I went to the new French food and wine shop (or maybe it's better to say new-ish seeing as I think the shop has actually been on Rilski for the last year) with my friend and Bulgarian tutor I. last weekend. The shop is named: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FRENCH.GASTRONOME" target="_blank">GastronoMe</a> and it's really cute.
<a title="Gastronome by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8018394434/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8295/8018394434_b05415e891_z.jpg" alt="Gastronome" width="640" height="480" /></a>
I didn't really know what to expect but what I found was a small selection of a lot of different French foods. I didn't really <em>need</em> anything but that didn't stop me from buying things anyway.

It's important to support small businesses.

And I like food.

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<a title="Inside GastronoMe in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8040136762/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8462/8040136762_cc92b038bd_z.jpg" alt="Inside GastronoMe in Sofia" width="640" height="480" /></a>
I looked at everything in the shop and came away with, among other things,, a tin of crab meat. So now I have vague plans to either make a cream soup with crab, a crab salad or maybe even a couple of crab cakes. I've just got to find the perfect recipe to make one of these dishes.
<a title="Food from GastronoMe in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8040142443/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/8040142443_9c9c02d414_z.jpg" alt="Food from GastronoMe in Sofia" width="640" height="480" /></a>
The other things I bought were either impulse buys like a bar of Bulgarian made chocolate and a package of fig-filled cookies or they were just interesting items that caught my eye and I thought I'd like to buy them and try them out like a can of chestnut paste (or maybe chestnut sauce) and a bottle of balsamic vinegar.
<a title="Inside GastronoMe in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8040144874/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/8040144874_f4ef164f14_z.jpg" alt="Inside GastronoMe in Sofia" width="640" height="480" /></a>
So far, I've been really happy with everything I purchased at GastronoMe.

The one thing I'd have like to see more of was French cheese. The cooler was pretty empty when I was there and the cheese that were in the cooler were all cheeses that I'd seen at either Billa or Hit before. I assume this means that they were just running low on cheese when I visited because it seems silly that they would just carry the same cheeses that can be found in other large chain grocery stores around the city.

This said, the shop's selection of French wine appeared to be pretty good. There were lots of bottles out on display at a wide range of price points. I didn't buy a bottle this time but mostly that was because I didn't want to carry it around with me all afternoon.
<a title="The lighting in GastronoMe Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8040139482/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/8040139482_8b8febb0aa_z.jpg" alt="The lighting in GastronoMe Sofia" width="640" height="480" /></a>
I. also looked at everything and then picked a couple of different bottles of French beer. She said, that other things interested her but it was hard to buy one or two new items when you aren't familiar with them and when you don't know or a have a recipe to use them in.

I agree. That's why the chestnut paste (sauce?) is sitting on my self unopened and unused. I want to use it. It's just that I have  to do some research before I can and I haven't had the time or energy to do this yet.
<a title="I. Inside GastronoMe in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/8040141974/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8040141974_5f256dc68f_z.jpg" alt="I. Inside GastronoMe in Sofia" width="640" height="480" /></a>
Anyhow, if you're interested in food and wine, I'd definitely recommend this shop. You can find it right off the little five corners at 63 Neofit Rilski. It's right around the corner from my first apartment in Sofia. Too bad the shop wasn't there when I was.

The shop also has a <a href="http://www.frenchgastronome.com/" target="_blank">website/blog in Bulgarian</a>. Oh and I. tells me that the owner writes a <a href="http://www.lamartinia.com/" target="_blank">beautiful lifestyle blog in Bulgarian</a>. I should probably start reading it. That would be good for me.