Or how one late order became a legend.
Three tacos. Should’ve been four.
It all started innocently enough – an eHrana order. Taco Zvani Zajebani, 3 pieces. Excellent. But one bite in, two things were clear: one, I’d be ordering these a lot. Two – there should be four in the box.
That’s how I met Rok Bučar, the artist behind Taco Polako. And I became that regular customer. Ordering 4-5 times a week. Calling at 11:00, the minute he opened. Pickup at 11:15. Religiously.
Rok could probably set his clock by me or decide to ignore my calls just to have a few more minutes of prep time.
The bun that wasn’t on the menu
One day, Rok was swamped. My order was running late, and I was standing there, waiting. To keep me busy, he handed me a pork-filled bun – the one he’d made for himself, for his own lunch.
That was the moment. One bite, one idea: what if we combined guac and chicken?
The next day at 11:15, the bun was already waiting for me.
Months of R&D
From there, we played. Adding, subtracting, testing. Nacho, corn, pickles, mustard, mustard seeds, aioli – everything went through the kitchen. Some things stayed, some got voted off. Every week a little closer to the formula.
The bun became my regular order, four times a week. I started posting it on socials, inviting friends to lunch, sharing our invention with them. And then it happened: my friends started showing up at Rok’s, ordering “the bun that Alpner always eats.”
Rok was getting a bit tired of explaining that it wasn’t on the menu. What he did next will live with me for the rest of my days.
February 24th, 2021
That’s the day the ALPI Štručka landed on the menu. Officially. With a name. Mine.
A sweet bun with pan-fried cheese, fried chicken, guacamole, mixed seeds, spring onion, sliced curry pickles, coriander and chipotle mayo. As the menu put it: this sexy little bun doesn’t need a picture.
It quickly became the bestseller. For me, it was more than that – a bite of happiness, and often the one reason to look forward to an otherwise crappy day.
The end (that wasn’t the end)
November 2022. Taco Polako closed its doors. I was happy for Rok – the man had earned his rest. But honestly? I was devastated. I missed the food. I missed the ritual.
The photo didn’t help, and I was mourning for quite some time.
Alpijada
In 2024, on the anniversary, we organized the first Alpijada. To see the old friends again and bring back the memory of the Alpi bun. It felt like a birthday.
- ALPI Štručka oz. 1. Alpijada – Feb 24th, 2024
- Alpijad(v)a – Jun 1st, 2024
- ALPI Štručka oz. AlpIIIjada – Sep 28th, 2024
- ALPI Štručka oz. 4lpijada – Apr 5th, 2025
After four editions at Žmoht, we found ourselves hunting for a new location.
I want it to stay a secret just a little while longer – but the date is already set in stone: September 13th, 2026, this time on a Sunday. See you there!
Leave your email at alpijada.com and sign up to be the first to know the details about the 5th edition, while I scroll down* the memory lane…
*not really, too busy making sure this edition will be the best one yet.
