A new Russian cuisine spot called Russian Family restaurant has recently opened in San Bruno, CA. It has a good family vibe and a friendly atmosphere. I would suggest trying the following Russian dishes from the menu: syrniki, kotletki and cabbage pirozhki.
Russian Family offers catering as well as full seat-down service, deli and bakery. The menu and store hours can be found on their website: http://www.russianfamily.net.
Update: Took my American, Honduran, and Russian friends from work to Russian Family Bistro last Friday for dinner. It was quite an experience! The owner was very nice and did not try speaking Russian to us at all. Usually owners of Russian restaurants prefer Russian language even if the guests are English speaking. We had some rassolnik, solyanka, bliny, kotlety s grechkoi, gulyazh, pirozhki, and olivie. All of the dishes were very tasty. Olivie could have had a little less mayo for my taste though, but still good. Kindzmarauli and hvanchkara wines complemented our dinner very well. Still, the main reason for the success of that event was the company, of course.
Russian Family Restaurant
719 Camino Plaza
San Bruno CA 94066
Phone: (650)588-2950 Fax:(650)588-2515
info@russianfamily.net
I have previously wrote about Russian General Store in Houston. Thanks to your, my dear readers, recommendations in response to that post, I have decided to check out Golden Grain Russian Groceries and Deli in Houston, TX. I was pleasantly surprised by this store. Very good selection, fresh meats, produce, and baked products left me quite satisfied. I would highly recommend this store.
Natalya from Indianapolis recommended me Babushka’s Deli store in Indianapolis. I found mixed reviews about this store. Some people say that they find everything they need in this store, but others happened to get some spoiled products from here. Come to think about it, every store will have something that expired on the back of the shelf once in a blue moon. Please don’t get discouraged, just make sure to check expiration date on the package. This advice is not for just Russian food though.
Babushka Deli
1248 W 86th St
Indianapolis, IN 46260-2204
(317) 843-1920 Get directions
Russian Chocolate Bakery in Sacramento area is a cozy bakery store I recently visited. They have a variety of Russian deserts and chocolates that you just cannot miss. Here is some history on this store from the owner himself:
“Russian Chocolate Confectionary/Bakery was created in 2000. Russian Chocolate is the biggest Russian Bakery in Sacramento area, and has variety selections of Russian and European cakes, cookies, chocolate candies, breads and much more…
The 10 year Anniversary is coming up for Russian Chocolate in 2010… stay tuned!”
Russian Chocolate Inc.
10170 Croydon Way, Suite D
Sacramento, CA 95827
Tel: 916-361-1551
Fax: 916-361-1552
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Couple of people mentioned Slavic Shop to me and I finally got to posting it here. Slavic Shop is a convenient neighborhood Russian store that has a neat deli section along with your traditional Russian grocery products. The cheese selection is pretty good. Also, I found a few mentiones of the chopped chicken liver and borscht being exceptional. Slavic Shop is conveniently located on Saratoga Ave in San Jose.
1080 Saratoga Ave
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 615-8533 Directions
Babushka European Deli in Lynbrook, NY is a small family-owned deli. They always have fresh home-made food – everything from deserts to pelmeni and freshly cut salads. You will also find plov and other Kzahstan dishes at Babushka’s. The place is famous among Long Island residents as a local ethnic attraction.
Babushka European Deli
284 Broadway
Lynbrook, NY 11563
(516) 599-7070 Directions
Samovar is located at 1077 Independence Ave in Mountain View. It is a cozy deli cafe that usually has fresh bakery along with salads, traditional Russian foods such as buckwheat, bird’s milk candy, and pelmeni. The selection has greatly improved over the past year and definitely has great value. There is also the Russian Club bookstore/movie rental place in the same space. I find it very convenient – get some pirozhnye Kartoshka then rent a Russian movie that recently came out and maybe get a nice book to read.
Not that long ago Samovar started a catering service as well as “cooking on demand” – they will make fresh dishes upon request. There is also a new banquet room that is available on the weekends.
One of the readers has recommended me Moscow2 - Russian cafe and grocery store. It is located in Spring, TX, only a few miles from Houston. Here is a quote from their website: “Moscow2 is located at the corner of Sawdust and Borough Park. We offer 100% authentic Russian food in a comfortable home-style setting. One need only try our famous Chicken “Kiev” or Borsch and one of our elite Georgian wines, all of which are affordable, to escape to Russia and enjoy its food.”
Moscow2 also has a good selection of Russian books and movies.
While in my search for Russian food places I missed Moscow Deli Russian store in Orange county (Costa Mesa). One of the visitors of my website has recently told me about it (many thanks!). This place has been around for over a decade and has raving reviews by the OC residents as well as travelers from LA and San Diego. This store features a good selection of Russian traditional dishes that are always fresh along with books and videos.
Moscow Deli of Orange County
3015 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-3354 Directions
A friend of mine recommended me EuroMix as a place that has friendly staff and a great selection of not just Russian food, but other European delicassies as well. Located in the heart of Oakland, this store is something worth visiting while in the area. EuroMix Deli http://www.euromixdeli.com/ 4301 Piedmont Ave Oakland, CA 94611 (510) [...]
One of my earlier posts is about Europa Express restaurant in San Francisco. I also mentioned there was one to be opened in Mountain View. It finally did. I was craving for some vareniki so I decided to stop by and check it out. Not just I found vareniki but also quite a few other [...]
Russian Family Bakery, Deli and Bistro serves the real Russian food according to various sources. If you are ever in the mood for some kasha with beef stroganoff – that is the place to visit. There are not many other Russian restaurants in the area which makes this place more valuable. Russian Family Bakery Deli [...]
One of the full-sized Russian supermarkets in San Francisco, Gastronom is located on Geary and 22nd Ave. Not just it has the traditional choice of foods but also accepts orders for special occasions (i.e. birthday cakes, anniversaries, etc.). Gastronom (415) 387-4211 5801 Geary Blvd San Francisco, CA 94121 Directions Share This! Hide Sites $$(‘div.d30′).each( function(e) [...]
There are a lot of good food places on Geary street in San Francisco. Among them is Berezka. As a few other Russian stores this one sells event tickets along with Russian traditional dishes. It is located on Geary and 20th intersection – the area of the city popular among Russian communities. Berezka (415) 668-3442 [...]
This is a grocery store in San Ramon. European Deli and Low Card Food is listed under different names – either the full name or just as “European Deli”. I have never been to that place, so please share your thoughts about it if you have any. European Deli (925) 820-2053 2211 San Ramon Valley [...]
Russian Cafe and Deli is a cozy place that has all the necessities: pelmeni and olivie are always in stock, fresh out of the kitchen. The deli is located at 1712 Winchester Blvd in Campbell back to back with Nevsky’s restaurant. The deli also has a nice choice of beverages for any taste – you [...]