Bulgaria and wine are not generally two words that you’ll find next to each other in the same sentence. But there was a time when the Bulgarian wine industry was the 4th largest in the world. That all ...

Mehanata (1141 Lee, Des Plaines, 847-824-0100), a popular Bulgarian restaurant, has the traditional dark wooden tables with blood-red tablecloths topped with wooden overheads entwined with grapevines.

For example, he brings in organic Bulgarian feta cheese made the "old school way," and features it on top of the garlic bread ($7), in the shopska salad ($10.50) with cucumber, kalamata olives ...

Bulgarian cuisine falls back on the basics – with delicious results. It relies heavily on tradition and is proudly rustic.