There’s not much in the way of curb appeal at  Restaurant Bulgaria, at 4724 West Lawrence Avenue.  

We might have just kept on driving except for two reasons. It was too cold to hunt out somewhere else. And, we were with a dining guest from Bulgaria who was going to guide us through the menu.

There’s  a large and sprawling dining room and bar. Other than our party and a couple of people at the bar watching a football game on television, we had the restaurant to ourselves. That’s not a very good sign.

But, here we were and we were hungry. A waitress brought menus and a wine list, both of which piqued interest. The wine list features some very good, and all reasonably priced Bulgarian vintages.

 As a product of history, Bulgarian cuisine is subject to a large Turkish influence, not surprising considering its Ottoman occupation. There are also similarities to Greek foods, and ingredients.

For instance, many salads and entrees feature feta cheese. Unlike the Greek variety, Bulgarian feta is less salty, very much like a farmer’s cheese. It shows up in Bulgarian Shopska salad, which we learned is a classic, but much like a Greek salad.

You should ignore the bar food at Restaurant Bulgaria, but not the French fries. A platter is mounded huge with fries, and surprise….crumbled feta. But, getting down to some substantial entrees, you’ll find the likes of Bear Footprints, basically a huge meatball filled with cheese, chopped pickles and seasonings. Pickles, like feta, show up in several recipes adding a tangy accent.

Our favorite dish of the evening was beef shank. In this case, it was cubes of meat  off the bone, in a delicious mushroom sauce with garlic, onions, potatoes and yes, finely chopped  pickles.

I’m sure the empty dining room that greeted us is not typical and I can imagine that a Saturday night could be filled with boisterous, ethnic cheer. Expect to spend about $40 a couple plus wine, tax and tip. Restaurant Bulgaria is at 4724 West Lawrence, but in a manner of speaking,  it’s not too far from Sofia. I’ll hold off a K/RATING, but if you like something different, this could be the place.