Travel Russia Today

When people travel to Russia, the one thing they worry the most about is the food. They want to be reassured that they will be able to eat at Italian, French or other International restaurants where they can feel safe. Yes, there are plenty of those, so if you are a militaristic vegan, vegetarian or just a squeamish fool, go there and eat yourself to boredom. If you are a true foodie, you will search for authentic local restaurants.

Russian cuisine might be slightly heavy, I admit, but then again, what’s wrong with that when you are on vacation? Believe me, you will walk it off at the Hermitage or the vast grounds of Kremlin. While you will get your portion of starch and fat, you will also be surprised about how good Russian vegetables are. I cannot tell you how much I love eating tomatoes in Russia. In the US, unless you buy them at a farmers market, the tomatoes seem to have lost their taste. And the bread, oh the bread! In Russia you will never get the pathetic, see-through, processed sponge people usually eat in America. Instead, every meal is accompanied by rich, dense black or rye bread that is so delicious you will have trouble leaving some room for the main dish.

Next to the home-made dinner with a local family in Suzdal, my all time favorite meal in Russia was at the Chekhov Restaurant in St. Petersburg. It started with a wide array of appetizers: lots of pickled vegetables, bread with lard, herring and sauerkraut with cranberries and apples. All of this was served with their special horseradish vodka, the multiple shots of which make it now harder to remember what I ordered afterwards. I believe I was so full that I only had borsch which I love to eat Ukrainian style with tons of sour cream. My Russian colleagues ordered a simple peasant dish – potatoes and mushrooms (a good option for vegetarians) and I am willing to bet that my colleague Lori had pelmeni (I don’t think she ever ordered anything else the entire time in Russia).

By the end of the trip, I became a huge fan of Russian cuisine. So much so, that upon returning home, I found a little Russian grocery store that has become my go-to place for bread and I always keep a bag of pelmeni in my freezer.