When I published my beshbarmak recipe, I promised that I would soon write another post about its indispensable complement on any successful Kazakh festive dinner table: a boiled sheep’s head, to be …

Once upon a time, there was a country named Soviet Union. It was known, among other things, for its adoration of the great Vladimir Ilyich Lenin; its peculiar conception of art, known as …

Only six full-on restaurant reviews this year, just like in 2014. Sigh… Will I live long enough to review all the Eastern European joints in NYC? Though some of them sadly closed …

Dear readers, Happy holidays! I’m getting ready for a ten-day family trip to Quebec, where I intend to find out just how one can enjoy winter activities in places that have barely …

It all begins about 20 years ago in Moscow. There aren’t that many noteworthy restaurants in the Russian capital yet. I don’t know if Pizzeria San Marco, on the Arbat, really counts as …

If you read my recent post and were inspired to start making your own real kefir, don’t put your kefir grains in the freezer just yet—I’ve got another recipe for you! Well, don’t …

A note about my restaurant reviews: New York City counts many Eastern European restaurants scattered across the five boroughs, most of them ignored by restaurant critics and diners alike. I intend to visit …

Over the past decade or so, kefir, a kind of cultured milk sometimes described as a “tangy milk smoothie,” has gained popularity and conquered the shelves of American supermarkets. “Probiotic,” the labels …

We’ll get back to Tajikistan soon enough, but as a follow-up to my previous post, I think it might be interesting to look at beshbarmak in its natural habitat just to compare what I’m …

Here’s a dish that fits with my current Central Asian travel story series and also helps me keep my New Year’s resolution: beshbarmak, Kazakhstan’s National Dish. Kazakh cuisine borrows heavily from its …