Thread: how was i to know

Hi, i am sorry if i offended anyone, i did not mean to assume that all russians do is drink but more than one person on a chat room has told me that it is impossible to avoid drinking when i get there so how was i to know any differently. That is why i am asking.. but forget it. thanks anyway

There is no lack of alternatives to alcohol in Russia. The box juice here is the best and available in every kiosk and resturant. Also all kinds of soda, mineral water, bottled waters and even bottled lipton ice tea. Hot tea is a standard drink in the winter and you can order it in resturants any time of year. My family only drinks vodka for a holiday and never to get drunk. We usually drink a beer or glass of wine when we go to the cafe and have some food or snacks with it.

You didn't offend anyone. It were evil jokes of some stereotypes about Russia. You are free to choose what to drink in any place and any time. That «somebody» who was speaking with you in the chat room is probably from corresponding circles that like to drink much. I hope you will have more well-brought-up company. In some cases you will be asked to drink together because otherwise, if they will not ask you, it will look bad from their side. If you don't like drinking then you should tell about this and refuse. Do it even if they ask you more than one time. Someone very assertive may say like «if you refuse you will offence me» and such. Don't take it seriously and drink what you really want because such phrase is nothing but offence too. And anyway you don't have to be with people that don't think about your opinion.

if you have a shot glass in front of you, turn it upside down if you don't want to drink

just read your post, and you should try a few dishes especially.. I stayed with a family, and these meals were easy for me to come by, but I'm not sure if they are served in restaurants?

pelmeni - kind of soft-breaded meat balls.. don't know how to explain.. very good and fun to eat.. can eat them with ketchup and some people like vinegar with them

borscht - beet root soup.. tasted like your typical southern home-cooked stew, but blood-red from the beets

cabbage rolls? not sure what these are called.. maybe someone here can give the proper name..

salads.. the salads were unusual to me.. lots of mayonnaise! they were good though, I especially loved the egg+crumb salad, dunno if it has a name or not..

anyway, I loved everything I ate in Russia, except for the liver dishes.. I explained it to my friends as "it was like eating the same things in different ways"

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and for the rest of you, shame on you we don't hear much about Russia in america, and have no idea what to expect (without some research, which is what this guy looks like he's doing).. you should use these opportunities to educate and not insult

I wasn't teasing, I really did eat caviar for breakfast every day.

Kidding.

Anyway, seriously, probably the easiest way to get out of drinking is just to say your doctor told you not to for health reasons, or that you're on medication that you can't drink with, or that you're not drinking today for religious reasons. Then you can avoid conversational dance. 'cuz offering foodstuffs in Russia, in my personal experience, is a silly game that goes something like this:

Babushka: Have some more tea!
Babuska's friend: Nah, I'm satiated.
Babushka: Tea is good for your health! Have some more.
Babushka's friend: I'm okay.
Babushka: I made this really delicious tea especially for you. Why don't you drink some?
Babushka's friend: Okay, a little more tea.

It seems to me that you're expected to refuse once or twice and therefore a good host will insist a few times even if you say no. This goes for alcohol, too. So if you really don't want to drink or eat something, you've got to say no pretty definitely so you don't just sound coy.

No one's going to think you're a dork if you don't drink. If they're offering you a drink, it's because they're being friendly, not because they're alkies.

When I went to Russia I found lots of cheap restaurants with good food. And considering your currency (dollar) is much stronger than ours (real), you'll find things even cheaper.
As for specific restaurants, you didn't say where you'll be going, but I recommend one in Novrogod (which, by the way, is really worth the trip), which is inside one of the towers in the city Kremlin. You wont miss it, I think it is the only one inside the Kremlin.
Also, try all the stuff okeatest suggested... The only things I didn't like so much were the russian desserts (their sweets in general, except ice cream, which was ok).

Thanks for your advice.. ifeel alot better. i am female not male by the way, i will be staying in Moscow and St.Petersburg. i am really excited about it. I am trying to learn Russian now but its been hard so far.

ranark
Please don't feel offended, but I've got this to say to you. We don't hear much about the United States in Russia either, however, most people
over here are much better detectives than you lot. Here, let me explain my point. Supposing we've got a problem - we need to find the answer to the eternal question "is soda available in Russian restaurants or not?". Let us suppose that it isn't - "no, they do not serve soda in Russian restaurants, only strong alcoholic drinks, vodka being the most popular one". OK, what does this mean? Putting our thinking caps on we realise that either a) Russians do not dine out with their children because no soft drinks are available in restaurants, or b) Russian babies are breast fed with vodka and so parents have no problem taking their children to restaurants because by the age of 10 they're all knocking 'em back like gold fish.

One doesn't have to be a great man of medical science to understand that babies breast fed with vodka aren't very likely to survive. Thus, a) applies - the Russians do not take their children to restaurants. We seem to have found the answer... And this is where our common sense kicks in and says - 'Oi! This doesn't sound right to me. How come the Russians do not take their kids to restaurants? I know they do'. Which means exactly what? Which means our initial guess was incorrect. The correct answer is therefore yes, soda is available in Russian restaurants.

What I have just demonstrated is called deduction, a very simple and yet very powerful method of mining for truth. Make full use of it and you won't regret it.

Two restaurants that we always take people to in Moscow are Yolki Polki and Moo-Moo. Both are excellent, have menus available in English, and give you a good taste of non-western food. Also, don't rule out the food stands on the street - if they look clean, they are probably a very good, cheap meal on the go. Don't rule out the option of ice cream as a meal either, since it seems that Russians don't go for that fat free frozen yogurt stuff (their ice cream is REALLY good).

Shaverma anyone? Hehe, best 1 dollar meal. Dont see why its not as popular in moscow as it is in petersburg.

@Vending Machine: How can you breastfeed babies with vodka?

Elementary, Jasper! If a lactating mother feeds on nothing but vodka herself, what substance are her milk glands likely to produce? Deduce, my splendid old boy!

But certainly when a lactating mother feeds on nothing but vodka she would die either of alcoholic over-comsumption or starvation - whichever would come first - because of which her milk-glands (being dead) wouldn't produce a drop of milk, thereby killing the baby? Eh?

Originally Posted by Jasper May

But certainly when a lactating mother feeds on nothing but vodka she would die either of alcoholic over-comsumption or starvation - whichever would come first...

Jasper, me lad, you simply haven't met that type of women yet...

Originally Posted by drew881

Shaverma anyone? Hehe, best 1 dollar meal. Dont see why its not as popular in moscow as it is in petersburg.

You're funny
in my humble oppinion it is all due to the sort of bread all that salad stuff and the meat are wrapped in!

In Moscow it is lavash a sort of thin and huge panckakes (not sweet)- so shaverma itself is very instable

In St.Pet. shaverma is wrapped in two thick and small in comparison with moscow one panckakes (not sweet also) - so it is firm ans easier to bite ans keep you clothes clean

Isn't Shawerma Arabic food? I just had that at "Phoenicia" restaurant this Sunday. Very good, though.

Originally Posted by Pravit

Isn't Shawerma Arabic food? I just had that at "Phoenicia" restaurant this Sunday. Very good, though.

yeah its a middle eastern food. Very popular in petersburg. Has some tomato and cucumber and some white sauce that is usually slightly garlic flavored. 35 roubles each, pretty good price for a snack. 1-2 makes a lunch depending on your appetite. Chicken from the big spinning stick!

Sounds a lot like a Gyro. What's the difference?

pretty much the shame, the meat is highly suspect though. Not as good, but at 5 times less, cant argue.