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I once took a college writing class with the theme "food and culture." We read Anthony Bourdain, Michael Pollan, some really boring academic essays, a forgettable but well-written novel, etc. We also wrote A LOT about food and how it reflects/influences society. I think this makes me at least a little qualified to write a blog entry about Russian cuisine.
As my friends, Leslie and Haley, prepare to visit Russia, I'm going to suggest Russian dishes for them to try. Disclaimer: Most of my experiences with these foods are from restaurants. David sometimes makes buckwheat, and I once made blini from a box, but I have no idea how to cook most of these things. I'm simply commenting on my impressions of Russian cuisine in general.
Blini: Blini are like pancakes, but not exactly. In fact, many of the foods I've encountered here are similar to foods we have in America, but not exactly the same. Blini are thinner and lighter than pancakes and I've never seen them served with maple syrup. Small blini are called blinchiki and are really more like crepes. I mostly eat blini and blinchiki with condiments like sour cream, fruit sauce, or honey. They are also widely found stuffed with meat or tvorog (like cottage cheese, but again, not quite the same). If you eat blinchiki stuffed with meat, I'd also recommend using sour cream. This is quite good.
Syrniki: Syrniki are round little circles that are made of cheese and fried. They're somewhat sweet, but not too sweet, and they're delicious. They can be eaten with sour cream ("smetana" in Russian) and with berry sauce or jam. They don't seem very good for you.
Buckwheat: In contrast, buckwheat seems quite good for you! It's called "grechka" in Russian. I never would have thought to eat buckwheat, but it's actually pretty good, and filling. David likes to make it with meat blini or with cutlets (see photo). I like to think of it as a rice substitute.
Piroshki: These are also called "pies," although they're not what Americans think of as pie. Piroshki are like bread rolls that are stuffed with something. Depending on what's inside, piroshki can be either sweet or savory. I've had a wide variety of these during my time in Russia. Meat (beef) is a common stuffing. You can also find potatoes, onions, eggs, apples, fruit, etc. inside piroshki. Sometimes I have no idea what's inside and it's a surprise!
Bread: Don't even get Americans who have travelled started about bread. It's difficult to find good bread in the U.S. without going to a special bakery and paying a lot. This is especially true if you're not from a major metropolitan area. Whenever I'm abroad, I eat so much bread, and luckily Russia has a lot of it. The downside is that good bread molds quickly. I guess Russians feed all their moldy bread to birds, which might explain all the fat pigeons wandering around.
Sweets: In contrast to the French, Russians love sweets and don't seem afraid of getting fat from them. If you know what to buy, there are a lot of great sweets available in Russia. David and I have only found two brands of cookies that are up to American cookie standards, however. I have found no Russian brands of chocolate that are up to German chocolate standards. Despite these pitfalls, sweets in general are great in Russia because they are not "too sweet" like so many sugary American treats.
Caviar: If caviar intrigues you, Russia is the place to go. I've tried it a few times and don't care for it, but it's cool that you can get it so readily here. Regular people eat it as a normal snack, which is in opposition to the average American's perception of caviar as something only elite people eat at fancy parties.
Drinks: Of course, there's vodka. I've heard it's really good in Russia, if you're into vodka. If you're like David and me and prefer coffee, then you may be disappointed. We have found that Starbucks may literally be the only place with good drip coffee in Moscow. We have started ordering Americanos everywhere out of frustration. Most of the time, Americano is the closest thing to regular drip coffee available anyway. Wine is also disappointing here because a glass of it costs quite a bit, and you usually only get 150 ml.
Georgian food: I don't know much about Georgia, but they have great food! My mouth waters just thinking about khachapuri, khinkali, and the perfect blend of flavors and spices that forms the signature Georgian taste. See the photos, but Georgian food is hard to describe because it's something you must experience first-hand to fully appreciate.
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mary curran Enjoyed hearing about Russian cuisine. Happy to hear they do actually have something other than caviar and vodka!