In Romania, food is considered a good occasion for people to meet and catch up. Since Romanians are usually welcoming and open people, they are always ready to offer you a nice homemade meal. Restaurants in Romania usually offer several options that can suit all tastes. Shops and markets have a large array of fruits and vegetables, most of the time locally and sometimes organically grown.
Romanians usually have three main meals a day and sometimes 2 or more snacks.
The first meal is around 7 o'clock before going to school or work and consists of an omlet, milk and cereal, pancakes or a salad, it depends on personal taste.
At lunch (around 1 o'clock in the afternoon) and dinner ( six - seven o'clock), Romanians prefer consistent meals. Traditional warm dishes include: all kinds of soups ( sour soup or "ciorbă", Rădăuți style soup - "ciorbă rădăuțeană", tripe soup - "ciorbă de burtă", fish soup - "ciorbă de peşte", dumpling soup - "supă cu găluşte", "ciorbă de perişoare" -meatball soup, vegetable or beef of pork soup). All these are served with a hot pepper - red or green on the side.
Corn meal or polenta with salty cheese and sour cream - "mămăligă cu brânză şi smântână" is also a regular option in Romanian restaurant menus. As a second course, you can find: cabbage rolls or "sarmale" which are a delicious mix of minced meat or mushrooms with rice and vegetables, cabbage à la Cluj (varză à la Cluj), all kinds of stews (potato, bean, lentil). Side dishes such as mashed potatoes, rice with vegetables or "pilaf", "caşcaval pané" - fried cheese.
At festive meals, as an appetizer you can find pork jelly or "piftie" and usually there is a cold platter with all sorts of cheese, smoked bacon - "slănină afumată", many types of pork sausages (cârnați, caltaboşi, tobă) "pastramă" - pastrami and salami, spring onions, olives, tomatoes, boiled eggs, fish roe - "icre" pickles or "murături" stuffed mushrooms, "hamsii" or anchovies etc.
As a dessert, one is once again spoilt for choice: all sorts of cakes and tarts (and the traditional "plăcintă cu brânză" - cheese pie, papanash with crème fraîche and jam on top, sweet bread or "cozonac", icecream.
When it comes to street food as a quick snack there is always a pretzel stand or "covrigărie" and even dougnut shops or pizza pie restaurants at most street corners.
All in all, I'd say that Romanian food is worth exploring because it has a lot of surprises to offer as well as an insight into the Romanian culture and social habits.
