Russian Culture

Lesson 4: Being in Russia, an American Perspective

Food

As mentioned in the last section, you are more likely than not to eat breakfast in the hotel café or restaurant. One can expect eggs (in just about any style), sausages (they’re really hot dogs), and lots of hot and cold salads, the likes of which you have never seen before. There is no cereal. There are no waffles or pancakes. You may be able to get oatmeal, though they may call it porridge. There will be cheese and rolls, but no toast. There is tea (lots of tea, Russians rank right up there with the British and Chinese with tea drinking) and instant coffee (no brewed coffee). Most cafes will have water (but it’s hard to find non-sparkling water), juice, and soda or pop too.

Lunch and dinner are basically the same. There is soup (which is only with clear broth or home made boullion). The most made soups in Russia are shchi (cabbage-vegetable soup) and borscht (beet-vegetable soup, which can also have cabbage in it). The main course will have some kind of meat (chicken, roast beef, mini meatloaves called cutlets, sometimes a fish dish). The main course will also have side dishes like mashed potatoes or a salad (sometimes cole slaw, tomatoes and cucumbers in oil, or something like our potato salad.). Russian restaurant food isn’t really too shocking or different. But you will be hard pressed to find many vegetarian meals. Many Russians don’t understand the concept of vegetarianism, and will practically force meat down your throat.

If you find yourself homesick, there are western restaurants in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Sabarro’s pizza, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, KFC, and of course Mac Donald’s are the ones that stuck out to me. But once you get out of the main cities, you can forget Western restaurants. If you’re eating on the go, the food made by the local babushkas is always good in a pinch. Some women take a lot of extra food to sell on the street corner (usually near metro stations or big bus stops and markets) for the busy lunch and dinner crowds who are too busy to cook. In Russia, you will never be hungry!

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