#lukanka

i did this for you, reisar

Last but not least (and I do apologize for eventual drooling by my fellow Bulgarians living away from the country), the very essence of Bulgarian cuisine - salam. Also known as the very definition of meze, the lukanka and shpek salam are some of the very best treats you can get over there. Best consumed with some alcohol. 

                                        I have a very close Bulgarian girlfriend who introduces herself along the lines of:

My name is Militza Zikatanova. I am from Bulgaria, and I love my country. You should come visit! I also have a blog, and it's zikata.wordpress.com. Check it out!

She literally says to visit her country and always mentions her blog in all her introductions.

So why is this relevant?

Well, Mili is the most patriotic Bulgarian you'll ever meet. She IS the Bulgarian tourism office. I would even be bold enough to say she could be the world's Bulgarian ambassador since she also speaks many languages. But more importantly, she attempts to entrance me with Bulgaria with every opportunity she gets. Especially with food...

Last September, Mili introduced me to lutenitsa, a spread made of eggplants, roasted red peppers, and tomatoes. I was hooked. I could eat it with everything and anything. Of course, Mili was going to feed me every Bulgarian thing she could get her hands on, so she invited me to The Crazy Cock Bulgarian Mehana to get a complete taste of Bulgarian cuisine.

For a Friday night, it was surprisingly empty: we were the only party there for the first hour. Even so, there was modern Bulgarian music videos and live music. Mili does a better job explaining the decor, so you can read her review about it here. From my impression, though, it had a nice local Balkan feel, like something out of a storybook village tavern.

The Mediterranean/Eastern European dining experience is defined by good food, good drink, and good conversation. But the key is eating slowly and gradually. Instead of an individual three course meal, there are many appetizer and main dishes to share. I really enjoyed the communal feel; it reminded me of a nice family gathering.

For starters, we ordered a number of dishes:

Shopska Salad (fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and cucumbers topped with Bulgarian sirene cheese)

By far one of the best salads I have ever had - so simple, yet so good. And extremely easy to make!

Snezhanka aka Snow White Salad (plain yogurt, cucumbers, walnuts, and dill)

Another cold cucumber salad, and probably perfect for a hot summer day. This was my least favorite dish, though, because it was rather bland, but interesting all the same. According to Mili, the yogurt in Bulgaria has more flavor.

Assorted Lukanka (meats and cheeses: salami, prosciutto, jerky, sirene and cheddar cheese)

Also had a selection of cured meats - the salami had the best flavor, and the jerky had the best texture. The cheddar was to die for. Meats were pretty salty, but that's to be expected.

Kashkaval Pane (fried kashkaval cheese cubes) and Csirke Maj Gombaval (chicken liver with mushrooms)

My favorite dish of the night was the chicken liver. The mushrooms and onions added a lot of flavor (the juice from mushrooms always add an extra kick), and I love the texture of liver since I love pate as well. And adding lutenitsa made it even better!

Boiled Cow's Tongue

If you've ever had Taiwanese food, it tastes like pig's tongue, but softer and not marinated.

After all these starter dishes (and I was already 75% full), our main dishes included:

Grilled Chicken Steaks on a clay hot plate with roasted vegetables

Chicken was tasty, although a bit dry, but you can never go wrong with roasted vegetables.

Guyveche (cheese, tomatoes, peppers, egg, and sausage in a clay pot) and the vegetarian version...

Both were very good, but definitely preferred the one with sausage.

And saving the best for last, dessert:

I ordered a Bulgarian Rice Pudding, and it tasted really similar to the Mexican style one with a strong taste of cinnamon and sugar. I enjoyed it, however, I think my rice was a bit burnt.

For drinks, we ordered a bottle of Merlot. Mili's friends joked in Bulgarian that she should break the bottle before I found out it was an Italian wine. One of her friends ordered a Bulgarian liquor, rakia, a 40% alcohol that can actually be used as a rubbing alcohol, and the smell was overwhelming! I gave it a sip, and my face instantly turned sour.

In terms of service, I was definitely not used to the lack of attention and disregard. Our waitress rarely came to check on us, our table was constantly out of water, and she could care less when we were looking for her. Our bill, though, was really impressive. For all that food, it was about ten pounds per person. The menu prices are great and high quality of food. Would I go back? Yes, in a heartbeat. Why?