sushi equals happiness and delight.

After not blogging for a month and a half, what a random topic I have chosen to write about...Sushi.

This past Friday all my food fantasies came true: I got to eat sushi AND a burrito. It was the best day! Now, I realize most people would not normally use Sushi and a burrito as two variables in the equation that equals best day ever but, then again, most people aren't living in Bulgaria where these two culinary delights are very hard to come by. The burrito was the surprise lunch item at a meeting I had to attend in Sofia all day on Friday. With the burrito came pico de gallo and Tostito Chips with a hint of lime (a.k.a. the best chips ever). It's amazing how much better American brand food tastes abroad. Amazing. I also had the Girl Scouts ever famous Thin Mints cookies for dessert. (I feel like I need to be using that trademark sign all over the place in this blog.) Basically, by 2 pm I had already eaten two of the things I didn't imagine myself eating until returning to the States. THEN a little post-Thanksgiving, Pre-Christmas, miracle happened. I got to eat my OTHER favorite thing that I didn't think I would eat until returning to the States: Sushi.

On Friday night I decided to stay the night in Sofia with a couple B-21s. We went out to dinner at a restaurant suggested to us by another volunteer. The restaurant was called Lagunda and, in true Bulgarian style, it specialized in everything! Apparently, it's a pretty happenin' restaurant. I think the reason it's so hip is because there are very colorful pictures in the menu, the waitresses wear leopard-print outfits, and there are conk shells on the walls--you don't find that often in Bulgaria (note the sarcasm). Regardless, they had sushi and much to my surprise it tasted like sushi. I was a little afraid to order it at first because, well, Bulgaria isn't really known for it's seafare. In fact, on many Bulgarian menus seafood is often referred to a "gifts of the sea." Actually, that is one of my favorite things about a Bulgarian menu. Anyway, I ordered the sushi using the colorful picture displays on the menu. These pictures proved to be both a blessing and a curse; I was able to order easily but I had no idea what type of roll I was actually ordering. It was a fun surprise when I got my sushi. It all worked out though. You would be surprised what soy sauce and Wasabi can do to mask the taste of an unknown sea gift.

The rest of my weekend was pretty uneventful in the food department. When I got home on Saturday I went back to the ever faithful Cirene and Tomato sandwich. But, believe you me, I will always remember the day I ate all my favorite things, in Bulgaria.