Bistro offers dishes of many nations

By Elizabeth Clark
Grand Rapidians don’t need a plane ticket to dine in a culinary Epcot.


New sports bar and bistro Scooter’s, at 3097 Broadmoor Ave. SE, in the former Serbian-Croatian restaurant Adriatic that operated in that location for five years, features flags on its menu denoting the regions from which the dishes hail.
At present, 20 flags and a wide array of regions are included on the ambitious menu.
 
What’s stunning is new owner Scott “Scooter” Kocrch and his team of chefs (including Adriatic carry-overs Senija Zahirovic, Mira Vilotic and Marija Sakota) don’t seem to have bitten off more than they can chew.
Kocrch said culinary school was part of his training as a military general’s aide, and he’s very well practiced in the cuisines of the world, which he has prepared for dignitaries such as then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and Israeli and Canadian prime ministers.
Kocrch said when he bought the restaurant in June, he wanted to carry on the long tradition of serving Serbian and Croatian dishes while adding an array of other regional dishes to cater to diners who want a different type of food and to those who “don’t know what they’re in the mood for” when they go out to eat.
On our recent visit, just prior to the restaurant’s official Jan. 26 grand opening under the name Scooter’s (the menu changed in late December), we tried to sample a wide variety of dishes and were impressed with the restaurant’s ability to excel at each.
The appetizer platter ($5.95) represented several flags and featured some tasty treats — a succulent chicken shish-kabob, the flavorful Bosnian Cevapcici sausages (Mediterranean-spiced minced rolls, which seemed akin to blood sausage texturally and taste-wise), gyro meat (as it was browned on both sides, I suspect it wasn’t spit-cooked, but still was tasty) and an unusually thick and spongy pita served in butter-fried slices with cool cucumber sauce on the side. Altogether, it’s a lot of bang for the buck. The Greek pita and hummus ($5.95) also was tasty, but be sure to eat the fried pita wedges quickly as they get quite crisp when they cool.
Our entrees were still more delicious. The USA-inspired pistachio crusted rainbow trout ($11.95) was so fabulous and the entree size so generous I found myself continuing to eat long past the point of a full stomach.
The sweet-and-salty glaze gets its fabulous flavor from flambeed Frangelico liqueur, carmelized garlic, finely minced pistachio and a spattering of browned whole pistachios. The fish pairs wonderfully with its rice pilaf accompaniment. I definitely would order it again.
My friend really put the restaurant to the test by ordering the German Geschnetzeltes ($8.99), which she and her grandmother make from scratch. She was impressed the restaurant makes its own Spatzle egg noodles and found them delicious, although Scooter’s serves them in a more shoestring size (picture shredded mozzarella) as opposed to the much thicker Spatzle to which she’s accustomed.
Our French crepes (Palchinke, $3.95) were fantastic, although we wished the chocolate sauce had been more dense. It seemed to be a Hershey syrup-type sauce. The Italian Biscotti Torte ($3.75), however, was pure perfection — a wonderful layering of textures from the slightly crisp almond biscotti to the luscious lava-like layer of amaretto cream and topped with a silky icing.
While the kitchen pulls off its varied pursuits with panache, the overall ambiance of the restaurant does feel a bit chaotic. The bar side feels very much like a sports bar: Eight televisions display an array of Keno, sporting events and other programs. The nonsmoking dining room is peopled with casual diner-style tables and chairs and two booths, an eclectic spattering of art and tchotchkes and a mural wall featuring a Mediterranean beach scene.
On our Thursday night visit, two multicolored dance-balls flickered swatches of color on the mural while employees and guests sang karaoke.
Indeed the ambiance is quirky, but the longer we stayed, the more the idiosyncracies grew on us. While more bistro-style seating might add to its appeal, Scooter’s charm is undeniable.