ST. PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg, Helsinki and Tallinn - page 101

stop conveniently on the same street. The huge building has multiple restaurants—look for
the Vodka Room between entrances (подъезд) 5 and 6 (400-800-R main courses, Konno-
gvardeisky Bulvar 4, tel. [phone]).
Georgian Food
Although it's not strictly “Russian,” Georgian cuisine is a much appreciated, arguably
more flavorful alternative that's popular with Russians and visitors alike. If you've never
tried Georgian food before, grab your chance. As with Russian food, the secret is to order
appetizers. Some of the classic Georgian dishes are khachapuri (хачапури)—hot bread
filled with cheese, somewhat like a calzone; pkhali (пхали)—chopped greens; chicken
satsivi (сациви)—diced chicken in a spicy yellow sauce; baklazhan (баклажан)—egg-
plant, lobio (лобио)—beans, served hot or cold; and plenty of lavash (лаваш)—bread. If
you want soup, try kharcho (харчо), a spicy broth with lots of meat and onions. Main
dishes are less special (often grilled meat). Georgian cuisine fills the same niche in Russi-
an life as Italian cuisine does in Germany and northern Europe—raven-haired immigrants
from the south run neighborhood restaurants serving hot cheese-bread.
Café Ne Goryui (Кафе Не Горюй), a couple of doors down from the Admiralteyskaya
Metro station entrance, is a reasonably priced Georgian restaurant close to main sights that
serves all the Georgian standards (300-400-R main courses, khachapuri starts at 220 R for
a single-person size, daily 12:00-24:00, Kirpichny Pereulok 3, tel. [phone]).
Cat Café has a cute interior with only eight tables (reservations recommended) and a
friendly vibe (250-350-R khachapuri , 200-300-R soups, 300-400-R main courses, Stremy-
annaya Ulitsa 22, daily 12:00-23:00, tel. [phone]).
Vegetarian Fare
Café Botanika (Кафе Ботаника) is a few blocks beyond the Russian Museum, past the
Summer Garden and just over the Fontanka River. It's fresh and attractive with seating
both indoors and streetside (180-220-R soups, 350-450-R main courses, daily 11:00-24:00,
Ulitsa Pestelya 7, tel. [phone]).
Troitsky Most (Троицкий Мост) is a tiny, inexpensive vegetarian café just north of
Nevsky along the Moyka River. Order at the counter and then find a seat—a board, partly
translated into English, lists the day's specials (130-150-R main courses, daily 9:00-23:00,
Naberezhnaya Reki Moyki 30).
Picnic Shopping
There are small stores in every neighborhood (often down a few steps from street level and
open late or even 24 hours) where you can pick up basic necessities. Look for signs saying
Продукты (“products”) or Универсам (Universam, meaning “self-service store”). In the
very center, the 24-hour universam at Bolshaya Konyushennaya Ulitsa 4 (at the corner of
Shvedsky Pereulok) is convenient and decent-sized. For a larger shopping trip, try either
of two modern supermarkets at Uprising Square (Ploshchad Vosstaniya; both open daily
10:00-23:00): the basement supermarket in the Finnish-owned Stockmann (Стокманн) de-
partment store at Nevsky 112, by the round entrance building to the Ploshchad Vosstaniya