Straightforward simplicity
by Terry Kirts Oct 22, 2003

Russia House embodies the essence of Russian cuisine
In the crown of ethnic cuisines that have risen to star status in the foodie revolution, Russian is hardly the brightest jewel. Over a decade after the fall of Communism opened the cultural doors of the world’s largest country, most Americans’ knowledge of that nation’s cookery still barely extends beyond borscht, beef Stroganoff and Beluga caviar. A similar obscurity seems to plague Russia House, which is practically hidden at the back of a strip mall behind a pizza takeout and a shop for hospital uniforms.
Regular customers Cara Stork and Aaron Culp, both of Indianapolis, enjoy appetizers and drinks on a Saturday night.
Inside the restaurant, however, the spirited crowds on weekend nights tell a different tale. Matryoshka stacking dolls and lacquered spoons and platters dot the walls, promising authenticity, and a whiff of spoken Russian mingles with the aromas from the kitchen and the rising strains of traditional folk music. This helps to offset the almost jarring color scheme of mustard yellow walls and dark floral tablecloths. All in all, it’s a warm, inviting space. To judge Russian food, one has to set aside contemporary notions and our current love of all things trendy. This is not fusion food, spiked with cilantro or drizzled with truffle oil. This is food to fill you up on cold days, food that will stick with you long beyond the eating. And while centuries of French-speaking tsars brought some measure of sophistication to Cossack cuisine, this is still the rustic sustenance of a nation of hard workers. The menu reads a bit like a geography lesson, reminding you how diverse a country Russia is, even after the fall of the Soviet empire. Most dishes derive from time-honored regional recipes from former and present-day republics as diverse as Siberia, Georgia and the Ukraine. One pork entrée even purports to be the “forbidden” secret of Southern Russia, where pork isn’t eaten. A piece of beverage advice: Skip the wine. The menu lists only an unidentified house red and white. And, unfortunately, for those hoping to knock back a shot of Russian vodka to toast the meal, there’s no actual Russian vodka to be had, only Grey Goose and Absolut. A full roster of beers (all $3.95) from all around the Baltics more than makes up for this deficiency. The Zywiec Polish porter is a big, fat, molassesy brew, while the Aldaris porter, from Latvia, is lighter and more complex with subtle overtones of chocolate and caramel. The Golden Pheasant lager, imported from the Slovak Republic, sports the color of its name with a crispy lemony finish. All of the beers paired well with the restaurant’s hearty fair. Appetizers were a mixed bag, with the Moldavian givech, a cold marinated eggplant dish, turning up bland save for a sweet, slightly spicy tomato sauce swimming in oil. But the unctuous runoff was good for mopping up with the delicious and earthy dark bread. The salad Olivie, by contrast, was an old world potato salad of enviable stature. Potatoes, pickles, carrots and smoked sausage minced so finely they would make a French chef blush came with peas and a light mayonnaise sauce that brought the flavors together perfectly. The soups almost universally satisfied. The mushroom soup bore an earthy richness, and the mushrooms provided, as they do in most East European cuisine, a fundamental flavor rather than just a supporting role. The red borscht, served warm, mingled the sweetness of beets with a rich, salty stock and shreds of cabbage and potatoes added welcome texture. Green borscht, on the other hand, was light, deriving most of its flavor from chicken stock and a swirl of sour cream. Entrées, too, provided some highs and lows. The Moldavian beef ($14.95), rolls of thinly sliced beef, seemed to derive only a hint of flavor from the garlic, but the meat was tender and well-seasoned, pairing nicely with a fan of perfectly browned potato slices. Beef stroganoff ($16.95), the linchpin of any Russian restaurant, was not at all like your mother’s pasty, leaden stew. Tender laces of beef came with just a hint of sour cream, a few mushrooms and the same potatoes instead of noodles. Cutting against expectations, this most famous dish was light and satisfying. Perhaps the most refined and flavorful dish came in the form of blinchiki, thin golden crêpes filled with a rich, creamed chicken. And while the portion was small, it seemed right for $8.50. Ukrainian golubtsi ($11.25 for three cabbage rolls), the most plentiful of the dishes ordered, disappointed a bit with a filling too much like bland meatloaf. Zharkoye ($12.95), one of several dishes served in ceramic pots, had a good flavor of pork, garlic and potatoes, but the meat seemed to have stewed so long in the broth that its texture had become what we ended up describing as “chalky.” The service at Russia House always seems a little too harried for the homey atmosphere. All the same, the waiter-host swiftly pushed two tables together to accommodate our party, and our wait was minimal. Only two people tended to the entire dining room, but when someone did appear at our table, we got our orders taken swiftly, with helpful suggestions, and each course arrived at a pace neither too slow nor too hurried. What seemed a disappointment at dessert time turned out to be a highlight. From a short list, only chocolate cake and cherry dumplings remained. But the cake was wonderfully moist with a pudding consistency and a light chocolate flavor welcome in the age of “Death by Chocolate.” Even better was a generous serving of cherry dumplings, curiously toothy little ravioli-like saucers filled with sour cherries and covered in a pink sour cream sauce that seemed the essence of Russian cuisine. It embodied the virtue of bringing the bitter and the sweet together in equal measure, a lesson that sent us off into the night longing for the straightforward tastes of an austere people, who, nonetheless, know how to eat well.
Russia House 1475 W. 86th St. 876-7990 Monday-Thursday, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5:30-10 p.m. Food : 3 stars Atmosphere : 2 1/2 stars Service : 2 1/2 stars
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