What Russians Eat

Last night we had dinner at Natasha's apartment. Natash is the "wife" of Sasha, Tanya's brother. They have not yet had a wedding. They both work in customs. Her apartment building is old, but it has been recently remodeled inside and is very clean and modern - what I think Russians call "European Standard".

This is a typical Russian apartment building. I took

the photo from the balcony of Natasha's apartment.

Tanya is pointing out where Sasha's new apartment will be -

on the eleventh floor of this new building.

I have sometimes been asked what Russians eat.

I hope the following description with photos will give an answer.

Typical Russian formal meals start with

appetizers like this: various salads, slices of meat, cheeze,

fish - what we might call Deli foods. There is also

strong drink; in this case it is cognac and vodka

(Slavic rye here) and fruit juices. No water.

After about an hour, when everyone has eaten large

quantities of appetizers, the main dish is brought in.

In this case it was chicken and broiled potatoes.

Both were very tasty.
Here is Sasha preparing the chicken in Natasha's kitchen.

Enjoying large "pickled" mushrooms.
Notice that the television is on. Russians often

have the TV on while dinning. Also notice how

light it was after 10:00 p.m.

Tanya delighted with large "pickled" mushroom

All this was followed by a chocolate tort (cake). Sorry,

I forgot to take a picture. I think we were at the table no less than two hours. It was a very enjoyable evening.