Restaurant: Nessebar, Bulgaria

Nessebar, Bulgaria is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of the abundance of its historical buildings crammed onto a small island (now peninsula because of a man-made isthmus) just of the coast. It is referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea." Judy and I recently spent a day there, as part of our Black Sea cruise, and easily walked around the entire island, going up and down narrow, winding streets. As we walked we were scoping out various restaurants, trying to decide where to eat later. We ultimately decided upon one because of its friendly proprietor, who was helpful in giving us directions to a museum we were looking for. I don't know the name of it as it was written in Bulgarian, but it overlooked the ocean and Sunny Beach on the mainland.

We had one of the best meals of our trip there and definitely the best single food item: grilled blue fish. Our waiter, from central Bulgaria, spoke very good English. His ambition is to go to the United States and play music. He recommended several fish that were fresh from the Black Sea, particularly the blue fish, which I got. Judy got some other fish he recommended, perhaps shad (?), which were smaller. As an appetizer I got some mussels which were obviously very fresh. They were plump and juicy, particularly the larger ones, some of the most fresh I've ever eaten.

Judy got a cold cucumber, dill and yogurt soup she really liked, but I thought was quite tasteless.

The grilled blue fish was some of the best fish I've ever eaten.

It was rare near the bone, per my request, which made it very juicy.

The skin was crispy and had a strong lemon and barbecue taste. That, with the moist and juicy flesh, made for a wallop to the tastebuds. Judy's fish were smaller and had a stronger taste. They were good, but not as good as the blue fish.

As the waiter recommended, I ate the one Judy gave me, bones and all. It also grilled in a salty lemon. For dessert, we shared a cup of ice cream topped in whipped cream and fruit, including cherry, kiwi, banana, apple and orange.

It was perfect for a warm day. For all of the ballyhooed food on our cruise ship, none of it came close to this blue fish.