Thread: Foods to try?

I will be traveling soon to Russia for the first time and would like suggestions on what foods, authentic dishes, drinks, etc that I should make it a must to try while I am there. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

Drinks:
квас (kvass),
морс (mors -- berry drink)
кумыс (koumiss -- the drink of some nations lived in the Russian Federation: Yakuts, Buryats and some others).

Alcohol:
водка (vodka) ,
медовуха (medovukha -- honey liqueur)

Food:
хлеб (bread, many kinds: ржаной, бородинский (!) etc),
борщ (borsch -- red-beet soup),
пельмени (pelmeni -- ravioli),
блины (bliny -- pancake)
драники (draniki -- like potato pancake)

And you absolutely need to visit russian bath-house, it's desirable, in village.

And if you have a good health and a great bravery, try to russian country people home-brew самогон (samogon)

A Russian bath house? Could you tell me all about what a bath house is, are they common and how much are they?
Is samogon an alcoholic drink?
I was told that people often put caviar on their bread. Is this true? In the states we toast bread in the morning for breakfast, but rarely have it toasted for any otehr meal. Is that the same in Russia?

Originally Posted by American

Is samogon an alcoholic drink?

Yes, you call it moonshine.

Originally Posted by American

I will be traveling soon to Russia for the first time and would like suggestions on what foods, authentic dishes, drinks, etc that I should make it a must to try while I am there. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

What cities are you going to visit and for how long?

I'll be in St. Petersburg. What the heck is a bathhouse? Are potato pancakes like what we have...leftover mash potatoes smooshed in a patty and then fried in butter? In the bigger cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow, will I find many English speakers? I am a little worried ab. ordering in a restaurant. Are there any ettiquette things I need to be aware of for meals?

Originally Posted by American

I was told that people often put caviar on their bread. Is this true?

Yeah, my Russian friends always put caviar (king salmon, the red kind, they don't seem to like the black kind at all) on buttered bread...
-Fantom

Originally Posted by American

... In the bigger cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow, will I find many English speakers?

I believe a lot of americans live and work in Russia. You can try to talk to folks at www.expat.ru .

Originally Posted by pranki

And if you have a good health and a great bravery, try to russian country people home-brew самогон (samogon)

Well, since you asked -- it should be:

"If you are in good health" - in English, you say that someone is "in good health" - somehow, good health is more of a state of being, not something that you can have.

"If you are very brave" - Usually, when you're talking about someone, you say that he has great bravery (not "a great bravery"). If you are talking to someone, you say that he is brave.

"Ask some Russian country folk for a taste of самогон" (though you'd likely not be able to stop with just a taste! ) Folk is a word often used for people who live in the country (i.e., not in the city).

All this talk of food is making me hungry! Mmm...how about salmon закуски? Ooh - or home-made pickled mushrooms?! (Sorry I don't know the names in Russian )

What is this salmon like? How is it served? The pickled mushrooms sound delicious! Tahnk you to everyone for their replies, my list of food/drinks to try keeps getting longer and longer! I leave in a few days time so any last minute suggestions would be great! Any desserts to try?

Ice cream. Stay away from the Nestle's (yuk!). You can buy it from the carts on the street (ironically almost all say Nestle's on them) or buy the little bricks in the stores.

кисель - kisel'
пироги - pirogi, pies
пирожки - pirozhki, little pies

Moryachka, thank you very much!

American, I told about Russian баня. Classic variant of this house is a not so big wooden building with two rooms -- сени (seni, hall) and парилка (parilka). In the hall people usually relax, sometimes drink something like beer. In парилка there are a stove and two barrels with hot and cold water. Some people come into парилка, close the door and pour on the stove for making hot steam. After that people sit or lie in benches which have two or three different heights. Of course, in the highest bench it's hotest. Then people beat each other by веник -- wisp of birchen branches.

Fuh... Did you understand something? Actually, bath-houses are very popular in Russia. They always give vivacity and make your health better. But, I think, my explanation frightened you

Originally Posted by American

Are there any ettiquette things I need to be aware of for meals?

Be prepared to take your shoes off when going to visit someone. I know one guy that received a stern brow beating for reclining on his own hotel bed with his shoes still on by one of his guests. Oh and something about not leaving an empty bottle sitting on the table.

Pranki: Thanks for all the information on the bath house. It sounds like a sauna. I will most definitely try one when I visit? Is it common for women to go to one? Are men and women in the same room(strangers)?

DDT: thanks for the tips. What do you do with the bottle if you don't leave it on the table?

Are there any superstitions that are common that I should abide by?

Originally Posted by American

DDT: thanks for the tips. What do you do with the bottle if you don't leave it on the table?

I don't know. I hear that it is just bad luck to leave the empty on the table, kind of like giving flowers in even numbers is bad luck.

does noone ever apply my compulsive numerics, ergo - if you give two flowers the second "takes out" the first, and then of course every even number is like giving no flowers ....well..no perhaps not....

Originally Posted by American

Is it common for women to go to one?

Yes, of course.

Are men and women in the same room(strangers)?

Usually no, but sometimes...

Originally Posted by American

DDT: thanks for the tips. What do you do with the bottle if you don't leave it on the table?

Are there any superstitions that are common that I should abide by?

Put the bottle on the floor!

Don't shake hands through the enterance door.
Sit down before going on a trip
Don't sit at the corner of a table