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July 15, 2008 / Tuesday
Russian Food O'Rama
My stomach was definitely not ready for a Russian food fest on Tuesday, but it got one anyway. I don't think I managed to finish anything, but I did try a little of everything.
Lunch at the cafeteria downstairs from the office.
Fish meatballs - I don't want to call them fishballs because they were the size of modest American meatballs, not little fishballs like you find at Chinese restaurants for hot pot. They were pretty good. Soft and flavorful.
Buckwheat - I actually got rice as my side, but I was told that buckwheat was the Russian staple, so I tried some. It's good, and good for you. I chuckled to myself a bit that the Russians got buckwheat and I got rice. What can I say? When I'm not feeling well I want rice. It's comfort food for me. ^.^
Veggie salad mix things - "Salad" here has no lettuce. It's more along the lines of prepared stuff like what we have in terms of potato salad, or pasta salad. Except that it's veggies. Cucumber, mushroom, bell pepper, cabbage, maybe? Sour and kind of creamy.
Marinated mushrooms - Various kinds I'd never seen before. I was told that Russians really like mushrooms and they will go into the forest to pick them. They're all marinated a bit differently, but the theme was sour and salted.
Dried fruit compote - This was my beverage. They take dried fruit and boil it. It's sweet and fruity, but not like juice.
Dinner at Restaurant Demidoff.
Russian food and singing gypsies. This place felt a little touristy, especially when the giant Japanese group came in.
No matter, it didn't change the fact that the restaurant was full of food I've never had before. They started with bread, but not regular sourdough and French bread like we get in the states. There was a cabbage-filled puff pastry, a cheesy looking roll, and some other roll that tasted onion-plus-somethingey.
Next, the appetizers: Potato pancake with sour cream, dill, and caviar. Creamy shrimp thing. Meat jelly. And, of course, mushrooms.
After the appetizers, an additional dish that was like super thick cream of mushroom soup with a French onion soup-like layer of cheese on top. It was so rich (and my stomach was so unhappy) that I could only have a couple spoonfuls.
I was pretty full by then, but we still had our main courses. I had ordered quail, hoping that it would be light and meatless enough for me to put a dent into, but it came in yet another rich creamy sauce and I was able to eat only half of one of the two birds. I did eat the veggie garnish that came with it, though.
I also had kvas to drink. It was described to me as "Russian root beer". It looked like uncarbonated cola and tasted like a combination of beer, root beer, and fermented bread. Interesting.
I think I would have eaten a lot more of my hearty dinner if my stomach was feeling okay. I felt bad for leaving so much food uneaten.
After dinner, we walked back to my apartment, about half a mile away. It was still light out when we arrived, and I was surprised when I looked at the clock and saw that it was well after 11 PM. Hooray, super-Northern city summer!
• • •
So what do I think of Russian food after day one?
- It's heavy. Lots of cream and flavor.
- Mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms.
- Fish. Lots of fish.
I went to the store across the street (the one that doesn't take credit cards) after dinner and was surprised to learn that they charge for plastic bags. In retrospect, it's not really that surprising. Perhaps we should start doing that in the U.S. to encourage people to reuse their bags.
I returned to the apartment with water, juice, fruit, and yogurt. As much as I like trying new foods, I do enjoy some amount of food normalcy in my day. I'm looking forward to juice and yogurt tomorrow morning.
July 15, 2008 12:59 PM | Food:St. Petersburg