Overheard at Terasa Obor
Bucharest, Romania

trying something new here
let’s see what happens here
the best mici is usually free
mici, so these might be them

they are typical Romanian
sausages called mici
one of the national dishes

the best ever, probably
it’s basically minced pork
grilled over open fire
grilled to perfection
so very, very cheap

a mix of like, lamb and beef?
the best in Bucharest maybe
the freshest and the localest

served with bread and yellow mustard
by one of the most famous
street vendors worldwide
a really nice thing to have
exploring Obor market

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the problem with mici is
they’re all so good
that they don’t even ask you
what you’re ordering

unfortunately tried to order two plates,
but only got two sausages
an ocean of mustard

Vlad just told me
how to eat a mici
who’s this guy?
just looked him up
he is Stefan the Great
he was murdered

wow, this is so good, smells so good
so sweet, so juicy, so flavourful

the right saltiness, the right bounciness
want to support our travels?
that’s a lot of meat

it’s got a good snap to it
it melts in your mouth, good fresh bread
what a concept

you grab your mici, some traditional
‘Romanian wagon wheel’ bread, ¹
two toothpicks, spread out
and then just bite, but it wouldn’t be

a Romanian street food video
without the nice, clean
refreshing taste of Skol beer
the queue was so long
what the hell?

zigzagged with mustard, like at a baseball game
a little calming music playing upfront
to avoid a tornado situation ²

I see why people love this
absolutely five star mici
a big thank you

to today’s sponsor, Better Health
the mustard is almost better than meat
I hope you have room for dinner

it’s like the most famous spot
for mici, so they keep them coming
all day long

you just have to stick up your fingers
for how many you want.

Source: Travel Influencer and Tourist YouTube videos from Obor Terrace, a popular street food spot for Romanian sausages.

¹ There is no such thing as ‘traditional wagon wheel’ bread. The speaker may have been referring to pretzels (covrigi), which are also sold at Terasa Obor.

² A situation when the hot mici fall into the mustard and flail around, splashing mustard onto waiting customers.

Ana Prundaru is an interdisciplinary poet and collage artist, whose work explores themes of dislocation, the Anthropocene and the body. Her work is published or forthcoming in Third Coast, Florida Review Online, Adroit Journal and elsewhere. Originally from Romania, she now lives in Switzerland.