Cuisine
Open
Lunch & Dinner dailyFeatures
- Heart-healthy dishes
- Romantic setting
- Kid-friendly
- Reservations suggested
- Casual
- No Credit Cards
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| This cozy, sometimes raucous restaurant is usually filled with regulars who add as much to its distinctive character as the simple wooden tables and chairs. An upright piano, frequently played by customers, fills the space decorated by graffiti-strewn walls. Half the fun is reading the international well wishes---and, of course, adding your own. The menu includes classics such as ajap sandali (vegetable ragoût with eggplant, onions and tomatoes), golubtsi (cabbage rolls filled with beef and simmered in broth) and the best borscht in town (a hearty blend of beets, potatoes, cabbage, meat and sour cream). The chicken tabaka is a Cornish hen fried under a flat river rock---so crisp on the outside yet tender on the inside. One thing we have in common with Ivan the Terrible is our love for zharkoyie, a fork-tender braised beef stew simmered with baby onions, dried fruit and a dash of secret spices. Shashlik is a kebab dish like no other---big cubes of lamb, chicken and pork served with a thick, sweet pomegranate sauce and nutty kasha. Nightly specials often feature unusual flavor combinations. End the feast with the wild cherry soup---a delightful change from the ubiquitous flourless chocolate cakes that populate nearly every local menu. |
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RESTAURANT AWARDS
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