The kind of food visitors will eat from day to day depends on which city they are visiting and the time of year. Breakfast is often similar to the Scandinavian, with cold meats, boiled eggs and bread served with Russian tea. Kasha (porridge) is a staple breakfast dish, made with milk and oats, buckwheat or semolina. For the midday and evening meal the food is often more traditional, again depending on the region. One of the more famous Russian dishes is borshch, a beetroot soup served hot with sour cream, and the sister dish of akroshka, a kvas soup served cold. Several dishes which are now often seen as international but find their origin in Russia are beef stroganov (beef stewed in sour cream with fried potatoes), blini (small pancakes filled with caviar, fish, melted butter or sour cream), aladyi (crumpets with the same filling and jam) and especially ikra or krasnaya ikra (black and red caviar). The local chicken kiev should not be confused with Western imitations. Tsipleonok tabaka is another chicken dish: the meat is roasted on a spit. Whole roast suckling pig and roast goose stuffed with buckwheat, roast duck stuffed with apples and shashlik (shish kebab) are served at parties and for special occasions. A vegetable variant of shashlik also exists. Local dishes well worth trying include kotlyety po Pozharsky (chicken cutlets), pirozhky (fried rolls with different fillings, usually meat), prostakvasha (yogurt), pelmeni (meat dumplings), rossolnik (hot soup, usually made of pickled vegetables) and shchi (cabbage soup). Cabbage leaves and sweet peppers are filled with boiled rice and minced meat. Mushrooms in sour cream are very popular. The great variety of salads available include winter salad and vinegret (made of diced vegetables). Desserts include morozhenoye (ice cream), ponchiki (hot sugared doughnuts) and vareniki (dumplings containing fresh berries, cherries or jam).
One of the most popular drinks is chai (sweet tea served without milk). Coffee is generally available with meals and in cafes, although standards vary. Soft drinks, fruit juices and mineral waters are widely available. Vodka is often flavored and colored with herbs and spices such as zubrovka (a kind of grass), ryabinovka (steeped with rowan-tree berries), starka (dark, smooth, aged vodka) and pertsovka (with hot pepper). Posolskaya, Stolichnaya and Rossiskaya are popular brands. Krushon is a highly recommended cold ‘punch’; champagne, brandy and summer fruit are poured into a hollowed watermelon and chilled for several hours. This delicious cocktail is traditionally served from a crystal bowl. White wine and cucumber are used to make a drier variant. Nastoika is a fortified wine made of herbs, leaves, flowers, fruit and roots of plants with medicinal properties. Nalivka is a sweet liqueur made with fruit or berries. The cherry and strawberry flavors are highly recommended. Ryabin Cognac (‘Ryabina na Konyakye’) is made from rowan-tree berries.
Russian champagne is surprisingly good and reasonably priced. Imported wines from Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and Armenian Cognac are excellent (for further information, see the separate sections on these countries). Kvas is a refreshing and unusual drink, made from a fermented mixture of rye bread, jam, yeast and water, and should be tried on a hot day. Drinks are ordered by grams or by the bottle. City-center bars close around midnight.
Nightlife
Theater, circus, concert and variety performances are the main evening entertainments. Tickets are available in advance or from ticket booths immediately before performances. Visitors should note that prices for foreigners are usually much higher than those paid by Russian nationals. The repertoire of theaters provides a change of program almost nightly. In the course of one month, 30 different productions may be presented by the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Company. Details of performances can be obtained on arrival. Visitors should apply to the service bureau of their hotel. All of these establishments are open 0600-2200.
