TRAVELING IN STYLE : Side Trips : Stake House

Bram Stoker’s famous vampire, Dracula, was based on a real person, the metaphorically bloodthirsty Transylvanian ruler named Vlad Dracula, or Vlad Tepes (“the Impaler”). Dracula hailed from Sighisoara, a picturesque medieval hamlet about 140 miles northwest of Bucharest in what is now Romania, and the quaint two-story house in which he lived has been turned into an eatery called Restaurantul Berarie. The food is traditional Romanian: local carp (disconcertingly called “crap” in the local language) fried with vegetables, hearty soups, grilled beef sausages--and the decor is appropriately medieval and largely dragon-themed, since Dracul means dragon. For a nightcap after dinner, the bar serves Dracula Vodka--dyed blood-red. Restaurantul Berarie, Piata Muzeului 5, Sighisoara, Romania; local telephone 71-596. Dinner for two, including wine, about $5.