Full Article Here

October 2, 2002

…When we arrived one night, we walked through a private party and made our way downstairs to the cozy cellar dining room. There we met Wanda Radetti, who leads tours of Istria. Ms. Radetti, who said she was in the same refugee camp as Mrs. Bastianich after World War II, lives around the corner from the club and is a regular.
The clubs, she said, are “our reaction to adversity.” She continued: “We party, eat, drink and dance. When we come here, it’s like coming home. It’s the family some people don’t have here.”

…Ms. Radetti asked one of the chefs, Jasna Pusec, whether she had made any strudel that night. Alas, she had not, but we were more than content with the palacinka.

…Ms. Radetti was dancing up a storm. She looked as if she did not have a care in the world. “Here, somebody will always care how you are”, she said…