« Ludmila (calculatingly?) spills the beans | Main | Seriously? »
June 6, 2005
Snack scandal in London
Excerpted from an e-mail from an old and much-loved ally, reporting on attendance of a Russian-themed launch party in London:
Was also bewildered by the nibbles on offer. Everything seemed to be either stale or pickled: munchable-looking biscuit rings were toothcrackingly hard, while apparently innocuous cherry tomatoes turned out to be soused in dill-infused vinegar. In addition, there were Spam-like slabs on dry white bread and thick, floury scone-like things that resembled English baby biscuits (so I'm told). Is any of this sounding familiar to you?
Yes, yes and more yes! All of this is undeniably Russian, but it seems like the organisers were banking on the attendees knowing nothing of zakuski in order to get away with serving the very cheapest of fare. Russians and Russianists, are we agreed?
Posted by michele at June 6, 2005 10:33 AM
Comments
Yeah, it's the famous cheap soviet restaurant snack menu.
Posted by: GweiLo at June 6, 2005 2:55 PM
I was served those ring biscuits with my tea in Moscow's Dyadya Vanya restaurant. It also came with a small amount of jam. I never could work out where that was meant to go.
Posted by: calum at June 6, 2005 8:40 PM
http://www.teremok.ru/forum.phtml?act=read&msg=331
This is the recent Big Thing of runet.
Posted by: GweiLoo at June 7, 2005 10:29 PM
It just occurred to me that a Russian zakuski spread devoid of fish is definitely not to be trusted.
Posted by: Michele at June 8, 2005 10:47 AM
Actually, there _was_ a token piscine presence on the same carbohydrate base that hosted the Spam slabs. However, having sampled the fare detailed above, I couldn't quite bring myself to try it. Was my trepidation misplaced?
Posted by: la day at June 8, 2005 11:12 AM
When it comes to Russian food - and I say this even as one of its most ardent supporters - trepidation is never misplaced.
Posted by: Michele at June 8, 2005 11:18 AM