Eating Out - Russian

Almost had to wait in a post-Soviet sized line to get this food.

Russia House (Russian)

I turned 30 last week, which you wouldn't have guessed by how young I look in pictures (I know). I decided to celebrate the only way I know how - try new foods from a restaurant that intimidates me in many ways. I was intimidated by Russian food because I thought it was just cabbage, pickled fish, and crippling depression. I was intimidated by Russia House because it seems like a place for cool Eastern European mobsters. Turns out, it's only half full of mobsters, and the menu offers plenty of options - although most are still intimidating.

Observations

• I don't like vodka. I think it tastes disgusting, and like most people, I had a night where I accidentally drank too much of it and paid the price for days. When we sat down to order, I saw no other option than the 6 vodka sampler, served with only lime and orange slices and a few olives. There were 4 vodkas infused in house - raspberry (awesome), coffee (amazing), sour cherry (even better), and buffalo grass (what?). The other two were unflavored "sipping" vodkas, only one of which was palatable. Kathryn helped me a bit, but I barely made it half way through the sampler before throwing in the towel.
• We split the perogi appetizer which were quite delicious. Unlike the Polish variety, these were made with a fluffy pastry shell. For dinner, Kathryn had a lobster and cream sauce dish served in a similar pastry shell. I meant to order the duck breast, but instead I got pork loin with rice and braised cabbage. It was pretty tasty though, and I was afraid if I didn't eat whatever they brought me, the vodka would get the best of me.
• For desert we splint blintzes filled raspberry sauce and cottage cheese. They were a bit disappointing, but preferred to the standard cheesecake and creme brulee options.
• All in all, it was a pretty successful adventure.

At the very beginning of the sampler - still so optimistic.