Moscatel vinegar made by the Spanish brand Unió is Sharon Adriana's (Ragazza, Gialina) favorite for dressings and adds a complex, fruity note. It's available at Whole Foods, at San Francisco's Rainbow Grocery in the bulk section, and at many specialty stores. If you can't find it, use Champagne vinegar.

Taylor's Market in Sacramento sells it online at:

http://www.taylorsmarket.com/mm5/merc...

The Russian Tea Room is once again in business and their borscht recipe (different from the earlier era Russian Tea Room recipe cited above) is online here (including a video):

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/...

This looks fairly easy and would be interesting to try as well modified with the brisket mentioned in a recipe above. (Since it's so simple, it ought to be stellar with homemade stock, but I'm sure it's good with commercial stock too -- it's borscht, it's hard to go wrong with it.)

Russian Tea Room Borscht Recipe
(circa 2008)

½ pound bacon, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 quarts beef stock
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar, plus more to taste
6 cups shredded green cabbage
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1½ pounds red beets with green tops removed, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sugar, to taste (optional)
1 cup sour cream
½ cup fresh dill, chopped

1. Place the bacon in a Dutch oven or stockpot and cook over medium-high heat until the fat begins to render, about three minutes.
2. Add the garlic, onion and carrot and cook until soft, about four minutes.
3. Drain any excess fat and add the beef stock. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the red-wine vinegar, cabbage and potato and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
5. Taste and season with additional red-wine vinegar if needed. Add the beets and cook until they are soft, approximately five minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the borscht seems acidic, add a little sugar to round out the flavor.
7. Ladle the borscht into serving bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and a pinch of fresh dill.