Bulgaria - Eastern Europe - page 105

Hebros INTERNATIONAL Voted the best restaurant in the country a few
years back, Hebros restaurant is, like the hotel, a little gem, with a cozy semisubterranean
room and pretty stepped courtyard. The menu features a few traditional Bulgarian
dishes, like the ubiquitous (and surprisingly delicious) “Mish-Mash”—peppers and
tomato baked with egg and white cheese in an earthenware pot—but this is probably a
good place to take a break from Bulgarian cuisine. The menu changes regularly but stal-
warts include wild mushrooms, simply prepared in butter, foie gras, frogs' legs, and
asparagus hollandaise. Leave space for one of the specialties: tender rabbit cooked with
plums, tomatoes, and shallots. Local wines are recommended by the glass with each
respective dish, so this is also a great place to be introduced to new Bulgarian wines.
51 A.K. Stoilov St., Plovdiv, 4000. & 032/260180 or 032/625929. Main courses 17lev-19lev ($11-$13/£6-£6.50).
MC, V. Daily 11am-11pm.
Puldin BULGARIAN Roman fortifications march through sections of this
labyrinthine Revival-era house. Don't dally in the first courtyard you enter, furnished
with frilly wrought-iron chairs, nor at the fancy “ritual” dining hall, but descend into
the cellarlike basement (where rough-hewn timber tables, covered with traditional red
tablecloths, contrast with the rather kitschy lit mural, below which water trickles over
large boulders) and step outside into the courtyard that lies beyond, where a violin-
and-piano-playing duo are usually entertaining diners, and tables are shaded by trees
and vines. If it's hot order a mixture of cold appetizers (their eggplant, roasted pep-
pers, and mushrooms are all delicious); if you're nursing a huge appetite the grilled
pork “sword” is big enough for two, or try the pork filet, roasted with peppers, toma-
toes, apple, and herbs.
3 Knjaz Tsereletev St. & 032/631 720. Main courses 5.50lev-16lev ($4-$10/£1.90-£5.50). AE, DC, MC, V.
11am-11pm.
EXPLORING PLOVDIV
Given its lack of signposts and meandering layout, with numerous little cul de sac
lanes that are well worth exploring, a flexible approach to any walking tour of the
architectural-historical reserve is advised. Old Plovdiv is after all the most wonderful
place to get lost in; just make sure you're armed with a camera to chart your journey.
Below is a tour covering the most important streets and/or sights, which follow on
from each other in some topographical order—try to cover a few of these, but follow
wherever you're eyes lead you: a street like Kiril Nektariev has no museums per se, but
boasts some of the best facades. You can easily cover its prettiest streetscapes in a
morning, unless of course you're keen to examine a few of the opulent interiors or view
the artworks housed in some of these splendid houses, in which plan a full day or two.
ESSENTIAL DAY TRIPS
Bachkovo Monastery Bulgaria's second-largest monastery is, like Rila, a
UNESCO-listed monument, and while the natural environment does not impose the
sense of grandeur that surrounds the more famous monastery, Bachkovo's artworks
alone make this a must-see if you are in the region. Founded in 1083 by two Geor-
gian brothers, the complex was pretty much razed during the Ottoman invasion;
today the oldest buildings are the Refectory (1601) and the principal Church of the
Assumption of Our Lady (Sveta Bogoroditsa), the latter built in 1604 (though the
Sveta Troitsa, a church about 600m/1,968 ft. from the gates, dates from the 14th c.,
it is usually locked). Sveta Bogoroditsa is filled with beautiful frescoes and murals, but