Eats - Russian

Cities covered: Campbell, Chicago

Russian Bakery
Geary St. near the big Russian Orthodox church with the domes
San Francisco, CA
Fresh bread daily, plus a ton of specialty desserts and deli salads. I actually think the bread is better at the International Grocery on Irving. The interior is institutional to the point of Soviet-era cliche, and I actually like the bread over at the market on Clement better, but they have one thing you must try which is "chuchkella" which is a string of walnuts (literally on a string) dipped in a gelatin of grape juice repeatedly to form a long red blob. This is apparently a common dessert in the country of Georgia. It looks a lot like a hand-dipped red candle, but it's subtlely sweet, nutty obviously, and faintly reminiscent of red licorice but better. The other pastries were much better looking--we also had the almond horns, which were a lot like rolled florentines with pastry cream inside and very good--but not as strange. I like strange, and it paid off this time. The clerks at this busy place (even on a Sunday) are cordial but harried, so be ready with your order. August 5, 2007

Russian Tea House
77 E. Adams
Chicago, IL 60603
Full afternoon tea service every day 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Rating: ****
Price: $$$$
We actually had to wait for lunch to go here on our recent IML jaunt (it's about 1 block from the Palmer House hotel), mostly because a) it was full, and b) everyone was dressed to the nines. The leather thing only plays in SF. Anyway, this small restaurant was really fun to eat at and worth the heft lunchtime prices.

We had Russian tea (sipped through sugar cubes), pelmeni (dumplings, on par with very good Chinese water dumplings), a duck streudel (my boyfriend LOVED this, but I thought it was cloying and probably reheated from the previous night; if you're going to get it, order it at dinner not lunch), a plate of meatballs, and some chicken livers. The latter were excellent, with a creamy soft texture and no bitterness or weird string/veins/etc. The meatballs were nicely tender and meaty, although as usual we were actually full after the appetizers, so it's always harder to judge.

Service is first-rate, and the waitress patiently explained what dishes actually were and made recommendations. I know she's patient because she did exactly the same routine for the table next to us fifteen minutes later. The decor is simple and looks particularly nice at night. Huge lunch before tip was $70.18. May 27, 2007

Restaurant Nevsky - Russian Cuisine and Catering
1740 Winchester Blvd., Campbell
408/379-1126
Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: 6-9 p.m., until midnight Saturday
Went with Michael to try this place out. Had peroshski and eggplant wrapped around almonds, farmer cheese, and mushrooms, I think; the latter of which was very nice with a sprinkling of dill. Entrees were pulmeny with butter and sour cream, which was perfectly balanced and rich. Without the sour cream it was pointless. My friend had the beef stroganoff, which looked okay. He didn't eat it, since he was full by that time and the serving was huge. For dessert, "apricot" cake which was actually mostly delicious cherries in a delicate crust, not dissimilar to that nut-based pastry that's very hard and light. The chocolate cake with almonds had no almonds, so at least they were consistent about the oddball descriptions. Service is gracious and accomodating. The night we stopped by there was a birthday party, which we're guessing is why they had a two piece band playing songs in Russian and "Lady in Red." The birthday party got up and danced—very festive. 08/30/03

Russian Cafe & Deli
1712 Winchester Blvd.
Campbell, Ca 95008
408/379-6680
Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
An awesome selection of Russian coldcuts, jarred/bottled foods, and smoked fish. We actually stopped off here by chance to check out the goods and were surprised to meet the original owners of the restaurant next door. "We sold it to some Assyrians" one of the owners told me but they brought their chef with them to the deli. I went for the salo, Ukrainian fatback, which is eating sliced paper-thin on hearty pumpernickel with a slice of raw onion or pickles (oh, and icy vodka). I don't know if salo is supposed to be salted, but that's what the owner told me it was and as he is Russian I believe him. I actually first heard of salo from a National Geographic article on Siberia, which kind of makes sense although apparently it's more of a Ukrainian snack. It can also be made into cracklings and lard, which tells you something about Russians' emphasis on flavor (I actually melted some for eggs this morning and them topped with the resulting yummy cracklings). The pumpernickel can be a little stale so choose carefully on a Saturday. FYI: This obsession with salo extends to creating chocolate covered salo, which sounds pretty bad. 08/30/03