Bulgarian Vegetarian / Vegan Dinner @ Trakia Astoria in Queens

Dinner is from 7pm-9pm. One seating only. Please try to arrive promptly at 7pm, but you may arrive as late as 7:30 if needed.

Some of you know that I (Svetla) am Bulgarian. I am thrilled to be able to tell you three things: there now exists a Bulgarian restaurant in New York, the manager of the restaurant has been a vegetarian for many years, and the beautiful decor of this place is a like a mini trip to Bulgaria. I am so happy to be able to share this place with you.

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Trakia Astoria is the only Bulgarian restaurant in NYC. It is a new beautiful restaurant that serves their traditional food in native Bulgarian plates and cups. Carved wooden decorations adorn the walls, and there are even rustic wooden swings hanging from the ceiling in front of the bar. I was thrilled when I found out that the manager has been a vegetarian for many years.

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The New York Village Voice says:

Chef-owner Alexander Dimitrov hopes guests will come to Trakia (http://www.voiceplaces.com/new-york/trakia-38672513-l)(38-14 30th Avenue, Astoria, [masked]), which opened last week in Astoria, for the organic pizza and then return for one of his authentic Mediterranean dishes roasted in the brick oven.He's outfitted the space with much of his own woodwork, as well as a hand sculpted aquarium built into the wall to showcase a mosaic of tchotchkes, which range from a miniature Tinker Bell figurine to a manger scene with Mary and Joseph to the three wise monkeys perched at the top.

Marijan Begani heads up the pizza station, where entree and dessert pies are topped with everything from homemade pockets of ravioli to nutella, grapes, and a blend of berries. He's making a caesar salad pizza and a taco pizza, too, and manager Ajdin "AJ" Dracic says that the kitchen will continue to innovate. "We have a lot more ideas we want to try out," he chuckles.

But there are also a number of dishes on the list that hail from Dimitrov's native Bulgaria. Take the baked Bulgarian shopska salads -- like a Greek salad topped with creamy feta and a whole egg -- which come in stoneware dishes. Or the whole eggplant and butternut squash lightly brushed with oil, dusted with salt, and slowly roasted near the open flames.

This stretch of 30th Avenue has a pizzeria on just about every block. "But no one else is selling organic, gluten free options," explains Dracic. "Ideally, we want to be accessible to everybody."

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Boro Magazine says: According to the manager, the pizza is just the bait. Some of what he thinks is truly the best are the classic European dishes. They also serve lapinja, a Balkan bread....Trakia refers to Old World Europe, and the menu is intended to reflect that."

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The pizza oven is actually almost in the dining room, in an effort to create a communal, campfire feel. Carved wooden decorations adorn the walls, and there are even rustic wooden swings hanging from the ceiling in front of the bar.

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Train Directions: N or Q for Broadway or Astoria Blvd, or E, M or R trait to Stainway St. This is a quick and easy train ride from Manhattan.

The restaurant owner will be preparing special vegan dishes for us. Plus there are vegetarian and vegan items already on the menu.

This restaurant, the decor and the food are a unique and beautiful experience for a New Yorker to be able to participate in. Before this restaurant, this simply did not exist in New York. I am so happy to be able to share this with you.

Join us for a wonderful meal.

• Svetla