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July 26, 2008 / Saturday
I Finally Found Some Pelmeni
Tonight was my last chance to eat some pelmeni (пельмени) before leaving Russia. I had no idea where to go, but I figured since I was in Russia I should be able to just walk in a straight line and find some. So I started walking up my street. I purposely walked away from the busy area because I was sick of the whole tourist atmosphere. I read every menu I could find posted, and after a few blocks, I found one with pelmeni on it.
I walked in, and asked (in Russian) if they had an English menu. Nope. Not a big deal. I confirmed that they had pelmeni and got a table.
I looked at the menu for a good long while, trying to figure out exactly what kind of pelmeni I was about to have. I never quite succeeded because I didn't find the food dictionary part of my Russian phrasebook until after I ordered. My server came, and I asked if she spoke English. She did... about as much as I spoke Russian. :) That's okay, we made it work. She tried really hard to think of the right words, and even though she didn't always succeed, I appreciated the effort. Plus, she was smiley and nice, which was a really refreshing contrast from the demeanor of most people I've encountered here. (It's a culture thing, methinks.)
I ordered pelmeni, cold borsh (борщ), mors, and water. I figured I might as well have a really Russian final dinner here. (Well, except for the water, but I have to have my water!)
As I waited for my food, I heard loud singing coming in from the next room. A rowdy Russian party? When they stopped, I noticed the music playing in the restaurant: outdated (or bad, depending on your point of view) American songs. What's with restaurants that don't have anything in English playing songs in English? Then I looked up at the TV. Jackie Chan was on. Awesome. Later, Sinead came on the radio with the hiccup song. Awesome++.
The borsh arrived. It was red. Really red. Beet red. Literally! It came with a side of sour cream, the universal Russian condiment. I stirred some in and had some soup. It was brothy, with strips of beet, ham, and cucumber. There were slices of egg, and it was sprinkled with dill. (I think I'll add dill to the list of things Russians like. Dill, mushrooms, sour cream, etc.) It was definitely not what I had expected, but it was tasty nonetheless. With the sour cream mixed in, the soup turned hot pink. Is that the color of my intestines now?
ZOMG, will it exit that color too???
Next came the pelmeni. They were little! And served with a side of sour cream, of course. The pelmeni looked like fat baby tortellini and were sprinkled with dill also. I'm not sure what kind of meat was inside, but I'd guess it was some sort of beef and pork combo. Not bad. They were surprisingly filling for something so little!
I was getting pretty full, but I still hadn't had real ice cream yet (the pre-packaged stuff from the carts don't count), so I asked (in Russian, as I've finally learned the word for ice cream: мороженое) if they had any. And they did! I got a scoop each of chocolate, strawberry, and green tea. I'm not generally a fan of green tea, but I was so surprised to see it at a Russian restaurant that I had to get it.
My ice cream came. The scoops here are considerably smaller than the ones in the US. That's definitely a good thing. I tasted the green tea. What on earth was that? It did not taste like any green tea ice cream I've had. Next, the strawberry. It tasted (and looked) artificial. Finally, the chocolate. Mmm, rich and dark. I saved the chocolate scoop for last.
I paid my bill, and when the server came back with the change, I did my best to say in Russian that she was very kind, and thank her. I think she understood, because her face lit up and she thanked me in English. I left her a big tip and headed back to the apartment.
So there you have it. I found pelmeni and managed to get fed with my ten (okay, a few more than that, but not by much) words of Russian. Tomorrow, home! I'm looking forward to not having to eat dinner by myself, and to hearing American English (the Al Jazeera English channel just doesn't cut it) again. :)
July 26, 2008 09:26 AM | Food:St. Petersburg
Comments
Yay, you got pelmeni! But not with broth? I wonder if what I got was pelmeni soup or something.
Um, and yes, the borsch will exit similarly to the way it went in. So don't panic. :)
Cool that you managed so well with your Russian! Numbers are hard; I agree.
Posted by: Jennie at July 29, 2008 02:26 PM
Were your pelmeni little also? The ones I had at my boss's house were larger. Not sure what the standard size is...
Posted by: Viv at July 29, 2008 03:08 PM