Next to vodka and beer my favorite stuff is food. Well and sex how could I forget that. I had no idea what these guys were talking about regarding blinys until I went. I actually went to a bliny festival. I had a good time there. We walked around and watched people gobbling blinys and rocketing down and assortment of slides made from snow and ice.
Tons of people and far too long lines for me to get a bliny. So we had some at home. Pancakes stuffed with meat and rice are not for me but I like the ones with apricot jam in them.
Also Marina made borsht. Not too crazy about this either. Especially when she insists that I have to have a bloody great dollop of sour cream in it. The cream breaks up into globules and floats on the top. I ate it to be sociable but I did not like it. It is better without the cream. She says I just don't understand Russian culture and how to eat Russian food properly. I was thinking it was pretty easy just open your gob and shovel it in.
We went to an Armenian restaurant for shashlik. I liked it but the best part was some soup they gave me. That soup was GREAT !! Spicy and delicious. Apparently very traditional from the Caucuses in general. Marina wanted me to try Cascus food and Armenia was as close as we could get. Also tried Uzbek food I like that too.
So for those that have not been how about the more experienced guys here giving there opinon of FSU food and drink.
I ate a little bit of everything in Ukraine. I really liked the borscht. I did not have one bad meal in Ukraine. Also I didn't have the urge for an american meal while I was there. Pretty interesting
choices of food in Kiev and Mariupol.
Ditto on the sour cream. The first meal I had the first trip I took was Pelmini which is like ravioli with meat, but I could do without that damn sour cream......next day I got sick and pucked and.... I think it was that meal...My girl felt so bad and cried while I lay on the bathroom floor sweating and moaning.
Salads are much different than American salads....no lettuce. Lots of peppers, pickles, and peas. Russian people love to drink juices...any kind. Orange, grapefruit, pineapple, etc.
You also won't find "normal" American style coffee. Closest was slightly watered down expresso.
I drank Russian Tinkoff beer, but my girl wanted Miller genuine draft! They also have a great selection of very good and not very expensive wines and champagne.
For me the shashlik was my favorite. Russian barbeque without any sauce, just cooked meat. They especially like to eat lamb.
I also noticed that refridgeration of leftover dishes, especially meats was not a priority. Noticed this in more than one house. Maybe that is why I got sick?
This bothers me a little... I have been over several times, but this girl I have been with likes to eat Italian, Japanese, Greek and so on.. So far I haven't had real russian food..
I guess she was a bit high maintenance.. her best friends were Armani and Gucci... Any way that is over, so hopefully the next girl I will visit will care to join me in some kind of traditional Russian or Estonian kitchen... Would have been nice to taste the local stuff also... The closest I have been to that kind of food is the food I have found at some fast-food corner.. Local burger... yeah, not bad.. But nothing to write home about..
mmm Ukraine food - I love it. Last time I went too a Traditional Ukraine restaurant. It was beautiful. I am from a farming back ground, so like greasy food, although I would class their food as extra greasy, but many people do.
Their variety in foods as much more enticing than here. I did not find the Russian food as nice, but that could have been bad luck and not having good guidance there.
I worry that the next 2 months in Ukraine will blow out the notches on the belt, but what the hell, just have to find some way to work it off !!
I wasn't too keen on the food I got in the house.
I swear to God if she ever reads this forum I am going to be lashed so badly......
However I like McPeaks for pizza and the restaurant food was great. Also we had some kind of 'deli' take out food one night. Bits of cold fish and sourkraut and some carroty stuff in mayo. Not great but edible.
You cannot beat cognac flavored icecream though. Especially covered in chocolate. Excellent.
NOR. Travel advice. Russian restaurant in Tallinn-Troika (town square), Estonian-Estonian House, Vanaema juures. But estonian national food is like german anyway...And fast food in the corner close to national food (Hesburger maybe)...????? Close to national...you kidding!
One observation.
These folks need to eat more vegetables and fruit. It was really lacking from my diet while I was out there. Lots of bread and starch but no veggies. Is there a reason for this. Are they too expensive?
Neon,
Pelmini. Is that the little crescent shaped pasta things with mystery meat in them? I didn't like them either. I did like the different sausages, kielbasa etc. Just not the franks with cheese in them, they kind of ooze and look quite disgusting. I had regular franks Russian style and they were great. Loved 'em.
Thats wierd, all the food you guess are talking about sounds gross, and yet my Russian girl told me the food here in America was disgusting, common, TGI Fridays, Chilis, damn good food, yet to her gross. I also heard Russian woman eat a lot of meat, I heard it makes downstairs a littly smelly, is that true??? My girl at nothing but yogurt and bananas when she was with me so not that much of a biggy.
I am a bit into good food and so I must say, that russian traditional food is not exciting.
Ner I will forget, when the first time I tasted the cold green soup, aguretcka. Brrr.
Also many dishes, which are believed to be typical russian, arent russian. Shaslik is more tatar/caucas origin. Belashi is pure tatarian. Pelmenii originally also.
Typical russian food is mostly without a bigger fantasy.
In Moldova I prefer much more the moldovan food whith its influences from Balkan, Ukraine and Turkian times.
To get a good salad is mostly a hopeless desire. Same for sauces.
I think, it will take several years more, till after 60 years of culinarian diaspora good and intelligent food will return back.
Georgian and armenian food/dishes are mostly interesting and delicious.
That Cascus stuff is great, especially the shashlik. To anybody reading that doesn't know what the hell this shashlik is that we keep refering to it is nothing more than shish kebab. In fact I think Marina has a barbecue planned with chicken shashlik. I also know she uses onions and green peppers and tomatoes with it. This should be good.
And her 12 year old daughter will be put to good use collecting firewood. She is young and strong and should be able to carry a large amount of firewood before she is forced to her knees. They bounce back quick at that age.
Also interested in going mushrooming.
While we are on the subject of the wild woods I have a question. Does anybody know about these deadly insects that I have been told about?? Apparently they can kill you. One bite is all it takes and there is no cure. According to Marina 700 people have already been bitten in and around Ekaterinburg this year alone. They were deep in the forest but are now making their way into the city. They don't automatically kill you, her grandfather was bitten twice. Got very sick but was ok.
Of course he was able to scale walls with his fingertips and shoot out a web afterwards but essentially he was ok. Simple answer is insect spray/repellant and they don't bother you.
What is this I have never heard of it before??