Vlad Eats

I've been thinking of writing something about the food we're eating over here, and this weekend provided one interesting thing to say about that. We tried a recently opened restaurant called "Syndicate," a 1920s-, Al Capone-, Prohibition-themed steakhouse. I know, sounds cheesy. The logo here also would indicate that this is a place to be avoided. But, remember, we are in Vladivostok. We have limited options. So we went.

Be advised that the restaurants here in Vlad -- well, for that matter, most foods and manufactured products -- are actually no cheaper than in the US, and in many cases much more expensive.
A while back we poked our heads into a sushi place in downtown Vlad that people say is good, and were shocked to see that a small dinner of a few rolls, which probably wouldn't even fill us up, could easily cost over $100. The expense is not surprising in a place like shiny, world-famous Moscow, but that bite out of your wallet hurts a little more in a place like Vlad.

So we knew that Syndicate might be a little pricey. And we expected cheesy. But we went, together with a colleague and his girlfriend, and it was actually a quite a positive surprise! Dan in particular was raving about the place for hours after we went. It was not really overly expensive, considering that it's steak we're talking about. And the steak was surprisingly good -- cooked to just the level of done-ness that Dan wanted, pretty much medium-rare, and very juicy and flavorful. They evidently import their meat from Australia.

The interior was actually very comfortable and pretty -- lots of dark wood and brass, comfortable booths. The quiet recorded jazz playing when we first sat down was a welcome change from the booming dance music that is usually playing in places you go in Russia, and even the live music (played by two guys who probably unwittingly fit the contemporary visual stereotype of a Russian gangster very well -- a little scary), a violin and guitar, with the inevitable drum machine in the background, wasn't terrible.

One of our friends and I had burgers, which were not a total success (kind of just cooked, but not exactly tastily grilled -- probably also suffering from having been pre-formed patties, and also overwhelmed by all the other stuff that the "superburger" was dressed with). I think I'd get a steak next time. And as for the 'taters, as our friend said, "they have fry issues." Undercooked issues, to be precise. Our other friend had the seafood soup called "The Hudson is Resting" -- if anyone understands that joke, please let me know, because our Russian friend laughed right away, but I wonder whether her interpretation is what an American would also assume was meant. Anyway, she thought the soup was very tasty. And, for Russia, the service was actually bordering on friendly. That was another reason we are thinking this may just turn out to be a regular place on our circuit.

Oh, and I almost forgot: dark Leffe beer on tap! As well as Hoegaarden and (according to the menu) Stella "Artua."

In other food news, Anya is taking to solid eats, as our Flickr pictures and YouTube videos recently showed. She is almost bored with rice cereal and has shown enthusiasm for applesauce and pureed pears. Next we are deciding between peas and plums. Both are waiting in our freezer, dolloped into little servings in an ice cube tray especially reserved for this purpose.

And we continue to prepare a range of food at home that is not half bad: homemade Mexican -- with refried beans from scratch -- is helped greatly by the tortillas we make at home, and by the Armenian lavash flatbread we use when we are lazy; Georgian stews have turned out well thanks to our adoptive Georgian mom's spice reserves and recipes; chili has turned out well in the slow cooker, and skillet cornbread was just as successful as at home; and we have even added a new pizza to our repertoire: thanks to our neighbor's deepdish pan that was the only form available before our household shipment arrived, we now make a pie that -- blasphemy, I know -- rivals SF Bay Area Zachary's!

P.S. I can already tell that this article is being read and forwarded by many back in the US, but I'll get on that bandwagon myself and say that the recent "Unhappy Meals" piece in the NYT Magazine has had me thinking even more critically about food lately. Although I have to say, the reason I am so in love with the article, and Michael Pollan's other recent writings, and itching to read his book, is that this just echoes so closely what I've been thinking about food and eating for a while already, independently of what Pollan or others are writing (despite my admiration of a good steak...).