Plovdiv Food: Top 5 Must-Try Drinks & Dishes

When you’re hitting Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and you’re trying to sample some local food, getting to grips with the best eats can seriously make your trip. Plovdiv, now it’s almost the second-biggest city in Bulgaria, so, too it’s a spot packed with history and culture, which, in some respects, shows through in its grub. It has this attractive mix of traditional Bulgarian flavors, that’s slightly influenced by its location and history. You might be trying something hearty, you might be having something sweet – one thing’s for certain; it’s gonna taste of Bulgaria. These are five foods and beverages that are arguably must-tries to get a good feel for the flavors the town offers any local cuisine.

1. Shopska Salad: A Burst of Freshness

Shopska Salad is, like your entry-level Bulgarian dish and tends to be everywhere during warmer months, even. What you’re getting is pretty darned simple, as a matter of fact; chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers (usually roasted), and then this huge handful of grated sirene cheese (which is like feta) on top. Pretty much like you might find this thing everywhere, yet the way they put it all together over there makes it stand out, in my opinion. You see, Shopska Salad uses quality fresh stuff – juicy tomatoes that taste like they ought to, crispy cucumbers that smell a bit like summertime, and, right, that cheese. The cheese is so much more than any of the feta you’ve had to this point – slightly salty, with this kind of creamy thing to it. Some of the restaurants even use their own, and so on homegrown veggies, like your cucumbers are seemingly just off the vine that same day! As I was saying, you are doing yourself a bit of a disservice if you skipped out on Shopska.

2. Shkembe Chorba: The Hangover Cure (or Not!)

Okay, Shkembe Chorba’s got this reputation for being the greatest hangover remedy very much ever and so on. What it essentially is? Tripe soup. Tripe – that’s the lining of a cow’s stomach. You are thinking this probably ain’t going to float your boat. Now, before your judgement starts to become really cemented into place there, it’s almost that this soup’s taste can seriously make you a convert, like your mileage could deviate, of course. The broth ends up creamy and usually very, very rich; some like to add milk to get there. The tripe itself is generally soft and, in fact, the seasonings typically cover up anything remotely weird you are possibly thinking as of the origin. Almost everywhere else? People will drop a bit of garlic vinegar (made in house) and also some chili oil or flakes in there to liven that thing up. That said, the weird thing is that the way each spot brews this, I mean that the dish ends up seriously different wherever you are ordering from. Do sample at different locations to get this soup on lockdown for your own tastebuds.

3. Banitsa: The Ultimate Bulgarian Pastry

Okay, Banitsa. Now, it’s kind of got a savory pastry rep that seriously holds its place in a breakfast rotation and so on or anytime snack thingy. Basically, that’s a bunch of flaky pastry layers with this kind of filling most people would consider cheese, as I was saying (sirene usually, though some of your stores may go nuts and blend stuff up). Okay, yet sometimes it ends up made with spinach (spanachena banitsa) and then also you’ve got the sweeter, creamier kinds (mlechna banitsa). That, is that, your true thing to find, now arguably this warm, golden pastry. In most respects, this just oozes that crumbly cheese flavor with seemingly layers melt inside your mouth. Plovdiv, by the way, boasts some super cool little bakeries you are able to pop into; what it really gets you is an easy, tasty thing. When it comes to local experiences, right, try it out from different bakeries.

4. Ayran: The Refreshing Yogurt Drink

Okay, so Ayran, to be honest, is kind of like that yogurt drink thing, like your parents very much used to try pushing you into as a kid (this drink usually involves plain yogurt, water, and, obviously, salt). Actually, the beverage is seemingly ultra simple but surprisingly thirst-quenching and I’m positive that there really must be a science behind this thing’s rejuvenating ability. The combo works particularly well as it seemingly cuts through a few richer foods (plus seemingly every meat dish). It seems almost just as important as a drink in Plovdiv’s food, because it pairs so darned well with many a pastry you may sample during your stroll through Plovdiv. It tends to be very available virtually everywhere, you know sample different brands and/or homemade options, okay?

5. Mavrud Wine: A Taste of the Thracian Valley

When one thinks about the tipple options out in Bulgaria, Mavrud wine often turns into the big noise everyone talks about! By the way, Mavrud happens to be a local type of dark red grapes, and really, what these are turning out is the pretty hearty, ripe ruby colored kind of drinks you enjoy once eating very flavorful meals. I’m serious, and like your area that involves Plovdiv (this ends up nestled right at the center out there inside of Thracian Valley), seems that most of your biggest estates produce a very great kind of this variety right now. Its complexity tends to include dark fruit notes, earthy tinges, and sometimes it seems as if you get spices coming out. In most respects, to fully dive a little bit into those drink choices you would see as being from Bulgaria, you need something special from Plovdiv right? And then this would be arguably worth having and trying.