If you're expecting stodgy East European stews, think again: While the pretentious may brand it essentially as "peasant" cuisine, Bulgarian food is the best-kept secret this side of the Balkans, with an emphasis on fresh seasonal produce, and healthy, unfussy preparation methods. Influenced by the 500-year Turkish occupation and its proximity to Greece, it features plenty of spices (many of which are endemic to Bulgaria), and predominantly chicken, pork, and veal, often baked with cheese or yogurt, and piles of fresh and flavorsome vegetables. Perhaps the answer to why Bulgarian fare is so delicious (and hard to export) lies in the quality of the Bulgarian soil, which some say is imbued with a special bio-energy (certainly its herbs are considered of the highest quality in Europe), a result no doubt of its numerous mineral-rich rivers and streams.
Bulgarians almost always start their meal with a fresh simple salad, accompanied by a shot (or two) of rakia, the local grape- or plum-based liquor. Meat -- chicken or pork, usually chargrilled over coals or baked in an earthenware pot with vegetables -- follows, with a side order of potatoes or bread. Chubritsa -- a unique Bulgarian spice -- is usually on the table to spice up a meal should you deem it too bland.
Besides the wonderful quality of the cuisine there is the price: you need not pay more than 3€-5€ ($4-$7) for a meal; about as much for a good quality red wine to accompany it; wine lovers will do well to order wine made with Mavrud or Melnik, both grape varieties unique to Bulgaria (white wines fare less well).
