Cuban cuisine, like the cuisine in other Caribbean nations, is influenced by trade, colonization, and immigration. The primary influences in Cuban cuisine include Spain, Africa, surrounding Caribbean nations, and China. According to Miami.edu, very little of Cuban food is fried or served with heavy sauces; most of it is slow-cooked with only a few spices over open flame. The primary staples in the Cuban diet include rice and beans. According to Wikipedia:

A typical meal would consist of rice and beans, cooked together or apart. When cooked together the recipe is called either, “Arroz congri“, “Congri“, or “Arroz moro” if cooked separately it is called “Arroz con/y Frijoles”–Rice with/and Beans.” A main course (mainly pork or beef), some sort of vianda (not to be confused with the French viande which stands for “meat”, this term encompasses several types of tubers, such as yuca, malanga, and potato, as well as plantains, unripe bananas and even corn), a salad (usually simply composed of tomato, lettuce and avocado, though cucumber, carrots, cabbage and radish are not uncommon). Curiously, typical criollo [Spanish-influenced] meals largely ignore fruit, except ripe plantains, which are usually consumed together with the rice and beans. Tropical fruit could be served, however, depending on each family’s preferences. Usually, all dishes are brought together to the table at once, except maybe for desserts.

There are also regional variations in Cuban food. Western Cuban food is criollo, and includes finger foods like sweet Cuban pastries, the use of eggs, fish, crab, and is influenced by Galician and Asturian migration during the early 20th century (paella, arroz con pollo, etc.). Eastern Cuban food is influenced more by Africa and other Caribbean nations like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Wikipedia provides the example of “mofongo (called fufú de plátano in Cuba), which is mashed plantains stuffed with pork, chicken, or seafood. The name ‘fufu‘ comes from Western Africa.”

Sandwiches are also an important part of the Cuban diet – and not just the Cuban sandwich. Others include the medianoche, which is similar to a Cuban sandwich, but with an egg loaf in place of the Cuban bread and sometimes without the ham (medianoche means “midnight” and this is a common late night nightclub snack in Havana). Additionally, the pan con lechón and pan con bistec are also similar to the Cuban sandwich; they are pressed sandwiches with Cuban bread, onions, and mojito, and either roasted pork or flank steak, respectively. One interesting sandwich is the Elena Ruz, which contains a lyer of cream cheese, strawberry jam, and thin slices of turkey atop Cuban bread. This sandwich was requested by the socialite Elean Ruz during the 1930s. Another sweet and savory sandwich is the  pan con timba, which has guayaba paste and cream cheese. 

The history of the Cuban sandwich itself reflects Cuba’s history of migration. The sandwich is also known as a cubano, and in Cuba itself, simply as a sandwich or sandwich mixto. The components of the sandwich include, according to The Cuban sandwich, “Cuban bread (cut lengthwise and buttered on both sides to prevent browning during the grilling process), mustard, dill pickles, roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and slow roasted pork marinated in mojo. The sandwich is then lightly grilled in a plancha (sandwich press) until the cheese is melted and the bread toasted. The sandwich should be compressed to about 1/3 of its original size.”

Original inhabitants of Cuba did not have access to ham, but did have access to cheese. The History of the Cuban Sandwich notes that ham was brought by the Spaniards in the form jamonada (which is more like a chopped ham). The indigenous Taino/Arakaks were already making cheese, although the Spanish brought this, as well, and were making a crispy flat bread from cassava or yuca flour. However, it took over 400 years to actually create and perfect this sandwich.

The Cuban sandwich blurs the line between an authentic Cuban meal and an American-Cuban meal, although it is served both in southern Florida and in Cuba. The History of the Cuban Sandwich describes the timeline, which we’ve condensed:

1870s: Cubans travel the 90 miles to Key West, Florida, to avoid Spanish rule and to find a safer place to manufacture cigars, initiating the strong Cuban influence found in Florida today.

1886: A fire destroys a major cigar factory in Key West, leading the owner to move the operation to Tampa. He was Vincente Martinez Ybor, leading to Ybor City, a suburb known for the Cuban sandwich. By the 1930s, Ybor City flourished as a Cuban community, especially since economic depression in Cuba lead to more immigration.

1910: Cigar factory workers began selling sandwiches for 15 cents each. These sandwiches also often included genoa salami, since Ybor City was also populated by Italians. The Cuban sandwich becomes a sandwich of the people, the favorite food of the common working man.

Wikipedia’s “The Cuban Sandwich,” finishes up the story by noting that around 1910 onwards, “travel between Cuba and Florida was easy, and Cubans frequently sailed back and forth for employment, pleasure, and family visits. Because of this constant and largely undocumented movement of people and culture and ideas, it’s impossible to say exactly when and where the Cuban sandwich first became a common worker’s meal. By around 1910, however, workers’ cafés in Cuba, Ybor City, and the older Cuban enclave of Key West were serving many such sandwiches daily.” Consequently, the Cuban sandwich is both a typical meal in both Cuba and the US today.

Our Cuban sandwich from El Floridano was the traditional variety. The sandwich contained yellow mustard, pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, etc. atop a light and thin bread that was then pressed on the grill top. We liked the fact that the sandwich was long and thin, wrapped in paper, and was sealed with a a sticker so that it resembled a cigar, suggesting that El Floridano understood the history of the Cuban sandwich. We also recommend buying Boylan’s Fruit Mash as a counterpart to the sandwich.

TOTAL: $9 for a Cuban sandwich and a Boylan’s drink

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The jerk chicken was really well seasoned and came atop rice. The rice was not plain white rice, but was seasoned and contained beans. According to Jamaicansfood.com:

The term jerk is said to come from the word charqui, a Spanish term for jerked or dried meat, which eventually became jerky in English.

Another origin is linked to the jerking or poking of the meat with a sharp object, producing holes which were then filled with the spice mixture. The origins of jerk pork can be traced back to the pre-slavery days of the Cormantee hunters of West Africa through the Maroons, who were Jamaican slaves that escaped from the British during the invasion of 1655.

However, we also found some contradictory information on the history of jerk chicken. Wikipedia states that:

Christopher Columbus visited Jamaica multiple times towards the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, once even shipwrecked off the north coast for two years (1503–1504). During these visits he described a way the Arawaks (the indigenous inhabitants of Jamaica) preserved meat by adding peppers, allspice and sea salt to make what is now known as Jamaican jerk spice.

We were very excited about trying ackee and saltfish, which is considered Jamaica’s national dish. Ackee is a fruit native to West Africa and thought to have been brought to Jamaica as early as 1778, probably on a slave ship ("Ackee"). The plant spread throughout the Caribbean, but is consumed only in Jamaican cooking. The entire plant is important to Jamaican life. The oil is important to the diet, the seed is thought to have medicinal properties. The fruit also has a dark side. Apparently it has to be prepared carefully and when ripe, otherwise it can cause serious damage and a disease known as Jamaican Vomiting Sickness. The saltfish component of the national dish is cod, which has been an important part of the Jamaican diet since the 1700s when people from Newfoundland brought dried cod (or saltfish) to trade. We found the ackee and saltfish to be delicious. The ackee is yellow in color and has a mild and almost negligible flavor. The texture and appearance is like a scrambled egg. The saltfish, on the other had, gives the dish a delicious flavor and texture. We recommend ordering it with dumplings instead of rice, because we think it tastes better and is more interesting than the seasoned rice. The dumplings are large, dense, boiled, bland, and go well with the dish. The saltfish is not a large piece of fish, but are small boneless pieces mixed in with the ackee like a curry.

We also ordered coco bread, plantains, and fried dough, and ginger beer.  The coco bread was like a hamburger bun and slightly sweet. According to Wikipedia, coco bread does not actually contain coconut. The plantains, which are an important part of the Jamaican diet, were very ripe and similar to other friend plantains. Finally, the fried dough was a round ball that was very dense and similar in texture to a hush puppy, except not made with cornmeal and it was not sweet. The ginger beer, which was Jamaican, was delicious and very spicy. We thought that ginger beer was from Jamaica, but Wikipedia states that ginger beer was developed in Britain during the 1700s, so it must have come to Jamaica from British settlers. Jamaicandrinks.com tells the story of ginger in Jamaica:

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is thought to have been introduced into Jamaica about 1525. By 1547 though, it is reported that the export of ginger amounted to over 22,000 quintals (1.2 million Kg).

Prior to 1740, the ginger was associated with the Parish of St Ann, where it had first been planted by the Spanish. After that the Christiana region took over when it was recognised that the soil and climatic conditions were especially suitable for the growing of ginger. In 1980, a survey by the International Trade Centre reported that 1,100 acres of ginger were planted in Jamaica in the central range areas of Clarendon, Manchester and Trelawny.

Between the 1930’s and 1960’s, Jamaica was listed as one of the three largest producers of ginger in the world, along with India and Sierra Leone. A 10-mile radius around Christiana was identified as the region which grew the finest ginger in the world. Since then the production has fallen significantly, from close to 2 million kilogram of ginger in 1953 to around 0.4 million kilos in 1995.

Note: Bring your own bags, as they may charge you for a plastic bag if you carry out.

We didn’t get to try any of the other traditional dishes, including fricasseed chicken, callaloo, oxtail, snapper, or any of their desserts. We found the food to be extremely filling and rich.

TOTAL: $15.60 including tax for a small ackee and saltfish, 1 fried dumpling, 1 order of plantains, and 1 ginger beer

Taqueria Distrito Federal’s daily menu includes tacos, burritos, tostadas, quesadillas, tortas, and several platters featuring sausages and meats. We tried the tacos and a torta, but read some interesting background information on tamales, burritos, tostadas, and quesadillas.

The history of the tamale actually is quite long:

Tamales originated in Mesoamerica as early as 5000 to 8000 BCE. Aztec and Maya civilizations as well as the Olmeca and Tolteneca before them used tamales as a portable food, often to support their armies but also for hunters and travelers. There have also been reports of tamal use in the Inca Empire long before the Spanish visited the new world.

The burrito, or large taco, originated in Mexico and translates to “little donkey,” probably because the burrito resembles either the ear of a donkey or resembled the packs that donkeys carried. Wikipedia discusses the history of the burrito:

Mexican popular tradition tells the story of a man named Juan Mendez who used to sell tacos in a street stand, using a donkey as a transport for himself and the food, during the Mexican Revolution period (1910–1921) in the Bella Vista neighborhood in Ciudad Juárez. To keep the food warm, Juan had the idea of wrapping the food placed in a large home made flour tortilla inside individual napkins. He had a lot of success, and consumers came from other places around the Mexican border looking for the “food of the Burrito,” the word they eventually adopted as the name for these large tacos.

Burritos are a traditional food of Ciudad Juárez, a city in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, where people buy them at restaurants and roadside stands. Northern Mexican border towns like Villa Ahumada have an established reputation for serving burritos, but they are quite different from the American variety. Authentic Mexican burritos are usually small and thin, with flour tortillas containing only one or two ingredients: some form of meat, potatoes, rice, fish, beans, asadero cheese, chile rajas, or chile relleno.

The tostada is simply a toasted taco (the traditional taco is soft, not hard). Some say the tostada was developed as a way to use stale tacos. The tacos were deep fried to make them crunchy again. However, now tostadas are entrees in their own right, and often are served like a pizza and open-faced.

Finally, the quesadilla (or cheesy tortilla) is traditionally is a folded tortilla filled with oaxaca cheese and cooked until the cheese melts. The American version of the quesadilla (the two flour tortillas with various fillings in between them) is actually the Mexican sincronizada, which is two flour tortillas with cheese and ham sandwiched to them. The version of the quesadilla most Americans know is the Tex-mex alteration of the sincronizada, which is filled with beans, various types of meat, sour cream, etc.

We tried the tacos at the Taqueria Distrito Federal and they were  small, but the perfect amount of food (since we were served several tacos). The toppings were avocado, cilantro, radishes, cucumbers lime, etc., giving them a fresh taste. They had a variety of fillings, including:

• Al Pastor (Beef and pork)
• Carnitas (Pork)
• Carne Asada (Grilled steak)
• Chorizo (Mexican sausage)
• Lengua (Beef tongue)
• Barbacoa Chivo (Goat)
• Barbacoa Res (Beef)
• Pollo (Chicken)
• Costilla Puerco (Baby Pork Ribs)
• Tripa (Beef tripe)
• Chicarron en salsa verde (Pork skin in green sauce)

We also learned some interesting facts about the taco. The taco predates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico and there is evidence that tacos were originally eaten with small fish. The Spanish called this indigenous food the “taco,” although the reason why is unknown. Although originally the taco was eaten with fish, today’s fish and seafood tacos were created in Baja, California. Also, tacos dorados (“golden tacos”) are what are also known as flautas or taquitos and are traditionally Mexican and Puerto Rican. The original taco was soft and the creation of the hard taco (with its infamous U-shape) was first discussed in 1949 in a cookbook. However, it did not take off in popularity until New York restaurateur Juvenico Maldonado patented a machine for mass-producing the hard taco in 1950.

We were particularly interested in trying the torta, which we were unfamiliar with. A torta is a is a Mexican sandwich served on a French roll with various fillings. The torta is not native to Mexico, and according to Chelsie’s Mexican Food blog, the French influence during the 1800s made bread from flour a Mexican staple and lead to the rise of bread as a staple and bakeries, or “panaderies.” We ordered the milanesa de res torta, which is a meat fillet that is breaded and fried. This dish is common in South America, although less common in Mexico, and also is not a native dish. This dish was brought to South America by Central European immigrants and is similar to weiner schnitzel. We found the sandwich tasty and the milanesa to be surprisingly lean. Our sandwich was also served with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, etc.

Our combos also came with a choice of beverage and could choose from aguas frescas, soda, and Jarritos. Aguas frescas translates to “fresh cold waters,” and originated in Mexico. These drinks are typically sweet fruit flavored drinks, but can also be made with various seeds and be creamy. Taqueria Distrito Federal offers horchata, tamarindo, marañon, coco, and jamaica. Horchata is milky and contains cinnamon and vanilla, often made from rice. Tamarindo, one of the most popular flavors, is made from the cooked tamarind and is one of the sour fruits. Marañon translates to cashew apple, the fruit that the cashew comes from. Jamaica is hibiscus, referring to the flor de Jamaica. We tried the jamaica, and found it fragrant and very sweet. We also tried the soda, which turned out to be Mexican Coca-cola (which contains cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup) and comes in a bottle with the nutrition facts crudely affixed to the bottle. Mexican Coca-Cola did taste a lot better than American Coca-Cola, which justifies this New York Times article on the “Cult of Mexican Coca-Cola.” They also had a variety of Jarritos, which is a brand of soda in Mexico (“jarritos” means “jugs” and comes from the Mexican tradition of drinking liquids in jugs). Jarritos are less carbonated than American sodas and currently are the most popular soft drink among Latinos. Jarritos began by offering a coffee flavored soda, and soon moved to tamarind and now offers a variety of fruit flavored sodas.

We ended our meal with dessert of the day, which was also a part of our combo. The dessert that day was flan (we also heard it is always flan), which was a tiny slice but actually the right size since we were pretty full. Flan was originally French, and must have come to Spain and thereby Mexico that way.

Note: They do not serve alcohol here. We brought our own tallboy of Tecate in a brown bag. They didn’t say anything to us…so either they did not notice or did not care.

TOTAL: about $9.50 excluding tax/tip (for a combo that includes entree, drink, and dessert)

refers to a small restaurant serving Greek cuisine, not to be confused with “tavern”. The Greek word is ταβέρνα and is originally derived from the Latin word taberna (’shed’ or ‘hut’, from tabula ‘board’, possibly by dissimilation from traberna, from trabs: beam, timber). As Greeks have migrated elsewhere, tavernes (plural) have spread throughout the world, especially countries such as the USA and Australia. The taverna is an integral part of Greek cuisine and of Greek culture. Usually in tavernas there is, often live, Greek traditional music such as rembetiko, and people apart from dining can join in Greek dances such as zeibekiko and hasapiko.

We ordered the buffet and were immediately brought bread, extra-virgin olive oil (which looked even darker than normal extra virgin olive oil), and a cold pureed and cream of broccoli soup. Κρητική Διατροφή wrote ”that one who eats oil and bread and oily pastries is invincible to the arrows of death.” The Cretan/Greek diet is supposed to be one of the healthiest in the world. A Greek travel site explains the Cretan diet, which has olive oil as its staple and also includes wheat, vegetables, cheeses, and wine. Much of the Greek diet is ancient or influenced by the Arab world, as Wikipedia notes:

Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece: lentil soup, fasolada, retsina (white or rosé wine flavored with pine resin) and pasteli (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey); some to the Hellenistic and Roman periods: loukaniko (dried pork sausage); and Byzantium: feta cheese, avgotaraho (cured fish roe) and paximadi (traditional hard bread baked from corn, barley and rye). There are also many ancient and Byzantine dishes which are no longer consumed: porridge as the main staple, fish sauce, and salt water mixed into wine.

Many dishes are part of the larger tradition of Ottoman cuisine and their names reveal Arabic, Persian or Turkish roots: moussaka, tzatziki, yuvarlakia, keftethes, boureki, and so on. Many dishes’ names probably entered the Greek vocabulary during Ottoman times, or earlier in contact with the Persians and the Arabs. Some dishes may be pre-Ottoman, only taking Turkish names later; Ash and Dalby, for example, speculate that grape-leaf dolmathes were made by the early Byzantine period.

A few dishes are influenced by Venetian (Italian) and French cuisines, such as pastitsio, makaronia me kima, (pasta with meat) found mostly in Greece and Anatolia and Asia Minor and regions of that influence.

We tried to find the history of the cold broccoli soup, which was a thin and finely purred soup that tasted exactly like cold broccoli soup, however all we could find about it was a recipe on Greekrecipes.com for it. It seems like cold soups are common in Greece, though.

The buffet had a variety of hot and cold dishes. The entree changes from day to day, and on the day we went they served lamb. They had a garden salad, various spreads, and a Greek salad with fish and a vinaigrette, stuffed grape leaves, and olives among the items in the cold salad section. Among the spreads included a fava bean spread. The spread resembled hummus to us and seemed like it was prepared in a similar way. Also included was taramosalata, a pink spread “traditionally made from taramas, the salted and cured roe of the cod or the carp, though blends based on other forms of fish roe, particularly cod, have become more common. The roe is mixed with either bread crumbs or mashed potato, and lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil” (Wikipedia).

We were served tzatziki (thinned yoghurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, pepper, and other spices), which we learned has an interesting history inside and outside of Greece. In fact, we read that the word actually derives from a Turkish word. Ours was served as part of the buffet and we ate it with bread. However, Wikipedia notes that:

In Cyprus, the dish is known colloquially as ttalattouri (cf. tarator), and recipes often include less garlic and includes the herb mint, unlike the Greek counterpart. Tzatziki is always served cold.

In touristy restaurants, and outside Greece and Cyprus, tzatziki is often served with bread (loaf or pita) as part of the first course of a meal. Greeks, Cypriots and those from all over the Middle East use this dish as a side dish to a meal with meat. The acidity cuts the fat, thus tzatziki is also used as a sauce for souvlaki and gyros.

There were also other items in the buffet and possibly more spreads. One of them was a Greek salad served with chunks of marinated fish. We couldn’t figure out if this salad is traditional or not, but we did read that fish is traditionally a more common meat in Crete. We also were served feta cheese and stuffed grape leaves (dolmadakia). Feta cheese is ancient and one of the food items we found that is specifically Greek. A lot of foods common in Greece also occur in other countries that were formerly part of the Byzantine Empire, including salads, wine, and syrupy honey sweet meats (baklava?). Feta was originally associated with Crete and its storage in brine was even described in an Italian travel log in 1494. In fact, feta comes from the Italian word “fetta” meaning “slice,” which was introduced into the Greek language in the 17th century. Our feta was served in cube-like strips at the buffet. The European Union has protected feta as a “protected designation of origin product,” and has defined feta as a sheep’s milk cheese that may contain goat’s milk, but only if it makes up less than 30% of the total mixture. The curing of feta in brine is what gives feta its saltiness. Feta is also an aged cheese. Although we only had plain feta, it is often used in other Greek meals, like spanakopita (“spinach pie”) and tyropita (“cheese pie”).

The stuffed grape leaf is often listed as a “dolma” on menus. However, a dolma is an umbrella term for a stuffed vegetables common to countries formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, like Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Iraq, the Balkans, etc. such as zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers (Wikipedia). The stuffed grape leaf dolma can be filled with either meat (which are generally served warm) or without meat (generally served cold). Ours were served cold and with olive oil and stuffed with rice and spices and had a tangy taste.

We actually ate so much of the cold salads that we almost missed the entree: the lamb dish. This dish consisted of marinated pieces of lamb. We could not figure out what this was later and what the traditional name for this dish was, but it was delicious. Alongside this dish were plain steamed vegetables and a sort of rice pilaf.

We had to pass up trying dessert and of course we couldn’t try any other entrees, however, we noticed that the meal had a large variety of traditional, Cyprian, and Cretan cuisine. We ended up trying some Greek beer. Our server suggested we try KEO, which is a medium-toned Cypriot lager. It tasted similar to a pilsner.

TOTAL: $21.31 excluding tip per person (includes lunch buffet, one alcoholic beverage, and extra bread)

The different regions of India have markedly different cooking techniques and foods. Staples across all of the regions include rice, whole wheat flour (atta), and pulses (red lentil or masoor, channa or bengal gram, pigeon peas/yellow gram or toor, black gram or urad, and green gram or mung). The most common spices used in India include chili pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi), fenugreek (methi), asofoetida (hing), ginger (adrak, coriander (dhania), and garlic (lassan). Often these are combined to form masalas.

North Indian cuisine includes Punjabi cuisine, Mughlai cuisine, Kashmiri cuisine, Awadhi cuisine, Uttar Pradesh cuisine, Rajasthani cuisine, Bhojpuri cuisine, Bihari cuisine, and Sindhi cuisine. All these cuisines share a higher use of diary products, the use of the tawa (griddle) to make flat breads (such as roti, paratha, and kulcha, the use of the tandoor, deep fried breads like puris and bhatoora, and the use of goat and lamb. North Indian desserts include gulab jamun, jalebi, peda, petha, kulfi, falooda, ras malai, barfi, laddu, and halwa. Kebabs can also be found in North Indian cuisine.

East Indian cuisine includes Assamese cuisine, Bengali cuisine, and Oriya cuisine and is most famous for its desserts like the rasagolla, chumchum, chhena poda, chhena gaja, etc.

South Indian cuisine includes the cuisine of Kerala, cuisine of Karnataka, the cuisine of Tamil Nadu, and the Cuisine of Goa. South Indian cuisine has considerable variation, most notably its emphasis on rice, use of coconut, pickles, vegetable stews, and curries. The dosa, poori, idli, vada, bonda, upma, and bajji are all South Indian staples. Due to the emphasis on rice, biryanis are southern dishes. Paneer (a soft cheese) is also common in southern cuisine.

Western India includes Goan cuisine, Maharashtrian cuisine, Saraswat cuisine, and Gujarati cuisine. Dishes, depending on the region, may rely more on rice, coconut, and fish (especially coastal regions). Goan cuisine reflects the influence of Portuguese colonization. For example, chicken vindalu is a Konkani/Goan dish whose name is derived from the Portuguese dish “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos,” which is typically made with meat, pork, wine, and garlic and served on special occasions.

Delhi Dhaba’s special Punjabi cuisine includes a tandoor specials menu with a variety of meats, fishes, and shellfish. Additionally, the infamous butter chicken is a typical dish that is thought to have come from Delhi and to have originated during the Mughal Empire. Delhi Dhaba also has cuisine from other regions of India, like biryanis and on Sundays boasts over 45 different types of Indian cuisine for $10.95.

We ordered the Quick Pick (which is two curries with rice and a choice of naan, roti, or rice), which is $5.95. Ours featured butter chicken, saag paneer, and rice. We found the meal to be flavorful. We also ordered pakoras, which they cooked fresh for us and were yummy. The pakora is a fried snack food that typically consists of potato, spinach, onion, or chicken dipped in a batter of gram flour and deep fried. Delhi Dhaba serves both meat and vegetarian pakoras, although we tried only the vegetarian types. We also ate samosas, which are piping hot. We learned that the samosa is the most infamous North Indian snack food. The word “samosa” is traced to the Persian word “sanbosag,” and similar sounding terms exist for similar stuffed items throughout the Middle East and South Asia, as well. In fact, the samosa was thought to have existed prior to the 10th century. Abolfazi Beyhagi, an Iranian historian, mentioned it during his lifetime, which was from 995-1077.

We were also offered samples while we waited for our food to be cooked and were able to sample some delicious mulligatawny soup. We learned that the soup is Anglo-Indian in origin (the soup preparation is probably the British influence). The soup’s name is translated literally from Tamil and means “pepper water.” Millagu means pepper and Thanni means water. They also kindly gave us samples of chole, or chana masala, which was rich and flavorful. Chana masala is an extremely popular dish in the Punjab region. Finally, to round things off, they also gave us a taste of their dessert of the day, which was kheer. Kheer is similar to rice pudding and is made by boiling rice, milk, sugar, and seasonings together. Their kheer was thin and sweet. The word kheer is derived from the Sanskrit word “ksheer,” which means milk.

We loved the fact that on the weekends they have a special menu that features popular Indian street foods from different regions. Included in this menu is bhelpuri, a puffed rice snack served with potatos and a tamarind sauce. This dish is tyupical of Bombay. They also papri chat, a favorite North Indian street food of fried dough cut into strips and fried, then served with potatos, chick peas, chili, yogurt, chutney, chaat masala, and sev. Finally, they also serve panipuri (or gol gappa), another street food common in the North and West of India. The snack is served with a thin hollow fried ball that is then filled with water, tamarind, chili, chat masala, potato, onion, and chickpeas and then eaten before it dissolves. The fried ball is bite-sized and the entire snack is made to be eaten in one bite. We thought these foods are fairly uncommon, and liked the fact that the service was firnedly and seemed to enjoy their jobs.

TOTAL: $5.95 per person for the Quick Pick, otherwise between $5.95-$15, depending on the entree

One theory advanced at the seminar is that the name comes from the French feu (fire), as in the dish pot-au-feu, which like phở uses the French method of adding charred onion to the broth for color and flavor, one of the techniques which distinguishes phở from other Asian noodle soups. Some believe the origin of the word to be the Chinese fen (this character is pronounced phấn in Vietnamese.

There are some regional variations in pho, particularly between the different regions of Vietnam. Wikepdia notes that there are three regions and types of pho: “northern (Hanoi, called phở bắc or “northern phở“; or phở Hà Nội), central (Huế), and southern (Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon).”  Regional variations include sweeter pho or using bolder and spicier flavors. Northern pho uses wider noodles and green onions. At Pho 75, the noodles did not look particularly broad, but our pho did contain green onions. Southern pho has the thinner noodles as compared to Northern pho. Our pho seemed to be the Southern pho variation, despite the green onions. Southern pho tends to have bean sprouts, a greater variety of fresh herbs (such as hung que, or Thai/Asian basil), meat/broth variations, and tuong (bean sauce/hoisin suace). Pho 75 has a large variety  of different types of meats available and all of our pho came with herbs and spouts, etc., which was served on a communal plate. Despite all these variations, pho didn’t actually become popular in South Vietnam until the mid-1950s.

Our pho was served in large steaming bowls and came with green onions. The side dish of herbs and vegetables included sprouts, basil, and green chilies. The table also had a selection of condiments, including sriracha and hoisin sauce.

At Pho 75, seemingly one surly man runs the whole place and waits on all he diners, which can be quite a few during peak hour. The servings were large and steaming. Ordering a large bowl and being able to eat the whole thing would be difficult. We ordered well-done brisket, which featured thin slices of beef, allowing it to stay tender. The pho by itself was not particularly flavorful, but the addition of the herbs, sprouts, and condiments made it sweeter, spicier, and more textured. The bean sprouts gave it a pleasing crunch. We also tried the pho containing meat balls, which were fattier than typical meat balls and made the soup a little greasier. Pho 75 also serves the following meat variations: eye-of-round steak, well-done flank, fat brisket, soft tendon, tripe, skirt flank, and chicken noodle soup. We ordered the regular bowls and were completely filled. In fact, no one could completely clean their bowls.

The red bottle of sriracha sauce made us wonder about the history of this sauce and what country it originates from, since it seems over present in a variety of restaurants. The New York Times had an interesting article explaning the sriracha’s history. Actually, sriracha is manufactured by Huy Fong Foods and was created by a mysterious Mr. Tran, who was Chinese but born in Vietnam. He said that he invented the sauce for the Asian community after coming to America and being inspired by Heinz 57 ketchup. He developed the sauce in Los Angeles in the early 1980s as his own version of a traditional Asian chili sauce. Sriracha is a town in the Chonburi Province of Thailand where, ironically, they do not recognize the infamous sauce and prefer to make their own homemade hot sauces. Evidence of sriracha’s multicultural focus is reflected on the bottle, which displays ingredients five languages and suggests using it on pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, and more. Mr. Tran added the rooster as a formal symbol of his product.

In addition to pho, we also tried some of the drinks listed on the menu. Pho 75 features some of the most traditional dishes and desserts, like sticky rice based desserts and gelatin based desserts. We ordered Vietnamese coffee, which was extremely strong. We also ordered a canned sweet and mild soybean drink and a refreshing coconut water drink, which came with a slice of young coconut.

Although we did not get to try any other Vietnamese cuisine, we learned that the yin yang balance applies to preparation of traditional meals, designed to match ingredients to seasons, climate, and the health of the diner. In addition to pho and noodle soups, Vietnamese cuisine also includes congees, rice dishes, dumplings, pancakes, wraps, rolls, sandwiches, pastries, seafood, curries, and pickled vegetable dishes. We’re particularly curious about Vietnamese sandwich stands, and hear there are several in the Eden Center area of Falls Church.

TOTAL: Large bowl is $7.20, regular bowl is $6.20, drinks are between $1.50-2

UPDATE

We decided to venture further into Vietnamese cuisine and try bánh mì, the infamous Vietnamese sandwiches, at Song Que in Eden Center (Falls Church adjacent to Seven Corners). Song Que is clean, well-lit, and packed with Vietnamese dessert and snack foods on long tables, as well as heated pastries, bubble tea, produce, banh mi, and more.

Bánh mì is a sandwich served on a baguette (made form both wheat and rice flour) which contains vegetables (like pickled carrots, daikon radish, lettuce, cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers, etc.), a meat or vegetarian filling, and condiments (ncluding mayonnaise, fish sauce, etc.). The sandwich is a direct result of the colonial impact of the French on Indochina, which brought its sandwich tradition. Battle of the Bánh Mì notes that most sandwiches seem skimpy on the meat, but these sandwiches are made to Vietnamese tastes, which lean towards light meat fillings.Battle of the Bánh Mì of the lists the following fillings as traditional:

1. 1. Chả or Chả Lụa (Pork Roll)- Ground up pork is packed tightly into a roll, and wrapped with banana leaves (and or aluminum foil) then steamed or boiled, hence producing the dense “pork roll”. Sliced thin like bologna, these make up one of the most common cold cuts found in bánh mì.
2. 2. Thịt Nguội (Cured pork cold cuts)- Thịt Nguội (translated as “Cooled Meats”), is the second most common cold cut filling. Usually made of cured pork & layered with strips of fat. Some makers will call itBa Chị, which is more like pork belly.
3. 3. Giò Thú (Headcheese)-These cuts are usually a Vietnamese combination of pork ears, tendons, skin, fats and other extra pork head meats. It’s all processed together into a roll, then sliced.
4. 4. Dặc Biệt (Special or Combination)- Every menu has a Combination or House Special, which is a combination of at least one of the following: the pork roll, headcheese and/or cold cuts. Some shops offer ham as an offering to the cold cuts, as well as adding their special house touch of other meats.
5. 5. Thịt Nướng (Grilled Pork)- Vietnamese marinated grilled pork. Cuts of pork meat can be anything from pork belly, pork shoulder, pork chops or pork butt.
6. 6. Xa Xíu (Bar-B-Que Pork)- Sweet, pinkish colored pork cooked to the style of chinese bar-b-que. Cuts of pork can also vary like those of grilled pork.
7. 7. Xíu Mại (Pork MeatBalls)- Moist Pork Meatballs cooked in a usually, sweet, often lightly tomato based sauce. Ground pork is marinated Việt style.
8. 8. Bì (Shredded Pork Skin)- Most traditional Bì is a creation of dry, thinly sliced pork skin. To accommodate the more American palettes, some bánh mì creations come with traditional Bì along with more moist, shredded pork pieces.
9. 9. Nem Nướng (Grilled Pork patties)- These versatile, garlic, ground pork patties are popular in many fresh springroll and herb noodle salad dishes. They make a very tasty in bánh mì.
10. 10. Nem Chua (Sour Pork) – Usually eaten as a snack with raw garlic, these little squares of sour pork meat are showing up on banh mi menu’s more often. Starting with mostly raw pork skin and some meat, a seasoning mixture of yeast, vinegar, garlic, fish sauce, salt, sugar & pepper are added. The raw meat mixture is then wrapped (usually in banana leaves or plastic) into small squares are left to pickle and ferment for about 3-7 days. The product is a small, dense square of sour, pickled pork meat with a garlic punch!
11. 11. Gà Nướng (Grilled Chicken)- Vietnamese marinated and grilled brown meat chicken.
12. 12. Thịt Bò Nướng (Grilled/Bar-B-Que Beef)- Vietnamese marinated style beef. Grilled meat options are usually pork, but more places are offering beef as an filling.
13. 13. Cá Mòi (Sardines)- Usually, the sardine selections (bones included, but cooked) are pulled straight from the can. Nothing really homemade. Once favored more by Vietnamese, sardine banh mi are now becoming more popular by non-Vietnamese because of the moist and flavorful fish texture.
14. 14. Paté – Ranging from chicken to duck liver ingredients, pates can normally be a part of every sandwich as a spread, but some menu’s offer pate in larger quantities, making it the main savory filling ingredient.
15. 15. Trưng Chien (Fried Egg)- Eggs are usually prepared as a scramble, well done sunny side up (but cooked on both sides), omelet style or a little bit of all three.
16. 16. Chay (Vegetarian)- Meatless choices can be offered in a combination of the ways:
    1. Tofu Chunks – Chunks of tofu are deep fried, then sauteed with a vegetarian, Vietnamese marinade (Soy Sauce, Veggie Oyster or Veggie Mushroom Sauces).
    2. Shredded Tofu (Bì Chay) – Like the Bì (Pork skin), this vegetarian version is made with thin slices of dry tofu, then mixed with stir fried sliced jicama, carrots and/or glass vermicelli noodles. This type of filling usually is VERY dry, so ask for some extra soy for added moisture and flavor.
    3. Veggie “Ham”- These thinly sliced salmon colored (or cream) pieces of processed bean curd mimic the meat version quite well, but the flavors will dictate the differences. Just try it, you just might like it.
    4. Wheat gluten- Gluten pieces are prepared in the same way that tofu usually is

We ordered the barbecued pork (the red and sweet style of barbecue). The sandwich was prepared fast and came rolled up. The meat was sweet tasting and sparse and the inside of the sandwich roll was covered in what looked like a yellow oil. The meat was quite sweet, flavorful, and extremely moist. It was also very hot and soft, with a thick layer of fat attached to all the pieces. The vegetables were fresh and helped offset the richness of the meat.

We also ordered bubble tea and a few of the meat filled pastries. Bubble tea is a sweet drink made from either a millk or fruit juice base available in many flavors. The bubbles or “boba” in the tea are marble-sized dark brown tapioca balls designed to be consumed through a large straw with the tea. These balls are chewy and slightly sweet. We looked up the history of bubble tea and found that it is actually a fairly recent invention and was not invented in Vietnam. According to Wikipedia, bubble tea was invented during the 1980s in Taiwan and spread throughout Asia. We tried taro and watermelon. Both were frozen and similar to bubble tea frappuccinos. The watermelon tasted exactly like the inside of  a watermelon and the taro tasted richer and much milkier.

We also tried some of the other meat pastries sold at Song Que. These included a very round and smooth bun filled with the same sweet and red barbecued meat as the sandwich. Another was a steamed bun, banh bao, similar to Chinese steamed buns, which was filled with sausage and quail eggs. Wikipedia describes banh bao:

Bánh bao (literally “covering cake”) is a ball-shaped dumpling with pork or chicken meat, onions, eggs,mushrooms and vegetables inside, in Vietnamese cuisine. The steamed bun often has ground pork or chicken, Chinese sausage, and a portion of a hard-boiled egg inside. This delicacy originated with the baozifrom China but was adapted by the Vietnamese and is also available in most other countries with Vietnamese populations. Bánh bao are generally smaller than baozi, and are filled with savory fillings, the most popular of which is seasoned ground pork. As in China, pork is the most popular kind of meat inVietnam.

Bánh bao is an old fashion Cantonese dim sum call Tai Pao 大包(meaning big bun) brought to Vietnam by Cantonese Immigrants, it was invented during the hardship days of old China to feed the ordinary people.

Cafe Society notes that some bakeries will use halved chicken eggs instead of quail eggs. We found the bun bland after the flavorful banh mi.

Song Que also had a huge amount of Vietnamese desserts. Foodofvietnam.com writes:

Fresh fruits are the most popular desserts in Viet Nam, but “Chè” is the most traditional Vietnamese dessert. It’s a sweet pudding usually made from beans, bananas, coconut milk, pearl tapioca, sweet yam or yucca root vermicelli and sugar. There are shops which sell nothing but “Chè”. “Chè” is also a popular snack for the Vietnamese. In high-priced restaurants you can also find European cakes and ice cream.

Song Que serves both chè, cakes, and ice cream. Bright green desserts and other foodstuffs line the tables and they also have a dessert bar with both hot and cold desserts. These feature colorful porridges, jellies, etc. The ice creams were exotic flavors like Thai iced tea and ginger. We weren’t able to try any, but were curious about these colorful desserts. Monster Munching has descriptions of their experience eating Vietnamese desserts.

TOTAL: $8.25 (for one banh mi, one steamed bun, and one bubble tea)

The Russian-European elegance of the Russia House offers a uniquely warm and comfortable meeting place for anyone appreciative of its friendly and intimate coziness.    

Moving on to Russian cuisine, according to Way to Russia:     

Russia is mainly a northern country with long-lasting cold winter. The food should give us much energy and warmth to survive during the winter time. So, the essential components of Russian cuisine are the ones, which provide more carbohydrates and fat rather than proteins. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely used in food. So, the top five components of a Russian meal are potatoes, bread, eggs, meat (especially beef) and butter. Other popular foods include cabbage, milk, sour cream, curds, mushrooms, lard, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, berries, honey, sugar, salt, garlic, and onions.  

Appetizers, as in any cuisine culture, and Russia is not an exception, serve as small snacks before main course. Russian appetizers (in Russian, they are called “zakuski”) were meant mainly not to provoke keen appetite but to have them with strong drinks. So, most favorite Russian appetizers were all kinds of pickles and cold meats which go best with ice cold vodka. But not only vegetable pickles were used in Russian cuisine, the abundance of sea and river food provided cooks with a wide range of various fish appetizers.   

The Russia House’s streamlined menu features small plates, which are small samples of Russia’s traditional dishes, and full size portions located under the large plates section of the menu. We ended up ordering borsch, pelmini, pierogis, wild game sausage sampler, pickled herring croquette, roasted garlic beet dip, and pan seared duck breast (large plate). Wikipedia notes that soups are extremely important in Russian cuisine. In addition to the the most well-known and featured soup on the menu, borsch, Russian cuisine also features several other traditional staple of soups such as shchi, ukha, rassolnik, solyanka, botvinya, okroshka, and tyurya.      

Russian soups can be divided into at least seven large groups:   

• Cold soups based on kvass (a fermented beverage made from black rye or rye bread) or sour milk (a.k.a. buttermilk), such as tyurya, okroshka, and botvinya.
• Light soups and stews based on water and vegetables.
• Noodle soups with meat, mushrooms, and milk.
• Soups based on cabbage, most prominently shchi.
• Thick soups based on meat broth, with a salty-sour base like rassolnik and solyanka.
• Fish soups such as ukha.
• Grain- and vegetable-based soups.

Wikipedia has some interesting facts about cold soups, the history, and their relationship to hot soups:   

Tyurya is very similar to okroshka, the main difference being that instead of vegetables, bread is used. It is rather historical meal, that was consumed during rough times (WWII, WWI, Revolution) and by poor peasants. Also, due to its simplicity, it was very common as a meal during religious fasting. Comparing to other cold soups it is based on water and rarely on milk.   

Botvinya is one of the most typical cold Russian soups. It almost became extinct because it is difficult to make. Some modern cookbooks list recipes showing how to prepare it “easily” by substituting some of the ingredients, but cutting corners tends to diminish much of the authentic taste.   

A full botvinya consists of three parts:   

1. The soup.
2. Boiled “red” (most prized) fish (salmon, sturgeon, or stellate sturgeon), that is served separately from soup.
3. Crushed ice, served on a separate platter or cup.

The name of the soup comes from the Russian word botva, which means “leafy tops of root vegetables“, and the ingredients are in line with the name: leafy tops of young beet, beetroots, oxalate sorrel, green onions, dill, cucumbers, and two types of kvass, then some mustard, lemon juice, and horseradish as spices.   

It is eaten as the first course or right after a hot soup, before the second course as an appetizer. It is eaten using two spoons and a fork: the fork is used to eat the fish, the first spoon to sip the soup and the second spoon to put ice into the soup, so it stays cold for a long time. Botvin’ya is eaten with fresh rye bread.  

We had a woman from Russia along with us, and she informed us that the borsch served at The Russia House tasted as she would expect it to and that there is a lot of variation in the preparation of borsch in Russia and Eastern Europe. Wikipedia notes that borsch is Ukrainian in origin, and owes its popularity in the U.S. due to Jewish immigrant populations. Borsch usually includes a stock made from beets, although there are some kinds of borscht that do not use beets (instead sorrell or tomato). Borsch is commonly served with sour cream and white bread and in other regions (like Lithuania) can be served hot or cold. In Poland “borscht” (barszcz) may include bacon or dumplings. Unlike borsch, which Westerners most likely identify as the most popular Russian soup, in fact, shchi (cabbage soup) had been the main first course in Russian cuisine for over a thousand years.  

We were not able to try kholodets (not on the menu), which are traditional “jellied chopped pieces of pork or veal meat with some spices” or shashlyk (featured on the large plates menu), which is a form of Shish kebab (marinated meat grilled on a skewer). We did try one of the most traditional Russian dishes: pelmini. Ruscusine.com has some interesting facts and a recipe:  

Most people associate pelmeni with Siberia, and many recipes and references to the dish call it “Siberian dumplings.” Pelmeni probably did originate in Siberia, where hundreds or even thousands could be made, and then frozen and stored outside during the long winters. However, the dumplings became very popular all over Russia. They are closely kin to “pot stickers,” “pierogies,” and other similar dumplings found in many cultures.  

The Russian variety traditionally is made of flour, milk, one egg, and salt. The dough is rolled out fairly thin, and cut in circles approximately two inches in diameter. The filling is usually a mixture of minced pork, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.  

Wikipedia notes that one theory about the history of pelmini is that they were brought to Russia by the Mongols from China. Pelmini literally “ear bread” in the native Finno-Ugric Komi and Mansi languages. The ones we tried more resembled and tasted like tortellini than the pelmini we saw in photos online.  Pelmini often are put in soups. Wikipedia also describes the difference between the pelmini and the pierogi:  

The most important difference between pelmeni and vareniki and pierogi, is the thickness of the dough shell — in pelmeni this is as thin as possible, and the proportion of filling to dough is usually higher. Also, the feature of pelmeni is that they do not have a sweet filling, thus differing from Ukrainian vareniki and Polish pierogi, which do sometimes have sweet filling. Another distinctive feature is that the filling of pelmeni is usually raw or uncooked, while the filling of vareniki and pirogie is pre-cooked.  

We also read that store-bought and machine prepared pelmini resembles tortellini, which may account for why the pelmini at The Russia House resembles tortellini rather than the pelmini we saw online. Although, these are a lot larger than traditional tortellini and the ones we ate were standard size. 

We also thought the pierogi we were served were interesting, since they came in a puff pastry shell rather than the pasta-like shell of the Polish pierogi. We couldn’t find much information on the Russian pierogi, so we think that although they were listed on the menu as pierogi, they really meant this food item: 

Pirozhki (singular: pirozhok; diminutive of “pirog” (pie)) are small stuffed buns (pies) made of either yeast dough or short pastry. They are filled with one of many different fillings and are either baked (the ancient Slavic method) or shallow-fried (known as “priazhenie”, this method was borrowed from the Tatars in the 16th century). One feature of pirozhki that sets them apart from, for example, English pies is that the fillings used are almost invariably fully cooked. The use of chopped hard-boiled eggs in fillings is another interesting feature. Six typical fillings for traditional pirozhki are: 

1. Fish sautéed with onions and mixed with hard-boiled chopped eggs.
2. Chopped boiled meat mixed with sautéed onions and eggs.
3. Rice and boiled eggs with dill
4. Mashed potatoes mixed with dill and green onion.
5. Sautéed cabbage.

Online they appear to be more bunlike, but the ones we were served were in flaky pastry crust. In addition to these, the blini is also traditional (which we did not try as it was only available with caviar): 

Blini are thin pancakes (very similar to French crêpes) which are often served in connection with a religious rite or festival in several cultures. The word “blin” (singular of blini) comes from Old Slavic “mlin”, which means “to mill”. Blins had a somewhat ritual significance for early Slavic peoples in pre-Christian times since they were a symbol of the sun, due to their round form. They were traditionally prepared at the end of the winter to honor the rebirth of the new sun during Maslenitsa (Масленица, Butter Week; also known as Pancake Week). This tradition was adopted by the Orthodox Church and is carried on to the present day, as the last week of dairy and egg products before Lent. Bliny are still often served at wakes, to commemorate the recently deceased. Blini can be made from wheat, buckwheat, or other grains, although wheat blini are most popular in Russia. They may be topped with butter, smetana (sour cream), fruit preserves or caviar. 

Other traditional dishes include kotlety (a type of meatball similar to Salisbury steak), syrniki (fried curd fritters, garnished with sour cream, jam, honey, and/or apple sauce), and vatrushka (a kind of cake with a ring of dough and tvorog [cottage cheese] in the middle, often with raisins or bits of fruit, from about five inches to two and a half feet in diameter). 

Fish is especially popular in Russia because Orthodox fast days prohibit the consumption of meat. Herring is also popular in Russia, especially pickled, salted, and smoked. Ruscuisine.com notes that “Russian brined herring is cured without any sugar or wine vinegar. The best herring is the one brined whole, with the head on and its innards intact. Cleaning it is actually easier than it looks. Unfiltered sunflower oil is available at Russian supermarkets. It should be dark yellow and slightly cloudy.” Our Pickled Herring Croquettes were large balls of pickled herring covered in fried breading. They still tasted strongly of pickled herring. 

The Russia House also boasts a selection of caviar, including beluga, osetra, sevruga, and American sturgeon. We couldn’t afford any of this caviar, however, we did learn that Russians typically consume caviar on special occasions, despite its price. Although only fish eggs from sturgeon can be considered true “caviar,” Russians also eat black and red salmon roe. The Russia House serves all caviar with “blini, chopped Eff, minced red onion and Crème Fraiche.” We also read it is traditional to eat caviar with toast and butter. 

Wikipedia has some interseting information about teh types of caviar: 

This elegant and expensive appetizer is simply sieved and lightly salted fish roe (eggs). Sturgeon roe is premium and considered the “true” caviar. The four main types of caviar are beluga, sterlet, osetra, and sevruga. The rarest and costliest is from the beluga sturgeon that swim in the Caspian Sea, which is bordered by Iran, Russia and other ex-Soviet republics. Wild caviar production has now survived only in Iran as Russia maintains a self-imposed ban on caviar trade from wild sturgeon. Beluga caviar is prized for its soft, extremely large (pea-size) eggs. It can range in color from pale silver-gray to black. It is followed by the small golden sterlet caviar which is rare and was once reserved for Russian czars, Iranian shahs and Austrian emperors. Next in quality is the medium-sized, gray to brownish oestra, and the last in the quality ranking is smaller, gray sevruga caviar. 

Russians doe consume some meats, primarily fowl, offal, and veal. We ordered the wild game sausage sampler, which included rabbit, boar, and venison. We found a reference to sausage in Russia as an upper-class dish. We also ordered the pan-seared duck as a large plate, which was tender and elegant. Although we did not try it, we decided to read up on the infamous Chicken Kiev (chicken stuffed with seasoned butter and then breaded and fried). All we could find about this is from Wikipedia, which notes that “This famous method of preparing chicken is probably not of Ukrainian origin as the name Kiev, the national capital, would imply. The Russian food historian William Pokhlebkin claimed that Chicken Kiev was invented in the Moscow Merchants’ Club in the early 20th century and was renamed Chicken Kiev (kotleta po-kievski) in one of the Soviet restaurants in later years.” 

The Russia House has an emormous drink menu, as well. We did not try any of the many vodkas they serve, but we did try some beer, although it has only been open from 1990. One of the featured brands on their menu is Baltika Brewery, which is the largest brewery in Russia and the second-largest in Europe. Baltika is based in St. Petersburg and they also sell beer under the Arsenalnoe, Zhiguljovskoje, and Leningradskoebrand names. They also serve a variety of vodkas from a variety of countries. Other traditional beverages we read about where medovukha, mors, kvass, and sbiten. Medovukha is an ancient drink similar to mead and mors is a type of berry juice. Kvass is an extremely common Eastern European drink that dates back to 989 made from fermented rye bread. Originially it was served during the summer, but today it is commercially packaged, served year-round, and part of a multimillion dollar industry. Commerical kvass production is akin to the manufacturing of soda pop. There is a lot of variation in home brews. Sbiten is another traditional drink served hot, which sounds similar to a cross between mead wine and mulled wine. These traditional drinks were not served at The Russia House and not being inclined to drink straight vodka, we ended up sampling their mixology cocktails or drinking beer. We found their cocktails to be fancy and delicious.

NOTE/WARNING: We do not recommend going here as a large group, as we had a bad exprrience. Although they claim they will split checks, they won’t actually do this in the restaurant. They also won’t charge more than four credit cards per party. Because of the chaotic nature of the service, they may make mistakes on your bill. For us they insisted they were right and were openly rude when we disputed the fact that we were charged for drinks we did not order. Finally, they advertised drink specials on their website that were unavailable to actually order.

 TOTAL: ~$500 (for 16 people) or $31 per person

Þorrablót is an Icelandic midwinter festival that takes place in the month of Þorri, according to the Old Icelandic Calendar, which starts in late January and ends in late February. These festivals were started by Icelandic student associations in the latter half of the 19th century. The first one was reportedly organised by the association of Icelandic students in Copenhagen in 1873. Related to other nationalistic feasts invented in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Burns night in Scotland, the Þorrablótis an evening with dinner where participants hold speeches and recite poems, originally to honour the Norse god Thor, after whom the month is presumed to be named. Calling the feast a blót (a feast held in honor of a god in Norse paganism) makes clear the reference to pagan times, which many nationalists of the 19th century considered a golden age of Icelandic history.

Additionally, Þorrablót is a relatively recent event, gaining popularity in Iceland during the 50’s and 60’s during Iceland’s post-WWII urban boom. Isholf.is has a lot of information about the festival from an insider’s view, including complaints about non-traditional food permeating the festival (like Þorri pizza). The variety of food served on this occasion is known as Þorramatur. Þorramatur foods include traditionally cured meats, fishes, brennivín (an Icelandic akvavit),  rúgbrauð (dense and dark rye bread), as well as the following:

• Kæstur hákarl, putrefied Greenland shark
• Súrsaðir hrútspungar, the testicles of rams pressed in blocks, boiled and cured in lactic acid.
• Svið, singed and boiled sheep heads, sometimes cured in lactic acid
• Sviðasulta, head cheese or brawn made from svið, sometimes cured in lactic acid
• Lifrarpylsa (liver sausage), a pudding made from liver and suet of sheep kneaded with rye flour and oats
• Blóðmör(blood-suet; also known as slátur, meaning slaughter), a type of blood pudding, which is made from lamb’s blood and suet, kneaded with rye flour and oats
• Harðfiskur, wind-dried fish (often cod, haddock or seawolf), served with butter. [We read on isholf.is that "In old times Harðfiskurwas eaten like bread in those homes that could only afford flour for baking on special occasions. It is still Iceland's favourite snack, and a popular travel food. (Chances are, if you meet an Icelander and he has a funny smell about him, it will be because of the harðfiskur tucked away in his luggage.)"] 
• Rúgbrauð (rye bread), traditional Icelandic rye bread
• Hangikjöt, (hung meat), smoked and boiled lamb or mutton, sometimes also eaten raw.
• Lundabaggi, sheep’s loins wrapped in the meat from the sides, pressed and cured in lactic acid
• Selshreifar, seal’s flippers cured in lactic acid

According to Wikipedia,

Þorramatur has undergone many changes since the 1950s. The large midwinter festivals of associations in Reykjavík have been supplemented by many smaller ones and nowadays even informal family gatherings can be called Þorrablót, which has become defined by the serving of Þorramatur, i.e. the consumption of Þorramatur is the necessary and sufficient condition for any kind of party to be called “Þorrablót“. Originally, this led to the standardisation of the buffet around a few foods mass-produced by large meat-production houses for the Þorrablót season, whereas before it often had to be locally procured. Not least, Þorrablót festivals have become one of the high points of the year in the rural countryside and villages around Iceland in the last three decades. Being thus exported from the city to the countryside the buffet has come to reflect again regional culture and traditions.

Þorramatur has also changed to reflect changing tastes. The traditional method of storing meat by submerging it in fermented whey, which gives the food a characteristic sour taste, is unfamiliar to most generations of Icelanders living today and therefore a Þorramatur buffet usually has a choice between sour and unsourpieces of the same food, served on separate trays as the acid readily contaminates food it comes in contact with. Some of the food, for example the rams’ testicles, has to be cured by the acid before serving though. A number of foods have been added to the buffet that have never gone out of fashion in Icelandic cuisine, such as smoked lamb, fermented sharkand dried fish, which are still commonly consumed in all seasons. Þorramatur also may include some novelties, traditional food that was strictly regional and even rare as such, and unfamiliar even to the older generation. Examples include seals‘ flippers, known only from the Breiðafjörðurarea, which is sometimes, albeit rarely, served as part of Þorramatur.

We, of course, had a hard time securing many of the foods listed above, so we had to come up with our own variations. The Icelandic Embassy suggested we go to Whole Foods and Wegmens. Wegmens sells Arctic Char, an indigenous fresh water Icelandic fish. The Artic Char is similar to trout and salmon, but is blander. Whole Foods has quite a few Icelandic products, although it is hard to tell what since no one working at the Clarendon location had any idea about what was available in the store, although according to the Icelandic Review, Whole Foods is actively adding more Icelandic products to their store. We were able to find Skyr (Icelandic yogurt) and Sirius chocolate at the Clarendon location. From these few items, recipes provided by the Icelandic Embassy, insider Icelandic tourist knowledge, and Google we were able to plan our approximation of Þorrablót (buffet-style, of course).

Overall Icelandic cuisine focuses on fish and meat. It is virtually impossible to be vegan and live in Iceland, unless you rely on imported goods. Fermentation, drying, and smoking are important parts of food preparation methods. Sheep are important to Icelandic culture, as is dairy, whey, and lamb. In fact, sheep are the most common domesticated animal in Iceland. Grains and cereals were historically luxury items. The most common type of bread is rúgbrauð, similar to pumpernickle although wetter. Wikipedia notes that “Popular garden vegetables at first included hardy varieties of cabbage, turnip, rutabaga and potato. These entered Icelandic cuisine as boiled accompaniments to meats and fish, sometimes mashed with butter.” Game is also popular in Iceland, although declining numbers have limited their consumption, including puffin, cormorant, seal, minke whale.

In Þorramatur tradition, we tried to purchase an approximation of the food suggested, and bought pickled herring (always a Scandinavian favorite), rye bread, butter, and smoked salmon. Traditionally, the sliced meat and fish is served on rye bread with butter. We found that the butter gave it a rich taste and helped cut the acidity of the pickled herring. Haddock, plaice, herring, shrimp, and halibut are probably the most common types of fish in Iceland.

To round out the meal, we also incorporated other Icelandic cuisine like hot dogs, cake, Skyr, porridge, etc. Hot dogs are popular in Iceland, although their hot dogs have a higher fat content and contain lamb, pork, and beef (“Icelandic Cooking“). The Icelandic style hot dog is served on the standard white bun, but includes the following condiments: remoulade, ketchup, pylsusinnep (Icelandic hot dog mustard), chopped raw onions and fried onions. This topping selection is known as “the works,” i.e., all condiments, or in Icelandic, “eina með öllu.” We approximated these ingredients slightly. Since pylsusinnep is unavailable, we used a generic sweet mustard. Based on a recipe from Icelandic Cooking, we mixed our own remoulade using mayonnaise, capers, sweet mustard, and sweet relish. At their recommendation, we also used French’s French Fried Onions. Overall, the hot dog was crispy, rich, savory, sweet, and liked by all. We decided to leave out the other extras Icelandic Cooking suggested, like kokkteilsósa (cocktail sauce containing mayonnaise and ketchup) and pickled red cabbage.

We also purchased Skyr and made a popular Icelandic breakfast food: Skyr, porridge, and preserves. Skyr is sold at Whole Foods in a variety of flavors alongside the yogurt, although it is technically a soft cheese. Supposedly Skyr was originally Norwegian, but brought to Iceland by the Vikings. It is made with skim milk, so it is a low fat/calorie food. Wikipedia noted that

Skyr may be used in a traditional Icelandic dish called hræringur(meaning “stirred” or “made by stirring”) which consists of roughly equal amounts of Skyr and porridge. It is often mixed with jam or fruit for a dessert, or with cereals for breakfast. Children often like sugar sprinkled on top. It will keep without refrigeration, making it a good high-protein food to take on a trip.

We created this dish and found that the combination was pretty good. The Skyr made the porridge a lot creamier and the preserves kept it from being bland and made it sweeter. We found a recipe for Skyr, as well.

Finally, we rounded things out with some Icelandic desserts, including Nói Siríus Chocolate, randalín (an Icelandic layer cake), and some Icelandic candies brought by a friend from Iceland. We found the chocolate and candy to be pretty typical. The chocolate tasted similar to a Cadbury sort of chocolate, meaning bland, milky, and sweet. However, Nói Siríus’ website states that their chocolate contains less milk and sugar compared to other types of chocolate. We followed a recipe for randalín from the Icelandic Embassy’s website, but can no longer find the recipe (it looks like they have recently redone their website). According to Wikipedia:

A variety of layer cake called randalín, randabrauð or simply lagkaka has been popular in Iceland since the 19th century. These come in many varieties that all have in common five layers of half-inch thick cake alternated with layers of fruit preserve, jam or icing. One version called vínarterta, popular in the late 1800s, with layers of prunes, became a part of the culinary tradition of Icelandic immigrants in the U.S. and Canada.

We couldn’t exactly figure out what it was supposed to look like based on the website so we had to approximate on this cake. The finished result was much similar to shortbread than cake. It was dense, buttery, and crumbly. The cake wasn’t very sweet, but was very buttery. The jam helped add sweetness.

We’d hoped to find some brennivín, Iceland’s aquavit, but weren’t able to find any. According to Isholf.is, ”Brennivín“is a national drink, a nasty schnapps made from potatoes and flavoured with caraway. It is also called ‘Black Death,’ which explains a lot. Many Icelanders never touch it, and a majority of the ones who drink it only do so when feeling patriotic, such as when attending Þorrablót or when trying to impress foreign visitors.” Wikipedia corroborates this, stating that most people rarely drink it and notes that brennivín translates to “burning wine.”

RECIPES:

Remoulade Sauce
(from Icelandic Cooking, Recipes and Food)

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. drained, finely chopped cucumber pickle
1 tbsp. drained, chopped capers
2 tsp. French mustard
1 tsp. finely chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp. chervil
1/2 tsp. anchovy paste

Combine the ingredients, mixing well and refrigerate. Serve with cold meat, poultry, fish or hot dogs.

Randalín
(Our recipe was from the Icelandic Embassy’s website. This one is from Jo’s Icelandic Recipes.)

500 grams  flour 
250 g  sugar 
250 g  margarine/butter, soft 
2 ea.  eggs 
1 1/2 tsp.  baker’s ammonia (ammonium carbonate)  pinch  baking powder 
essence of cardamom/pinch of ground cardamom 

Mix together all dry ingredients. Add the margarine/butter, kneading until well mixed. Cool in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Roll out into a thickness of approx. 1 to 1 1/2 cm. You can divide the dough now or after baking, into as many parts as you want layers (3-5 is the usual). Try to keep each portion the same shape, size and thickness as the others. Bake in the centre of the oven at 200°C, until golden in colour and done through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When the cake is almost cold, spread rhubarb jam or prune jam (see recipe below) on top of all layers except one and sandwich the layers together. 

More Icelandic Recipes:
-Jo’s Icelandic Recipes: Lots of recipes and information about Icelandic culture, etc.
-The Icelandic Embassy: Now they only have a few recipes, but they may add more.
-Samkoma: A few different recipes, but some broken links.

TOTAL: ~$50 (we had some ingredients on hand)

Panama’s first-ever narrative feature film, produced by the Igar Yala Collective, a group made up primarily of rural and urban Kuna youth. This contemporary coming-of-age story introduces two young Kuna: a boy raised by his grandfather in his ancestral homelands and a girl who has never been there.

The movie starts at 7 p.m. The movie is free, but you must register online. We’ll follow up on the festival after the 14th.

UPDATE

One of the most complicated aspects of examining the food featured at Mitsitam and Native Amerian cuisine in general is the influence of other regional cuisine on Native American cuisine, as well as the regional variations within the food throughout the Americas. Although the festival was called The Power of Chocolate, we did not see any chocolate samples and the festival mostly focused on a few tables explaining how chocolate grows and is cultivated (some focusing on children) and live dancing.

Mitsitam was out of many of the foods around 5 when we arrived, but we were able to sample some of the cuisine there (although not the chocolate soup, venison, buffalo, or wild rice salad). The restaurant is on the ground level of the museum and has a high end cafeteria buffet feel to it. The menu items are grouped by region, which is kind of interesting. The plates of food are mostly small, similar to tapas, with the exception of some larger entrees. After selecting the food we wanted to eat, we paid and were able to find a seat by the window. The cafe has large windows that look out onto the fountains, which is nice.

Native American cuisine is extremely varied due to environmental aspects. Mitsitam’s cuisine focuses on several regions and arranges the food items by region, which makes it easy to understand the context of all the different dishes. The Northern Woodlands features ingredients like oysters, maple syrup, pumpkins, wild mushrooms, venison, turkey, cranberries, dandelions, sunchoke, watercress, wild rice, duck, corn, and winter squash. South America features escabeche, hearts of palm, fish, salsa, chicken, coconut, ceviche, tamales, peanut sauces, pork loin, tomatoes, squash, amaranth, jicama, guava, flan, and blue corn. The Northwest Coast features ingredients like clams, salmon, steak, roots, blueberries, sweet potato, birch bark syrup, wild mushrooms, tomatoes, wild rice, pumpkin, and bison. Meso America includes burritos, plantains, chili sauce, spinach, tortillas, mole, squash, pumpkin, guacamole, corn chips, carrots, cotija cheese, and pepitas. The Great Plains food items include buffalo, pinto beats, fry bread, chayote, cinnamon, honey, berries, heirloom beans, wild onion, pinion cookies, popcorn balls, and sarsaparilla. The cafe also has a wide range of desserts and the menu changes seasonally. Based on what we read on Native American food, these items reflect typical food items that were eaten by Native Americans. Wikipedia also has a lot of information on Native American cuisine.

Mitistam reflects the wide range of food in native cuisine and the different staples that come out of lifestyles based on hunting, fishing, gathering, farming, and the use of domesticated animals. We ended up trying only a few things because each plate was rather pricey, even with the discount. Also, a lot of the food items were unavailable because of the high demand thanks to the festival.

We started out trying a chocolate arepa, which was warm, savory, and had a rich chocolate flavor. The sweetness was not overpowering and it tasted similar to a pupusa without any filling. We learned on Wikipedia that an arepa is a bread made from corn that is popular in Columbia and Venezuala. The corn patty is unleavened and flattened, either by grilling, baking, for frying. A lot of variation exists from region to region on the consistency, color, size, thickness, garniture, and fillings of the arepa. Wikiepda notes that “Arepa is a native bread made of ground corn, water, and salt which is fried into a pancake-like bread. It is either topped or filled with meat, eggs, tomatoes, salad, cheese, shrimp, or fish.” Our arepas seemed to be more Venezuelan than Colombian since they were about 3/4 of an inch thick and were “arepa dulces,” or sweet arepas, which are common in Venezuala. Although most arepas are savory, ours tasted delicious.

We also tried the empanadas with chocolate sauce (an empanada is stuffed bread or pastry). We were curious about the history of the empanada and learned that they are Spanish and Portuguese in origin. The name comes from the verb empanar, which means to wrap or coat in bread. The Spanish empanada is usually larger and more circular, but cut into smaller portions for consumption, while the South American empanada is smaller and more half moon shaped. The empanada was brought to South America by colonists. Empanadas vary tremendously from region to region. Their fillings can include meat, potatos, or sausage, etc. We looked up whether there are sweet empanadas, and found that these typically exist in the Columbian city of Leticia, where they are often filled with tropical fruit. These sweet empanadas exist in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Haiti, in addition. We couldn’t figure out which region ours was from, but they were small and reminded us more of a wonton than an empanada. Ours were savory, with the exception of the chocolate sauce they placed on it, which was syrupy (not like a mole sauce).

We were especially pleased that the cafe had fry bread, which we love and is hard to find in this area. Fry bread is distinctly American and was first made in the 1600s. It is a flat dough deep-fried and then topped with various ingredients. Mitsitam features the Indian Taco, which we thought was their invention. However, we learned from the taco entry on Wikipedia that “Indian tacos, sometimes known as Navajo tacos but served in various parts of the American West and Midwest, are made using frybread instead of tortillas. They are commonly served at pow-wows, festivals, and other gatherings.” Their Indian Taco is $11 and consists of buffalo chili, pinto beans, picklled chilis, lettuce, tomatos, and cheese. We found it to be extremely filling and delicious. We also liked the fact that we got to try buffalo. We also learned that fry bread (also written as “frybread”) has such a large role in Native American cultures that it was named the official “state bread” of South Dakota in 2005. We also tried the fry bread with honey, which is another way fry bread can be served (also powdered sugar can be used instead of honey). This was also pretty yummy. We ended up getting an agua fresca, which are refreshing beverages of various concoctions that originated in Meixco, but now are popular all over the Americas. Ours was milky, mild, and sweet. We probably ended up having agua de horchata, which is a type of agua fresca that is made from either almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, or tigernuts. The drink originated in Valencia in Spain and then spread to Latin America, so we don’t know how typically native it is. Ours was tan and milky, so we think we got more of the Mexican variety, which often is made from rice and has a cinnamon flavoring.

We would have liked to have tried more food items, however the food was fairly filling and some of the more interesting dishes were sold out. We were offered a sample and were able to try amaranth; we recommend asking for samples if it seems possible. Amaranth is a grain that is cultivated in Asia and the Americas. It was one of the staples of the Incas and known as kiwicha in the Andes. Compared to other grains, amaranth was very tiny and had a harder texture. Amaranth, although not well-known, was incredibly important to native cultures like the Aztecs, who used it in their ceremonies and created compositions of the gods using the grain and honey. It also apparently is referenced a lot in literature and music.

TOTAL: ~$30 for lunch for two people