Veggie without Borders

Since Bulgaria is my home country, I decided to write about it first. The traditional Bulgarian food belongs to a broader category, namely the Balkan cuisine. Although each of the Balkan countries has its specifics, you'll surely find a lot of stuff which can be applied to most of them, for example Serbia, Macedonia, Greece etc.

Shopska salad © Wikimedia Commons, Zhelyazkov

I remember Mark Ruffalo's "veggie nightmare" when he had to film a movie in Serbia and could only eat Shopska salad. Sadly, I can also say that traveling to the Balkan as a vegetarian might not be an easy task. Depending on where exactly you go and what you expect, you might experience difficulties... But knowing more about our culture, cuisine and current developments can help you immensely! (which is true for most places in the world and the reason I'm starting this series)

Sofia & the big cities

There's plenty of vegetarian alternatives in big cities like Sofia and it shouldn't pose any problem to avoid meat there. Most of the vegetarian/vegan (friendly) restaurants are normally situated in the central part of the city - "fast food" like Supa Star or "slow food" like Dream House. In the area around the streets of Graf Ignatiev and Ivan Shishman, you will find many other nice options.

Fast food

Banitza © Wikimedia Commons, Eugene Zelenko

Fast food is fatty by definition and combined with the Balkan cuisine, which sometimes overuses oil, butter and other kinds of animal fat, it could really make you sick. The most popular fast food is pizza, döner kebap and McDonalds. They are present everywhere.

If you want to avoid that, you can try some traditional alternatives - there are bakeries offering different kinds of refreshments and sandwiches, as well as the most popular food in Bulgaria: Banitza (Баница)! It's a kind of a pie filled with a mixture of cheese, eggs and yoghurt, so it's totally not vegan! There are even special bakeries for that and some of them can be very good. But you could often encounter the problem of the overuse of fat...

In Sofia, there are also many Subway restaurants, which I find a good option in the case you want to eat something tasty, without meat and in the same time not fatty. I know also about one in Burgas - the second biggest city at the Bulgarian seaside, so I'd expect it to have spread in many other big cities, as well.

Restaurants

Stuffed peppers   © Wikimedia Commons, Zserghei

Modern restaurants like pizzerias always have some vegetarian options. It could be more difficult with traditional ones or those at the seaside. Many of them offer soups, salads and omelettes. I'd highly recommend trying the Tarator soup in the summer, because it's very refreshing!
Beans and lentil soups are also very typical.

Traditional restaurants could also offer grilled, baked or fried vegetables with sauce, this can be very tasty, depending on the cook. Typical are zucchini, eggplant or peppers. Some of them you might also find in a version stuffed with rice. Be sure to ask if there's no meat inside in this case, since rice could be mixed with mince.

What you should absolutely try, if you go to a typical Bulgarian restaurant, are stuffed cabbage or vine leaves. It's delicious!

Shopping

Bulgarian restaurants aren't too expensive for people coming from Western countries. But if you're staying longer or traveling on a restricted budget , then you'll probably go shopping.

The best place to buy fresh produce is a traditional market, because there's a variety of choice there. You can ask your hosts if there's one nearby. If you don't care or don't have time for that, a supermarket might do as well - tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, carrots and eggplants are among the most popular vegetables. If you're lucky enough to be in Bulgaria in the late spring or in the summer, you'll find many regional fruits like strawberries, cherries (May and June), apricots, peaches, melons, watermelons, plums... You'll know you have to buy it when you pass by and sense a fresh and sweet smell! With melons, you can try to check the ripeness by knocking on them. If it feels hollow, it should be good!

A very typical and delicious food that you can find in every supermarket is Liutenitza, which is similar to the red pesto or to ajvar, a paste made of peppers and tomato. But it's at the same time completely different! It's good to eat it with bread and white cheese. Add some nice olives - there you have an easy and delicious lunch!

Writing this article, I found this blog - it may help you, too. 

So there's really no need to worry, the Balkan people won't "tear you vegetarians to pieces and eat you" :) There's plenty of vegetarian food for you out there. If you experience difficulties, just ask people. As we say in Bulgaria, asking can take you as far as Constantinople - which means, all the way through the Balkan.