Kennywood's Nationality Days: Croatian Day

And so the summer comes to a gradual end.

It's so funny at Kennywood - everything for the full-timers is winding down, the operating days are down to weekends...meanwhile, my teaching cohorts are just getting into the swing of things.  I go to one job, and they are relieved that the craziness has slowed down, while at another, insanity has just begun.

Such is my life.  A never-ending circle of ups and downs.  It keeps things interesting, that's for sure.

There was one last nationality day to be had this summer on September 1st - Croatian Day.  A frequent caller asks several times a year, "When is the lamb and pork day at Kennywood?" - if it's early in the season, I tell her the date for Serbian Day, and if it's later, I tell her the date for Croatian Day.

One last trek to Pavilion 4 for Croatian Day food

 I wasn't expecting much after what was available on Serbian Day - lamb by the pound only, green onions, and bread.  I thought I would be getting lamb and taking it home to turn into 2 more meals.

Oh no.  Not this time.  

Walking back to the pavilion, I noticed that it was a lot busier than I thought - and there seemed to be more available.  The lamb was in the back, sold by the pound (and at $15/lb., I was a little put off -I think it was slightly less on Serbian Day).  BUT - this menu certainly caught my eye:

More than just lamb was offered on Croatian Day!

And across from it...COOKIES!

Only about half of the cookie table - there was so much to choose from!

Soooo, I decided to forgo the lamb and try something else.  Pratha, the trusty Gate 2 guard, swore that the haluski was the best of the season, beating out that of Slovak Day, Hungarian Day, and Polish Day.  The woman makes a mean pound cake, so I had to take her word.  Along with it, I decided upon stuffed cabbage and a homemade pepperoni roll, which the maker of the rolls insisted that Gina and I get ones with a little burnt cheese on them.

Haluski and Stuffed Cabbage (with a slice of bread)

Well.  Ok, then:

Pepperoni Roll

I could have bought up that entire cookie table, but I thought I would get the most appetizing-looking thing on the table, a cherry square.  Gina from I.T. also bought myself and Michele (my boss) an anise cookie, similar to ones that my grandmother made at Christmastime:

Cherry Square and Anise Cookie

Pratha was definitely not wrong about the haluski - it gets better with each nationality day, for sure!  I loved it - and the price was very reasonable.  I spent $8 on my entire meal (haluski, stuffed cabbage, pepperoni roll, cherry square) - about half of what I would have spent on the lamb.  The stuffed cabbage was also delicious, but I wasn't thrilled with my cherry square - BUT - Gina insisted on having me taste her apple square.

Oh. My. Goodness.  That was insanely amazing.  I NEED THAT RECIPE! 

Sadly, the Kennywood season is coming to a close, and the nationality days are over.  But, my two favorite times of year - Fright Nights and Holiday Lights - are right around the corner.  From what I understand, this year's Holiday Lights will be bigger and better - and I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing it was in its first year, so I can't WAIT to see what new surprises are to come!

See you this fall (and part of winter!)!


Kennywood Park
4800 Kennywood Blvd.
West Mifflin, PA 15122

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