It’s amazing how much food can teach you about things. When I decided to call this article “cooking from the heart,” I did so because of the passion for food and wine that Drina Daisy owners Fordinka Kanlik and her husband, Ken Bendickson, have for food and wine. I had no idea that the region of Bosnia/Hercegovina, from where Kanlik hails, is known as “the heart-shaped land.”

Bordered by Coatia, Serbia, Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea, Bosnia holds a rich mixture of history and cuisine. Unfortunately, the region has also suffered tremendously. Kanlik escaped to America from Sarajevo, after suffering extreme hardship during the 1995 genocide in Bosnia. Kanlik came to Vancouver, Wash., to search for her mother, who had also fled the country, and it was there she met her husband.

I’d always wondered how the restaurant got its name. Drina is the name of a river in Sarajevo near where Kanlik was raised. Daisy is Bendickson’s mother’s name. After marrying, the couple settled in Astoria and started their restaurant in a historic 1924 building with an Italian Renaissance storefront. Kanlik was mentored by her grandmother at a young age to be a cook. According to Bendickson, she knows how to do everything, from making plum brandy to curing her own meats and sausages, to baking her own breads – talents she now uses in their restaurant. Bendickson, who works as the host and sommelier for the restaurant, is extremely knowledgeable about wines, beers and spirits from the Balkans.

Upon entering the restaurant, you will often find a whole golden lamb turning on the spit behind the welcoming wooden bar. Bathed in the color of avocado mousse, with white wainscot, the tastefully restored dining room features a sparkling crystal chandelier, old-world opaque overhead lights and white linen tablecloths. Exquisite orchids raised by Kanlik adorn each table. “She loves these orchids,” says her husband. “She sings to them and feeds them tea made from eggshells and other nourishing things from the kitchen.”

If you are with friends, a great introduction to Drina Daisy is to share several platters of different foods. One evening, dinner started with just-made bread, fragrant with caraway seeds, and a plate of sliced cured meats. Bosnian smoked beef sausage (bosanski sudzuk) melted on the tongue with flavors of garlic and spice. Smoked beef (subo meso) offered flavors of mushrooms and salt. The meats were artfully arranged with fresh farm cheeses, roasted peppers and more.

Tomato and cucumber salad (sopska), made with diced tomato, cucumber and chunks of a soft white cheese, was dressed in a refreshing sour cream dressing. Don’t miss ajvar, a condiment and spread made with a puree of fire-roasted red bell peppers and baked eggplant. It is addictive spread on the house bread and also livens up lamb and other dishes.

Slices of lamb stripped from a whole, fresh-roasted lamb are served with a medley of fruits and vegetables at Drina Daisy Bosnian Restaurant.Mediterranean-style whole roasted lamb (jagnejetina na rostilju) is rubbed with spices and flame-roasted until tender. It is sliced into a variety of pieces, which are delicious dipped in the red pepper-eggplant puree. I don’t know of any other restaurant on the coast that features a whole spit-roasted lamb. I love it.

Sarma (stuffed cabbage leaves filled with Italian risotto) come in two varieties, one with ground organic beef chuck and one mixed with vegetables and garlic. Both are cooked in a savory red bell pepper broth and topped with sour cream. They are the ultimate comfort food. It was difficult to pick a favorite. Spinach pie (zeljanica pita) is a delicious crisp concoction made with filo dough layered with fresh spinach, cheese and sour cream.

Beef pastries (burek) are made with crisp filo pastry wrapped and baked around ground organic beef flavored with garlic and other savory spices.

My favorite dish was beef stew, or “goulash” with paprika spice (bosanski goulas’). With a rich tomato-based sauce, heady with the fiery, musty flavor of paprika, the stew was filled with moist tender chunks of beef and sautéed bell peppers. It called out to the bread, saying “dip me in here.” So I did, and I was in heaven. A slightly sweet, sun-gold Tokaji wine from Hungary, with rich fruit flavors of peach and apricot offered enough crisp acids to work really well with all the spicy, rich flavors of the food. We also enjoyed Vranac, a light dry red from Montenegro (rated one of the 100 best wines of Europe) with peppery spice and nice fruit flavors.

Don’t leave without a slice of baklava, a traditional dessert made with layers of walnuts, buttery filo dough and honey. Kanlik’s rendition is perfection. Sliced into slender fingers that are 2 inches thick and about 2 1/2 inches long, the pastries are layered with complex flavors of ground toasted walnuts, buttery pastry and honey, kissed with a touch of lemon. Turkish coffee and perhaps a sip of slivovica (plum brandy) will add the perfect finish to your meal.

My advice is to visit Drina Daisy with an open heart and an empty stomach. You will leave fulfilled in more ways than you can imagine.