Russia
Escaping Moscow is as nightmarish as entering it. We’re stuck in traffic for several hours, breathing in black, choking exhaust.
“It’s like smoking a pack of cigarettes,” Mims says, coughing.
We’re eager to put on miles. But clouds mass in the early evening sky and explode in an electrical thunderstorm.
“I feel like we’re on a TV show about natural disasters,” Andrew says.
Our spirits are low. Then we smell something like hickory barbecue. The odor increases in intensity until we reach what can only be described as a restaurant shantytown. A half dozen closely bunched homes have smoking grills in front, with people stoking smoldering wood. Each seems identical, but our choice is easy once we spot an elderly woman wearing a blue polka-dot dress, green apron, and kindly smile. She indicates that we should sit down.
We do so at a picnic table beneath an overhang. We get menus but once again are mystified by the language barrier.
“What’s your favorite?” Mims asks in Russian.
She brings us inside her restaurant—a run-down room wallpapered in fake bark—and begins showing us food options. Her favorites are borscht, skewers of mystery meat, and rice-based plov.
“What’s in the plov?” Mims asks.
She says something only Mims can understand.
“Moooooo?” he says, mimicking a cow.
She nods.
We give the thumbs-up and sit. The cook’s daughter delivers sliced brown bread—dry as the desert—and fans the grill’s flames with cardboard.
Cubes of crispy meat on skewers arrive at the table. They’re pork, not beef, but they’re pure smoky deliciousness, and they disappear instantly. The borscht comes steaming and sprinkled with fresh dill and chives. Circles of oily goodness float on top.
“This is the best borscht we’ve had in Russia,” Mims says. He’s right. The soup is soulful and delicate, homemade and hearty; stew beef makes it substantial. Even the bread’s dryness becomes an asset when dipped.
Though the portions of plov are puny (by the West’s supersize standards, at least), the dish is filling and flavorful. The rice is topped with dill and pieces of crisp beef that inspire longings for home. “They taste just like a Krystal burger,” Mims says.
mmm sounds delicious! i’d love to visit russia someday too. i am so envious :( have you tried any pirozhki over there?
Lovely reading your reports from Russia, and I’m so excited you got to try plov. It’s actually an Uzbek dish that is super popular throughout Eurasia.
If you can, before you leave Russia, ask some locals to teach you about toasts for drinking vodka and zakuski, or snacks, for washing down the alcohol. I realize you’re on a driving trip, but hopefully you only need one designated driver.
I am fortunate to have a Russian friend (she’s from Stavropol) who can cook. Her plov is legendary. She makes it in a Dutch oven and the last step is to wrap the pot in a towel and sit it somewhere with a brick on top until it’s ready. She’s a vegetarian but, for me, she’ll make borscht with chicken. She prefers a dollop of Russian mayo instead of sour cream. And vodka is not optional. Thanks to her cooking, I am totally hooked on Russian cuisine. Has anyone out there heard of or tried something called “Herring Under a Blanket?” It’s a layer of herring, mashed potatoes and beets and is usually eaten during the holiday season.
Helen, funny your vegetarian friend calls Selyodka pod Shouboy–herring in a fur coat–herring under a blanket. It is a Russian and FSU classic and is a zakuski or appetizer.