Ethnic Food Project

As a way to stir things up, we decided to encounter Cuban cuisine by hunting down the Cuban sandwiches on board El Floridano, a traveling food truck that delivers Cuban sandwiches, banh mi, soups, and perhaps some other menu items around the D.C. area. El Floridano is still learning the area and the best way to approach his business. He informed us that he’s still trying to find a neighborhood that provides the best return. So far, this has proven to be Southeast rather than Northeast. To find out where he is going to be, follow his Twitter, FLmeetsDC. When we met him, he was parked outside the Starbucks in Foggy Bottom.

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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Taqueria Distrito Federal is a small restaurant colorfully decorated in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. that offers carryout, delivery, and dine-in. There is a small outdoor seating area and a small basement-style indoor seating area. We dined outside on their small but nice patio on Cinco de Mayo. The Taqueria is open early and late and serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a special weekend menu. Among the traditional weekend items are menudo (a hominy and tripe soup), pozole (a pre-Columbian ritually significant soup of nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn, various meats, and seasonings), and tamales. Mexican cuisine can be divided into six groups, reflecting the six regions of Mexico, which comprise different climates, geography, and the different cultures of Mexico’s indigenous peoples, as well as the impact of Spanish colonization. Northern Mexican cuisine’s meat staples include beef, goat, ostrich, and the arrachera cut. The Yucatan region’s dishes are sweet instead of spicy, a result of their beekeeping history and the importance of honey, and typically use achiote seasoning. The Oaxacan region is celebrated for its tamales and moles. The West is known for its goat (birria or goat in a spicy tomato-based sauce). Central Mexico is known for barbacoa, pozole, menudo and carnitas. Finally, Southern Mexico, due to its proximity to the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, has spicy vegetable dishes, chicken dishes, and seafood dishes. Within individual villages, even more exotic and unusual dishes can be found with exotic meats, depending on local ingredients.

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)

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The Russia House is a strange restaurant suffering from an undiagnosed multiple personality disorder, somehow caught between a European (eurotrash?) club, expensive high-end restaurant, mixology bar, and an overcrowded house party taking place in someone’s grandfather’s row house. The owners of the restaurant were (on the phone) very responsive and accommodating, but the restaurant itself on arrival was strange and disorganized. Upon entry, there was no host in sight (just a clueless bouncer) and we had to figure out how to get to where we were being seated (the piano lounge), which was upstairs. The restaurant is tall and multi-leveled, situated in a row house downtown. However, it was unclear how the different sections (or levels) of the restaurant operated. It seemed akin to a nightclub with tons of people packed in all different levels free to mill around. We were seated upstairs at a large table with leather backed chairs near the front of the restaurant. Our reservation was for 8 p.m., but by then the music was so loud that it was difficult to even talk to the person sitting directly across without yelling. The music was of the European variety, loud, and repetitive. The actual restaurant was very dark, as well, especially since the wallpaper, carpet, floors, are dark wood, wine colored, and heavily draped. We were a little thrown off by this loud and chaotic atmosphere because the website stated that:    

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

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