Bulgaria is full of quaint little charasmatic towns and Velinko Turnovo might just be the cutest.  As we drove in, we stopped to talk to a shepherd with a small goat flock.  He was right on the edge of town, and as we chatted with him, we could also view the [... The Best Restaurant in the Cutest Town]]]>

The fortress overlooking Velinko Turnovo.

Bulgaria is full of quaint little charasmatic towns and Velinko Turnovo might just be the cutest.  As we drove in, we stopped to talk to a shepherd with a small goat flock.  He was right on the edge of town, and as we chatted with him, we could also view the huge and picturesque fortress that dominates the town.

According to the guide books there was supposed to be a bazaar left over from Ottoman times that still have a few stalls.  A bazaar it wasn’t.  It was a chic little street that had some woodworkers, one crochety coppersmith, and a lot of boutique shops to attract the tourists.  It was cute and comfortable to walk through, but since we were expecting a bazaar, it sort of dissappointed.

What didn’t dissapoint was the restaurant recommended by the woodworker.  Amongst his hand-carved spoon whistles he wrote down the address and a small map to this restaurant that I cannot pronounce.  From the looks of it on the outside, we absolutely would not have chosen it either, but as we were led down the stairs, we began to notice the charm of the place.

We were seated in a sort of closed in balcony that looked down on a park with an imposing Soviet monument dominating the landscape.  It was a great view, and the tables around us were packed full of locals…always a good sign.  The menu was extensive.  I think it boasted over 170 Bulgarian dishes, so choosing was difficult.  We all tried something different, and other than our obligatory Shoppska salad, we tried new dishes.  Everything was notably delicious, well-plated, and huge portions.  The locals tried to help us speak some Bulgarian, and it was all in all just a really great experience.  If you happen to find yourself in Velinko Turnovo, head here.

Print this photo and take it with you. It's worth the extra hassle.

I really didn’t know what to expect as far as Bulgarian food goes.  Maybe a cross between borsht, gyros, and kofte.  To be honest, even though I was looking forward to trying it, I really didn’t have high expectations.  After living in the Turkey, where the food is never, [... Who Let the Cows Out?!]]]>

Chicken wrapped around pork...something to cluck about!

I really didn’t know what to expect as far as Bulgarian food goes.  Maybe a cross between borsht, gyros, and kofte.  To be honest, even though I was looking forward to trying it, I really didn’t have high expectations.  After living in the Turkey, where the food is never, ever bad I just didn’t thing Bulgarian food would rate.  Boy, was I wrong.  It was amazingly delicious.

What we didn’t expect was the proclivity towards yogurt and cheese! I think that they are taught at a very young age the health benefits to yogurt and try to include it in as many meals as possible.  Remember we were offered yogurt with “zellini smokini” (figs), and we were also offered yogurt by Eveline for breakfast.  I’m not a big yogurt fan to begin with, but when I tried the sheep’s yogurt, I pretty much swore it off for the rest of the week.  Therefore Jim ate mine that morning, and Peter ate Lisa’s.  They are good for that.

 Anyway, Eveline was watching with a sharp eye.  The next thing we know is that she is bringing out two pieces of very pink cake for just Lisa and me.  She even said it was only for us because we did not eat our yogurt.  The cake was very moist and tasty.  I’m sure there was some yogurt hidden in the ingredients.  It is probably the way all good Bulgarian mothers trick their kids into eating the healthy yogurt that they need.  It’s true, I’m an overgrown five year old!

After my pre-reading, I was ready to try the famous Shoppska salad.  Simple fare made from chopped cucumbers and tomatoes and topped with tons of some type of feta-ish cheese.  Scrumptius!  No kidding- not one day went by without us having at least one shoppska.  It’s that good, and Shoppska is just the beginning of the cheese parade.

Apparently the Bulgarians love their cheese just as much, if not more, than their yogurt. I know this to be true, since many, many dishes sport the delicious white stuff.  They have fried cheese, French fries covered with cheese, more fried cheese (this time is ball-shape), meat with cheese…well, you get the picture.  If you want it with cheese, they will provide, and you WILL like it!

Another big surprise was the abudance of delicious wines.  We tried a new one each night and they were all good.  We were a little skeptical when we pulled into Melnik and saw the wine for sale being displayed in what looked like used water bottles, but they do have glass bottles, too.  It was all very good.

All the pictures thanks to Lisa, our travel buddy!

New Zealanders like fish and on the west coast one of their favorite types is called Whitebait.  Whitebait is featured in many restaurants and cafes throughout the region.  It’s not adult fish, because it is harvested in the November when it is still smelt.  We had to try this local delicacy and once [... Fishing for Whitebait]]]>

A Whitebait patty

New Zealanders like fish and on the west coast one of their favorite types is called Whitebait.  Whitebait is featured in many restaurants and cafes throughout the region.  It’s not adult fish, because it is harvested in the November when it is still smelt.  We had to try this local delicacy and once again I would categorize it as a “once in a lifetime” experience.  

Even though we saw sign after sign advertising this local delicacy, we had a hard time finding it on the menu.  As we were turning off of Highway 6 to go inland, we figured that we’d better have it before we left the area from which it became famous. 

At high noon, we were driving down the road and saw a sign so we careened through the sharp turn and drove down a driveway to a house.  Not a good sign.  By the time we actually arrived, we’d figured out that it was probably a fisherman’s house and he was selling raw whitebait, which of course wouldn’t do since we had no cooking facilities and had no idea how to cook them. 

Now, not only are we hungry, but we’re getting a little frantic that we might miss out on this opportunity, so we stopped at the very next café which did have whitebait on the menu.  I have to say, it sounded a bit pretentious, though, as it was featured on a fancy salad.  We passed. 

Our next and final try, we drove into Haast where there was exactly one open café.  The only whitebait on the menu was a sandwich which cost an astronomical amount of $15.  So, we asked the lady if there was any other way to try it and luckily she said yes.  For only $6 per patty, we could try one to see if we liked it. 

We didn’t. 

When the waitress brought it, we were beginning to get skeptical.  Basically an omelet filled with whitebait and garnished with a slice of lemon.  I like eggs.  I like fish.  I have decided, though, that I don’t like whitebait. 

 Yes, we ate it.  Yes you should try it.  I always try the local foods and especially ones that they are so proud of, so….check!

Cute and tasty!

Deer meat.  In the U.S. we have a number of men who like to wake up early, put on some bright orange and camouflage clothing, load up their guns and head out to the woods where [... Look Who’s Coming to Dinner!]]]> Yet another post not for vegetarians!  (What does this say about me? Am I too obsessed with meat?)

Cute and tasty!

Deer meat.  In the U.S. we have a number of men who like to wake up early, put on some bright orange and camouflage clothing, load up their guns and head out to the woods where they hopefully will snag a buck!  When they are successful, they butcher the meat, freeze it, give it away, and all this with the intent of eating it.  Therefore I believe there are many families that regularly eat venison.  I have myself a number of times, since my father was an avid hunter.  I even tried going with him one time.  Thankfully we did not shoot any cute animals that day, and it was cold and boring, so yeah, another once in a lifetime experience.

Ok, so we’ve established that Americans do eat venison, but do they put it on restaurant menus?  If we do, it certainly isn’t very common.  I’ve seen it offered on a number German menus, but never in the States.  The thing is every single restaurant I went into in New Zealand offered venison in some form.  I even came across a place selling venison meat pies.  Now, I was well aware that the Kiwis ate lamb, and I wasn’t at all surprised to see beef and even some pork on the menu, but the abundance of venison was a bit of a shock.  Then I noticed that there were plenty of sheep farms, sometimes intermixed with the cows, and yes, many, many deer farms.  I saw one farm that had a paddock for sheep, next to the cows, which in turn were next to the deer. I have nothing to corroborate this, but I’m pretty sure that no one is dressing up in ugly clothes and waking too, too early to harvest them, so it may not be quite as much fun there, but they do eat it, and according to one guy, “It’s quite nice.”   

So, there it is, if you like to eat venison, go to New Zealand.  I can tell you, it was tasty!

The city is also well-known for its meat dishes.  We’ve tried a meat borek that is delicious, and one really great dish called tandir [... Eating in Konya–Always the Right Choice]]]>

Konya is known for a number of things, most notably the whirling dervishes of the Sufi sect.  We had already visited a dervish show, so this time we were here for the food.

The city is also well-known for its meat dishes.  We’ve tried a meat borek that is delicious, and one really great dish called tandir kebab, which is a slow-cooked lamb; but on this trip we wanted another famous dish, etliekmek (literally-meaty bread).

Etliekmek looks somewhat similar to a pide (Turkish pizza) of which I’m not really much of a fan.  There is some spice that doesn’t set well with me, although, in all fairness, I haven’t really given it a chance.  Etliekmek, on the other hand, is absolutely delicious!

So, as you drive into Konya restaurants that sell this dish are everywhere.  We didn’t want a real commercial place, we wanted a little hole in the wall where lots of people go.  So we drove just a little off the main road heading into the city center (sehir merkezi) and found a perfect place. 

On one half of the restaurant was the oven, and the cooks.  We met the “usta” or chef, who was a bespectacled smiley guy.  He had a few plastic bins of different meat mixes, and trays and trays full of little balls of prepared dough.

As we watched, he took some dough and stretched it into a small oval (about 12 by 5 inches) and sprinkled the topping of choice on them.  We had one cheese, one cheese and hamburg mixed, one lamb, and one just hamburg.  With the toppings on, he let them sit and rise for maybe five minutes.

One feature of etliekmek is the length of the dough.  When the usta made the original ovals, I must confess I was a little disappointed.  I was expecting something much, much bigger.  I was soon gratified, though, when as he readied it for baking, he took out a very thin long (5 foot) wooden paddle and stretched the dough to fit it.  He then quickly shoved the paddle into the wooden fired oven.  It only bakes for about ten minutes before he pulls it out and cuts it into manageable pieces. 

The etliekmek is served with roasted pepper, tomatoes, and some parsley.  You can dress it up any way that you want.  All ways, it tastes fantastic.  We’ve decided that any time we are traveling through Konya, we’ll stop at this place.

Note:  All the photos were taken by my friend Matthew.  Thanks!

As we drove north out of Silifke, we stopped at every tomb on the way. It took us much longer than we expected, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch. Last time we didn’t eat and we were forced (through hunger and desperation) to buy some gozleme from the [... A Forest Retreat for Lunch]]]>

Making gozleme for us.

As we drove north out of Silifke, we stopped at every tomb on the way. It took us much longer than we expected, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch. Last time we didn’t eat and we were forced (through hunger and desperation) to buy some gozleme from the local ladies out in the middle of nowhere–not the best in Turkey. So, I really wanted to find something. Jim was driving at a respectable speed through the winding mountain roads as we saw a banner for a restaurant, “Uzuncaburc. Perfect. We’re expecting it to be in one of the tiny villages, on a cement platform, so we were pleasantly surprised to find it was in the middle of a gorgeous pine forest, where they also had a campground.

The restaurant was in a beautiful round wooden building with a porch all around it. It had a mangal (grill) on one side and the kitchen was around back. There were plenty of tables inside, but it was such perfect “harvest” summer weather, that we ate outside. Not long after we sat down, the wife came out and gave me a hug and kiss, then proceeded to kiss everyone around the table. It seemed like she knew me. I didn’t think that I knew her. We’d just stopped because of their advertising. Of course, we pulled up and the place looked rather deserted. Out came a man, though, and I asked if the restaurant was open; it was. There was no menu so we asked what was available. The menu was quite extensive. We ordered esme, haydari (the best yogurt spread I”ve had anywhere), Sac Kavurma (lamb stew), tavuk sis (chicken shish), and some gozleme.

Right away a man comes out with the chicken and proceeds to chop it up and pound it flat on a tree trunk right by the grill. Then the woman who kissed us came out with a gas pan set up to make the gozleme. Next, she brought out the dough and then shaped it into small balls. The balls were then rolled out with a yufka rolling pin (a long thin wooden cylinder) and filled with cheese. At this point she put one on the pan (it looks like an inverted wok almost), folded it in half, let it cook a few minutes, and turned it over to do the same on the other side. Apparently, an order of gozleme is about four pieces because she kept on making them. I’m not a big gozleme fan, but almost everyone thought these ones were better than most. The rest of our food came out and it was a feast!

Every inch of the table was covered and the sac kavurma, as always, looked splendid in the pan it was cooked in, and tasted even better. It had tiny slices of green pepper cooked in with it that gave it just the right taste. The chicken was also delectable. We’ve got to figure out what the grilling spices are that they put on it.

Another man arrived and came right up to me. In Turkish he asked me if I had been to Uzuncaburc before. I said I had and he said he remembered me. Then I realized I’d remembered him as well. Last year I had met he and his wife, and she was sick. So, now I understood why she was so happy to see me. I took quite a few pics of her making the gozleme, the butcher (his brother), and their daughter. I asked them if they had an email so I could send them copies, but instead he said, no problem he could wait until next year when I came again…Inshallallah! That, that right there, is why I love it here. Yes, I will go back next year, if for no other reason than just to visit them and take them their photos and have lunch at their fabulous restaurant. I suggest that if you happen to be visiting Uzuncaburc, look for the sign and eat there; it was wonderful!

Chopping chicken for the grill.

The Dibek resaraunt is conveniently located right in the center of Goreme, which of course is where you find the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cappadocia.  After a tiring slog up, down, around and through rock chapels galore, an evening at Dibek will [... Dibek…A Restaurant Review]]]>

The spices and homemade wine make this one of the best eats in Goreme.

The Dibek resaraunt is conveniently located right in the center of Goreme, which of course is where you find the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cappadocia.  After a tiring slog up, down, around and through rock chapels galore, an evening at Dibek will put you well on the road to recovery.

The family that owns the restaurant has lived there for five generations.  Mehmet, the son and manager, speaks a bunch of languages, and really helps the evening along with his jovial banter.  The house is over 500 years old, and tables are distributed among the rock rooms, with colorful cushions.

The family makes their own wine, and we cannot seem to pass it up.  We order at least two carafes each time we go.  I had asked Mehmet who does the cooking, because the restaurant boasts “home cooking”, and he said his mom did.  And boy, does she do it right.

Everything on the menu is beyond comparison.  Traditional dishes such as Kurufasulye (Beans with lamb), cacik (yogurt sauce), or sac kebab (lamb stew) are all fantastic.  If you can remember, though, their signature dish is testi kebab (a stew cooked for three hours in a clay flask, which is broken open at the table), and you must order it the day before.  Call Mehmet at 0384-271-2209.

Afiyet Olson!  Good Eating!