Steak help! Calling all Americans

[Razgovory]

The usual: borsht, cabbage soup, blinis, pirogis.  I've also seen other dishes that were simply too revolting to try (along the lines of what gefilte fish is to Jewish cuisine).  I've been to many of the Russian restaurants in NYC, some of the multiple times.  Not to mention those horrible Uke and Polish joints in the East Village.

Sadly the Russians don't really even do caviar right; need the French to use it properly.

I always thought gefilte fish was actually some kind of magic charm to drive away demons.  Like in the book of Tobit.  You mean people actually eat it?  Good lord!  Did Jews in Europe decide that people weren't persecuting them enough so they decide to torture themselves?

[The Minsky Moment]

Have you tried pelmeni?

Isn't that some kind of second rate samosa?

[DGuller]

Have you tried pelmeni?

Isn't that some kind of second rate samosa?

I don't know what samosa is, but what I saw on Wiki is definitely not it.  If someone made pelmeni like that to you, let me know who it was, so I can pass the information on to Russian mafia.

Pelmeni are small dumplings filled with meat.  You boil them in water for about 15 minutes, then when they're on your plate, you pour clear vinegar over them and shake some black pepper on top.  Having some vodka also helps the experience, but is not necessary.

[DisturbedPervert]

mmm...vinegar

[derspiess]

Well Done with half a bottle of A1 sauce poured on it.

You're dead to me

I have to say, the Argies do steak better than anyone with their asado.  Free-range beef, slow-grilled over charcoal, preferably rare or medium rare-- so good that you only need to flavor it with salt.  For the lesser cuts of meat, chimichurri does a good job elevating the taste.

Hopefully the empty-headed populists running the Argentine gov't. are deposed soon, so that the unique Argie steak culture can survive.

[Admiral Yi]

I went to a Russian restaurant in DC once.  My memory of the menu is that it had borscht and 9 kinds of dumplings.

[DGuller]

I went to a Russian restaurant in DC once.  My memory of the menu is that it had borscht and 9 kinds of dumplings.

The best pelmeni are those filled with a combination of beef, pork, and lamb.  They're usually called Siberian pelmeni.

[DisturbedPervert]

I went to a Russian place in LA once.  It was pretty good, had borscht with that Russian sour cream, and beef stroganoff on top of some kind of crispy noodle.

[derspiess]

I went to a Russian restaurant in DC once.  My memory of the menu is that it had borscht and 9 kinds of dumplings.

I went to a Polish restaurant in Chicago 3-4 years ago.  Pierogies were great, but the rest of it was weird & confusing.  They brought out a "relish tray" as an appetizer-- it consisted of about 5 or 6 different pickled vegetables, none of which were the slightest bit appealing.  Not even the pickles

[DGuller]

Not a fan of pickled vegetables myself, except for a pickle immediately after a shot of vodka.

[PRC]

A good Russian Salmon Kulebiaka is to die for!

[Admiral Yi]

I went to a Russian place in LA once.  It was pretty good, had borscht with that Russian sour cream, and beef stroganoff on top of some kind of crispy noodle.

Oh right.  Borscht, 9 kinds of dumplings, and beef stroganoff.  And kvas, which was kind of cool.

[DGuller]

You can make an argument that Beef Stroganoff is not truly a Russian dish.  It was invented by a European cook employed by a Russian aristocrat.  It wasn't invented like a typical part of Russian cuisine.

[Admiral Yi]

You can make an argument that Beef Stroganoff is not truly a Russian dish.  It was invented by a European cook employed by a Russian aristocrat.  It wasn't invented like a typical part of Russian cuisine.

All the natives were too busy inventing different dumplings.

[Martinus]

I went to a Russian restaurant in DC once.  My memory of the menu is that it had borscht and 9 kinds of dumplings.

I went to a Polish restaurant in Chicago 3-4 years ago.  Pierogies were great, but the rest of it was weird & confusing.  They brought out a "relish tray" as an appetizer-- it consisted of about 5 or 6 different pickled vegetables, none of which were the slightest bit appealing.  Not even the pickles

Eww yeah that sucks. I guess their idea of Polish cuisine was "stuff available from Polish restaurants under communism during food rationing era", as this is when most of these people emigrated.