quite impressive. This version had spicy salami and hot vinegar peppers. I don't know what type of oven they are using to cook the pies, but the crust was crisp and alive. Not dry and lifeless, which is often the case. While Croatia isn't necessarily a pizza-making culture, the pizzas are excellent no doubt due to the quality of the ingredients. The breads in Croatia overall were very good.

The cevapi was the best we had during our entire trip. It's a simple dish of grilled beef and perhaps lamb. Served with the roasted red pepper sauce called ajvar--a sweet, smoky, fruity condiment--and raw onions. This dish is going into rotation around my house as soon as I figure out how to make it.

The french fries, also, excellent.

Hvar is a sleepy town well worth consideration. Well, it's sleepy a bit off season. I'd definitely avoid it in the hot summer months, especially when a thing called Yacht Week occurs, and the town is no doubt filled with loud, obnoxious, drunk people dancing and doing shots on rented boats. I prefer it when I'm the only loud, obnoxious drunk person around.

Alviz : Dolac 2, 21450, Hvar, Croatia