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Edinburgh Restaurant Report: Yellow Bench
In addition to my New York restaurant reviews, I’d like to share with you my thoughts on random Eastern European restaurants I visit during my various trips. These posts may not always have the depth...
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Venison and Potato Latke Burgers with Vodka-Battered Vegetables
A whole deer, even if you keep the backstraps and legs whole, yields a lot of ground meat, mostly from the neck and the belly. This is nothing to worry about: these are the perfect cuts to make...
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Lake Ontario Wild Duck and Goose Rillettes
Back in early December, I went to Lake Ontario for my first duck hunt with Outdoorsman Bill. This may sound like a long trip for a few small birds. After all, there are dozens of Canada geese pooping...
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Moldovan Impressions: The Food, Part 2
Last time, I took a look at Moldovan food as it’s served in restaurants. Since Moldovans cook at home a lot more often than they dine in restaurants, let’s also visit the Central Market in Chișinău,...
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Red Alert : M. Wells Steakhouse
Red Alert! Random Eastern European dishes are invading our streets and restaurants! Should you duck and cover, or welcome the enemy? In a Red Alert almost three years ago, I featured the rather...
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Imeretian Khachapuri, or Simple Georgian Cheese Bread
I’ve written countless times about khachapuri. The Georgian cheese bread is featured in each of my Georgian restaurant reviews at least once, if not more, and it appears on the menus of many Russian...
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Restaurant Review: Taras Bulba
A note about my restaurant reviews: New York City counts many Eastern European restaurants scattered across the five boroughs, most of them ignored by restaurant critics and diners alike. I intend to...
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Potato Waffles with Salmon Roe and Goat Cheese
I was recently reading about potato waffles in Culinaire Saisonnier, and it sounded to me like an original, yet also forehead-slappingly obvious, alternative to potato pancakes. I started to picture a...
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Tokaji Wine Review: Royal Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2005 & 2006
During numerous trips to the Tokaj-Hegyalja region in Hungary, I’ve had the opportunity to taste hundreds of Tokaji dessert wines, and I’ve managed to build a small personal collection. With no great...
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The Chef, the Computer, and the Baltic Apple Pie
I usually don’t speak about my day job on this blog, mostly because it has nothing whatsoever to do with adventures in Eastern Bloc cuisine. Or rather, it didn’t until recently… About two years ago, a...
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Moldovan Impressions: The Breakaway Territories, Part 1
With only three and a half million inhabitants and a territory smaller than the New York metropolitan area, one might think that Moldova doesn’t have any ethnic conflicts. The composition of the...
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Cognitive Russian Beet Salad
Since I’m spending a week at the IBM food truck for the SXSW festival in Austin and don’t have a kitchen to work on my own recipes, let’s turn to Watson to make us something. (If you wonder what a food...
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Red Alert: Les 400 Coups in Montreal
Red Alert! Random Eastern European dishes are invading our streets and restaurants! Should you duck and cover, or welcome the enemy? Les 400 Coups, in Old Montreal, is one of Montreal’s best...
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Lake Ontario Yellow Perch (Small and Large), Tomatoes, and Very Green Cabbage
My ice-fishing track record has been pretty disappointing this year. Disappointing as in not a single fish caught all season. Same as last year, come to think of it. I do feel like I know better what...
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Lake Ontario Yellow Perch Ukha, Perch Fritters, and Perch Roe Croutons
When I posted about my recent yellow perch frenzy on Lake Ontario, I forgot to mention one important fact that connects my ice fishing endeavors to the theme of this blog: yellow perch is closely...
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Red Alert: Petrossian
Red Alert! Random Eastern European dishes are invading our streets and restaurants! Should you duck and cover, or welcome the enemy? Petrossian, just a block south of Central Park in Midtown, is a...
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Venison and Beet Sausages
I’ve already posted recipes for goose sausages, lake trout sausages, salmon sausages (with beef fat). With two deer in the freezer, venison sausages were the natural thing to do next, and I might very...
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Venison and Root Vegetable Tourtière
Some readers may remember the tourtière du lac from M. Wells Steakhouse, a debauchery of game meat encased in pie crust that fits quite well with my somewhat idealized conception of Eastern European...
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Moldovan Impressions: The Breakaway Territories, Part 2
9 November 1989: the Berlin Wall falls, marking the end of the division between the East and the West. Within a year, the Eastern Bloc ceases to exist. 27 August 1991: following the failed Soviet...
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Happy Paskha 2014!
Happy Paskha 2014! Here are a few suggestions to keep your paschal meal interesting: For the first year ever, I’m proud to offer both my Paskha and Kulich recipes in time for Easter! Looking for lamb...
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