What (& Where) Do You Eat in Russia? - Part 2

 

As I mentioned in my last post, we have plenty of restaurants to chose from. 

 

We don't really go to any typical "Russian" places.   There are a lot of places called a "Stolovaya", which is a basic, cafeteria-style restaurant that was "popular" (i.e. pretty much all that existed) in Soviet times.  They are still pretty popular with locals - basic soups, potatoes and other filling sides, pelmini (little meat dumplings in broth), cabbage, maybe some meat or fish.

 

But being in a big city, we have other options. 

 

Tandoor is our favorite.  The best Indian food in the city.  Owned by an couple (Indian man, Russian woman) who also live in Atlanta (funny, right?), and we see them all of the time around the neighborhood & at our gym.  The Range Rover on the sidewalk is theirs.      

 

 

 

A few of our favorites - Bengali fish curry (extra spicy), lemon rice, and baigan masala ( a creamy, spicy, coconut eggplant dish)

 

 

Our closest pub is Radio Ireland.  It's a 5 minute walk from the apartment.  How great is that?



 

 

 

They have set up their outside terrace - 2 TV's playing football, and it has temporary windows & heaters set up until the weather gets nicer (which is still isn't in late June!!!!).

 

Pat seems to like it here

 

 

Testo is where we go for pizza or salads for lunch during the workweek.  Really good thin-crust pizza

 



All Russian menu, but we manage just fine

The other place we go to is the Fish House.  They sell fish, and are a little on the expensive side.  But they have a reasonably priced lunch menu with Russian soups (Ukha, Solyanka, creamy mushroom), typical local salads (Olivier Salad, herring salad, cucumber with sour cream), and a few international stand-byes. 

Ukha is a primarily a clear fish broth, made with a mix of local fish, and usually a few small pieces of root vegetables.  Not my favorite, but it's not bad.

Solyanka is a Russian & Ukrainian soup, normally made with meat, cabbage, pickles, tomatoes, and a bunch of spices and some vinegar. 

And Olivier Salad (or Russian Salad) is a very traditional salad in Russia.  It's normally made with diced potatoes, peas, onions, eggs, pickles, some sort of protein (chicken, bologna or ham, tongue, shrimp), and mayonnaise.  Everything is diced up into small, uniform pieces.  It's pretty tasty if you ask me!

 

 Next up are the Ginza restaurants - Terrassa, Ribeye, Mansarda are the ones nearby.  According to their website, the Ginza Project Group owns more 100 restaurants & bars in St. Petersburg & Moscow.  They also own several in NYC, London, and now Miami.

 

They are pricy!  And snobby!  And even if you have a reservation, they may bump you for someone who looks more fabulous (especially on a Friday or Saturday night).  And all of the waitresses are at least 6 ft. tall without heels & legs that stretch to the moon (as well as their fair share of other enhancements).   But the food is good, and it's a fun scene to hang out in every so often.

 

Terrassa (i.e. Terrace) is on the roof

 

 

Flashback from June 2013 - dinner at Mansarda (i.e. Attic)

 

 



Now let's go to Belgium.  Or at least, drink some Belgian beer.  At the Kriek Brasserie, they have 100+ draught and bottle beers.

 



Dve Palochki (Two Sparrows) is our favorite sushi/Asian restaurant.  It's a chain, and not too fancy, but good & fresh sushi.  And they are open 24 hourss/day, so it's always busy

 

Favorite Coffee Shop?  The Coffeeshop Company, which is a Viennese chain.  Nice Café Americanos and croissants, and their Iced Latte isn't half bad!

Best breakfast?  Café Singer.  This is a rather famous building in Saint Petersburg - it was the Russian branch of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.  Art nouveau in style, with a glass tower & globe at the top.  After the 1917 revolution, the building was given to the Petrograd State Publishing House.  And to this day, it still holds a book store on the 1st 3 levels. 

The Café is newer (2006), but is a great place for breakfast - blinis, pastries, omelets, etc....

 

Schaste ("happiness" in English) is a new & trendy café.  Really slow.  But good coffee and pastries.

 

 

And finally, Where do we go to watch sports or just hang out with friends?  ToNYc Bar.  Good burgers, pizza, wings - they have the American bar specialties & then some.  Nice beer selection, reasonable prices, and you can always find a game to watch  

 

 

Once (IF !!!) the sun comes out this summer and the temperatures actually get warm enough to sit outside, I'll share some more pictures of the outdoor patios and other restaurants that we visit............  IF the sun ever comes out again!

What (& Where) Do You Eat in Russia? - Konyushennaya area

Sorry I've been away for a while.  But after all of those posts on Israel, I needed a break!  Plus, I was on a trip that took me from Brussels to Paris to Memphis to Pittsburgh (and then back home) in less than 2 weeks. 

I'm working on a post from a trip that we took to Prague over my birthday (over 1 month ago).  But in the meantime.....................................................

 "What do you eat in Russia?".  It's a natural question, that we get from almost anyone when they learn that we live in Russia. Where do you eat?  What do you eat?  Do you eat Russian food?  Is the food any good?

So I thought I'd do a few posts on this topic.  Because we really can't complain.  At all!  Within 10-20 minutes walking distance from our apartment, we have a lot of really good & interesting restaurants.

So today's post is about one particular area - Bolshaya Konyushennaya Ulitza (Street) and Konyushennaya Ploshad (Square).  I thought I'd show you some restaurants

We live within the green strip on the map near Admiralteistvo.  And the street I'm highlighting is Bolyshaya Konnushennaya, about a 10-15 minute walk from our apartment

Here is Konyushennaya Ulitsa

 

 So let's start in Spain, of all places.  Barcelona is fairly new, and specializes in Tapas.  VERY busy, especially from 9pm-2am.  Good Sangria.  And really smoky until Russia put the smoking ban into effect for all restaurants & bars on June 1st (yea!).  It's a fun place, and in the summer they now have an outdoor terrace.

 

A few shops down is one of our favorites, Mollie Mews Irish Pub.  A good selection of cold beer, good appetizers (classic Russian apps are fried rye bread strips with garlic and cheese, smoked sausage, and smoked Russian string cheese).  And another place with a patio in the summer. 

 

Yes, the window says they are open from 12pm until 6AM.  Party on!

 

There are actually 3 pubs on this street.  Here's the English one, The Tower Pub.

Another one we like is O'Hooligans.  Big beer selection, some good local pub grub, and a fun place to watch football.

So many choices, where to start?................

 

Next, let's move to the end of the street and turn right onto Konyushennaya Ploshad.  Here are a few more upscale places, and it's where a lot of the clubs are.

Tao is a new one that we recently discovered.  It's Pan-Asian food - Thai, Chinese, Japanese.  Nice sushi menu.  A little trendy and "where the beautiful people go", which means it's great for people watching

Right next door is Barbaresco.  A favorite of a few of our friends, so we go here pretty often.   Upscale Italian food, with a menu that changes every season.  The pasta dishes are great, as is the cheese and charcuterie platters.  The wine list is mostly Italian, and is not unreasonably priced like many of the local "upscale" places.

And then we have Jamie.  Jamie Oliver, that is.  It's very good and well priced - classic Italian, burgers, a big selection of antipasti and salads that they serve on big wooden planks, and a variety of grilled meat and fish options.  I've eaten at another Jamie's Italian in Dubai and it's the same exact menu. But consistency can be good!

 

More to come on this topic......we have lots of options and Pat & I rarely miss a meal! 

Imatra, Finland

In late May, I decided to work from our Imatra (Finland) office, which is right across the border from our IP Mill in Svetogorsk Russia. 

It's less than 7 km away.  A much nicer (although small) town, nice hotels, good restaurants.  But I don't normally bother to go there because those 7 km can be the longest 7 km - border crossings can be brutal!

But it's early summer and I had a reason for being there for more than a day (3 days, actually).  So I crossed into another world...........................


View from the Svetogorsk hotelroom

 View from my Imatra hotelroom!

 

Svetogorsk

Imatra!

The outside of the Svetogorsk hotel

The outside of the hotel in Imatra (it's a old castle, originally built in 1903 for visiting wealthy  Russian nobility)!

OK, so the comparison study is pretty clear, and we have a winner! 

Imatra is located on the Vuoksi River.  It was founded in 1948 after the Second World War.  By some, it's considered the 1st real tourist town in Finland, thanks to the 1772 visit by Russian Empress Catherine the Great.

It's always interesting to me how different Finland and Russia are, even two towns that are steps away from each other.  Finland became an independent state in 1917 (it was part of the Russian Empire).  And when I'm in Finland, I always feel like people are saying "Look how we turned out!". 

Imatra's not big - maybe 25,000 people. 

But everyone was enjoying the nice weather in the "city center" while I was in town.

Imatra has a dam.  The Imatrankoski Rapids, which run during the summer evenings  (unfortunately, they didn't open while I was in town)

Imatra has a gorge. 

But my favorite thing to do is just walk along the river path, breathe in the fresh air (we don't get much fresh air in St. Petersburg), and enjoy the scenery.

A fishing shop and boat launch.......

Birch trees

A bird hangout

The train trestle leading out of town

Along a portion of the path, I found a section with private houses, right on the river, all with their own boat docks.  I would take any of them!

 

Livin' the life.............

At first, I thought, "ooh, naked people".  And so I had to zoom in & take a picture. 

They aren't naked, but might as well be!  Flesh-colored bathing suits (especially Speedos) are weird.

 

Finally, and on a more somber note, I stumbled across this small cemetery, in honor of local heroes who lost their lives during the 2nd World War