THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Zhivago's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Zhivago's Restaurant Review:

Zhivago's is back. Yes, vodka and caviar still, and an expensively dressed crowd hanging around the bar on some nights, but the menu is shorter, missing the exotic game that left some diners gaping and giggling. The restaurant is again drawing large family groups from the comfortable neighborhoods nearby, as well as farther afield. The appetizer list, formerly a focus here, is pared down, but is still worth exploring. Russian classics like beef stroganoff, once exotic in the American heartland, now seem as satisfying a comfort food as came from Mom's steamy kitchen on a cold night. Shashlik, skewered lamb flamed at tableside, overcomes the dramatic flourishes to seduce with its high-quality meat, served alongside roasted potatoes and pickled red onions. More uncommon dishes also reward, like a duck cooked so long that the kitchen could use it with some blini to make duck tacos. The wine list is fair, including the off-dry wine claimed as Stalin's favorite.