Dear reader,

I have been writing my reviews for over 2 years now. I asked for your help in reviewing restaurants and adding new ones to my blog. There are, however, a few questions that I have not asked you yet:

• Is there anything that I can do, in your opinion, to improve my reviews and help you in choosing a restaurant or a store to visit?
• Is there any information that you would find helpful that I could add?
• Do you like the way my website is organized? Could you suggest any improvements?
• Do you have any information needs related to Russian food that are not yet fulfilled?

Please leave your feedback in comments to this post, or send me an email. Your help will be greatly appreciated and will help me to serve you better.

Regards,

Masha

Not too long ago I was notified of a new internet Russian food store russianfooddirect.com

It has a great selection of all the necessities and more. The prices are reasonable, shipping is almost free or very discounted across the US. The categorization is great, it even features kosher and diet selections.

One of the readers has sent me quite a few restaurants around LA area. I have started putting them up one by one, but realized it would be much easier to just quote them. The reviews are great and very comprehensive.

Please let me know if any of these spots closed or if anything is worth mentioning here in addition to the information I have.

“Crystal

An authentic modern Russian dining experience awaits above a Starbucks. The restaurant has only one seating per night, so calling ahead is recommended (bar seating is possible later). In between courses, well-dressed (and increasingly tipsy) diners hit the dance floor. Dress code is enforced (no jeans) and there is a $20 cover charge.

7901 Santa Monica Blvd., 2nd floor
LA, CA, 90046
(323) 654-1188
6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Weekends only.

Bar Lubitsch

Although not Russian-owned, this bustling hot spot pays homage to its West Hollywood location with Soviet-inspired design. Cocktail waitresses here are decked out in Pravda red, and 1930s posters hang next to mirrors etched with Cyrillic to flesh out the Soviet chic concept.

7702 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 654-1234
6 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

Russian Nights

Appearing more like a strip club than a restaurant, Russian Nights’ bizarre design scheme will amuse some. The odd pairing of neon (both outside and inside) and murals depicting rural Russian 18th century life gives diners a bit of kitsch with their chicken Kiev.

13325 Moorpark St
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
(818) 981-0089
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (till 2 a.m. on weekends)

Little New York

Located near a busy Trader Joe’s, Little New York caters to a younger Russian crowd on weekends. But this hidden gem is mostly known as a cozy getaway that serves up classics like sturgeon and pelmeni, set against a somewhat garish wall mural of the New York skyline.

7316 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 874-0727
7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Weekends only

Red Square

Red Square offers up Russian fare such as hearty mignon stroganoff and sweet wild black cherry blintzes. A one-man band sings Russian Top 40 songs with the help of a laptop and reverb-laden microphone on weekends, when things can get wild.

17209 Ventura Blvd
Encino, CA 91316
(818) 783-6300
Noon to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (till 2 a.m. on weekends).

Russia Restaurant

New owners took over this Hollywood restaurant, which sits adjacent to the famed Knickerbocker hotel, in 2005. On Saturday, Las Vegas-style showgirls take over the stage. Popular food choices at Russia include Chicken Tabaka and Karsky (lamb chops). Massive historical wall murals of Peter the Great stare down diners.

russiarestaurant.net

1714 Ivar Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 464-2216
Noon to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (till 2 a.m. on weekends).

Troyka

Open for more than a decade, Troyka is located in an otherwise nondescript strip mall. The menu offers an array of Russian and Ukrainian food — from solyanka soup to blinchiki (pancakes with red caviar). Other popular dishes include vareniki (stuffed dumplings), Ukrainian borscht and cold herring salad.

7300 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 851-5531
Noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Romanov Restaurant

Restaurateur Mikayel Israyelyan’s new high-end Russian steakhouse has been impressing L.A. foodies of all stripes since it opened in March. Twenty-four-carat gold-leaf ceilings gleam above; Russian haute cuisine dishes like quail Kiev dazzle below. If you have a craving for real Osetra caviar, this is the place to get your fix.

romanovla.com

12229 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 760-3177
5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Odessa

Don’t let the tacky décor fool you; Odessa’s limited menu of fish and meat kebabs keeps the faithful coming back year after year. The adjacent deli also is a must for those seeking real red Russian caviar from Kamchatka and other assorted imported foods.

18525 Burbank Blvd
Tarzana, CA 91356
(818) 705-6630
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Palm Terrace

This second-floor eatery (open only on weekends; call ahead) has been open since 1971, serving lavish Russian fare such as baked flounder fillet to thousands over the years. Banquet-style dining only, so reservations are a must (usually $45-per-person minimum).

531 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 653-7820
Weekends only, call for reservations.

Uzbekistan

Massive portions are the norm at Uzbekistan, where Russians, Armenians and curious Hollywood tourists “man up” to tackle hearty fare like plov with chicken and manti (steamed Uzbecki lamb dumplings). Live bands play on weekends.

7077 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 464-3663
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Daily.

I have been getting unbelievable feedback from the readers about the Russian food places around the world. I will be adding them as fast as I can. Thank you all so much!

Here is a quote from one of the emails I got about Premier Russian restaurant in Studio City:

“This cavernous restaurant in Studio City can feel empty when not packed with a party crowd. Avoid this fate by coming late on Saturdays, when the chicken Kiev is hot and the crowd dances the night away to live Russian music. A dress code (no jeans) is enforced (for men, anyway).”

I also found a few reviews online. This restaurant is mentioned along with all sorts of top notch places in the area. I’ve noticed that Russian restaurants that are being mentioned among non-Russian restaurants - the ones that gained popularity and high scores among non-Russian speakers - usually are better ones.

Premier Restaurant
12743 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 623-8844
Directions

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

Traktir restaurant in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, has been recommended to me by a friend who just visited LA from bay area. She said they had the best harcho she has ever tried and pelmeni were unspeakable (in a good way). It seems to me this place might be a sister-restaurant of the Traktir in San Francisco. Or may be it is just a common name for a Russian food place. In any case, I think Traktirs tend to be great places to eat based on my experience.

Traktir
8151 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 654-3030
Directions

“Welcome to The St Petersburger. A place where you will find a vast collection of Russian gifts such as matryoshkas, watches with the Soviet and Russian symbols, porcelain, linen, fascinating stone decor, Faberge eggs, Khokhloma, Gzhel - and the best of Russian souvenirs and handicrafts.” - This is an excerpt from the home page of The St Petersburger - Russian memorabilia, food, and souvenirs store. Although this is not a specialized groceries online store there is still a wide selection of various Russian delicacies. What I found to be the most interesting detail about The St Petersburger is that among food and souvenirs they offer Faberge eggs.

http://www.stpetersburger.com/html/russian_food.html

The website description says “Russian Food Online, Affordable Prices, Huge Selection”. It reflects the content pretty well, I must say. I like the design of this store - everything has a Russian spirit in it: the fonts, the images, even the layout. This store would be more convenient for people on the East coast, because shipping to the West coast states is extra $10.

The address is http://skazkarussianfood.com

This internet store of Russian foods features a great selection of authentic Russian dishes and drinks. This website is very well organized into sections and categories that allows for easy browsing and finding what the consumer is looking for. My personal favorite is the Cosmetics section. It features the Dead Sea line of cosmetics that makes me nostalgic and brings back memories of my hometown stores.

The website address is http://www.russiantable.com .

Here is another online Russian food shop. It is specialized in canned and other long-term storage food items such as dills, candy, canned fish, etc. They even have borsch soup for sale. This store has a flat rate for shipping to anywhere in the world. The website adress looks a bit suspicious I thought, but I double checked - it is http://www.eroticuniverse.co.uk/

Why limit my site to physical stores and restaurants? There is a great deal of Russian food portals online, which are not worse, and even better sometimes that the walk-in-able ones. Here is a great example: http://www.russianfoods.com/ . It has all the necessities like groceries, pharmacy, Georgian wine, flowers and souvenirs, books, videos, and other very useful Russian things. The only inconvenience about this type of store is you’d have to pay for shipping and wait for your food for a couple of days.