Turboguy & Turbodude's First Dream tour

[viking]

Groovlstk

Let's face it. If these guys never had a  pizza in NYC, then they never had a good pizza. I have travled cross country (by car) 6 times, hit every state in the country and will say there is no pizza like NY, at least as the USA goes. Go overseas and its not even a topic for conversation.

BTW. Do you know the name of the place, near 14th street I think, where the lines are around the corner during lunch and you needed a fork to eat a slice? Been awhile since I was there. Ah... just remembered. Original Rays. That was good pizza.

[BC]

Viking..

Good Pizza?.. Ahemm......  ok I won't say anything 

When I think of NY I think of the guy on a corner selling hotdogs... now that's yummy!

Will be taking the family to NYC next year (business convention).  Should be a lot of fun.

[jb]

Ahhhhh,,, pizza is still just pizza.  Up north I had to tell them to nix the anchovies, down here I have to tell 'em to hold the jalapenos.

I am having trouble understanding why anyone would eat pizza in Russia when there is so many great *Russian* things to eat there.   

[groovlstk]

Viking..

Good Pizza?.. Ahemm......  ok I won't say anything 

When I think of NY I think of the guy on a corner selling hotdogs... now that's yummy!

Will be taking the family to NYC next year (business convention).  Should be a lot of fun.

Good pizza is like a religion in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and places like Viking's Ray's and Lombardi's are consistently judged as the best pizza joints in the US.

BC, hit us up closer to your trip next year and we can point you in the direction of some great eateries. The Javitts center is stuck in no-man's land, surrounded by restaurants that serve only conventioneers. Last time I was in Javitts they were charging $5 for a can of Coke, and this was about 8 years ago 

I agree with JB, though. The only time I entered a McDonald's in Russia or Ukraine was in search of a clean bathroom. Russian cuisine is diverse enough that even if you don't like caviar or smoked fish, like me, you can always find dishes like borscht, palmeni, blinis, sashlik, that are fantastic.

[Albert]

Why are some of you hitting on TG so hard.  I don't think he ever said that he went to FSU just so he could have pizza and Mc Donalds.  I think he is saying that he prefers to go there vs some unknown local restaurants because he is more sure of what he is going to get.

I am somewhere in between, somewhat finicky about my food, but not totally.  When time is of essence, and I know nothing about local places, I will always choose McDonalds, Pizza Hut, etc., in the FSU.

And I disagree that he should abandon looking for gal in FSU just because he doesn't care for restaurant food in FSU.  I have commented before that I have eaten hundreds of home cooked meals from maybe 30 plus FSU women.  They always ask what I want.  I tell them they can make most anything, but just to leave out some items that I enumerate for them.  I haven't had any problems following this route.

For 10 or so gals that I have spent months with, I have brought some favorite recipes with me.  My favorite foods tend toward the Italian variety (northern rather than southern).  Veal ala marsala, etc.  The gals are able to whip up these dishes in pretty good fashion (except it is almost impossible to find cooking wines in FSU) and they like them.  They always want to cook these same meals later for their family and friends, etc.

I once wrote up a trip report of about 15 pages to send to family and friends here in USA.  Despite it being filled with very intersting info, I was quite upset that a few readers only made one comment:  "What, you travelled thousands of miles to Eastern Europe and ate at a McDonalds."  They, like others here were missing the point.  I didn't eat at McDonalds often; but when I was short of time and in a unfamiliar location . . . McDonalds was the obvious choice.

[viking]

BC

We call them 'dirty water dogs'. The ones you get from the street vendor. Usually Sabretts. When I worked in the city I had a have at least one or two a week. Yeah, they can be pretty decent. As Groovlstky said, let us know when you are coming down (up?). More than happy to lend a hand as an unofficial tour guide.

[Darth Vader]

Man, you guys who enjoy pizza in Russia/Ukraine are definitely not connoisseurs!  Celentano's would get run out of town in NYC or Chicago!

I did like the coffee at Celentano's in Dnepr, and it was the only cafe in town that didn't play bad techno music.

Ah, come on, Groove!  The pizza I had at Celentano's in Yalta was as good, maybe better, than what I've enjoyed in NYC or the deep dish in Chicago.  Great crust and wonderful toppings.  The veggie even had corn; my favorite :-)

[BC]

BC

We call them 'dirty water dogs'. The ones you get from the street vendor. Usually Sabretts. When I worked in the city I had a have at least one or two a week. Yeah, they can be pretty decent. As Groovlstky said, let us know when you are coming down (up?). More than happy to lend a hand as an unofficial tour guide.

Viking... more like coming 'over'    Is interesting that since my childhood have been to NY maybe 20 or 30 times but never left the confines of JFK except one or two times on a bus to LaGuardia.. (remember driving by a big cemetary).

I hope NYC loves a 'virgin' visitor 

Will definetely give a 'heads up'! - thanks 

Why are some of you hitting on TG so hard. 

Albert,

I don't think that hard hitting has as much to do with it as realizing that marriage to a FSU woman is indeed a compromise between cultures and kitchens.  My wife is a great cook that swore she would never eat pasta when she got here.  Today it's a different story... she loves pasta and enjoys cooking many Italian along with Russian dishes.  I'd say maybe 50/50 nowdays between RU and IT fare in our household.

Denying a woman who enjoys cooking the pleasure of expressing her cuisine is like forcing her to spend the night on the couch...

Turbo may find a woman that does not like to cook and they could be quite happy together.  I'm sure though he can put up with at least a good pot of borscht or salanka.  Compromise will do him good.

[BC]

Ah, come on, Groove!  The pizza I had at Celentano's in Yalta was as good, maybe better, than what I've enjoyed in NYC or the deep dish in Chicago.  Great crust and wonderful toppings.  The veggie even had corn; my favorite :-)

Corn on a pizza???? YUKK!!!

[jb]

Albert,

I think it is you who are missing the point.  T/G has spent 10 years chasing women from a culture he basically doesn't like, other than the pretty women.  That is a sad commentary.

In your case, if you really prefer northern Italian food, why don't you go to the source for a bride?

I live in a Mexican culture, but I don't really like Mexican food except for once a month,,, maybe.  I would grow very weary of enchaladas and fajitas every day in a very short period of time.  Therefore I would never marry a Mexican woman.  I also don't like Italian food that much, therefore I wouldn't marry an Italian either.  OTOH, I really like Rusian foods.  If I didn't, I'd have never married a Russian woman.

The major point is, we should strive to marry within those cultures we are most comfortable with.  It's the old story, be very careful of what you wish for, you might get it.

[BC]

I also don't like Italian food that much, therefore I wouldn't marry an Italian either. 

Never say never jb.. it's not all spaghetti with meatballs.. 

[Darth Vader]

T/G, I can't imagine why you would decide to pursue a woman from a culture whose food you so detest. 

I think it would be unreasonable to marry someone from Russia or Ukraine and expect the woman to completely put aside all of her food culture in favor of what you want to eat. 

Two things:

First,  when you are traveling in a foreign country, and eating ethnic food with girls almost every meal, it's nice to retreat and eat something familiar when you are alone.  Having worked six weeks in China last year (I love Chinese food but the real thing is not like what we eat in the US), I actually went to a KFC!  And I never go to a KFC in the USA.

Second, did you actually put away the foods you love for your wife?  

I didn't.  We enjoy a real blend of foods from the FSU and the USA. That's what a blended marriage is all about; the best of both cultures.

[Darth Vader]

Never say never jb.. it's not all spaghetti with meatballs.. 

I agree, BC.  Real Italian food in Italy is the best in the world.   And no matter what cafe you eat in, you find great pasta and wine 

[jb]

At the risk of offending our Italian members, I didn't like the food when I was stationed in Naples, and I didn't like the food when I was sent to Milan and Venice.  I ate it because I was hungry and there was nothing else to be had.  If it hadn't been for plentiful cheap wine I'd have never made it.

To my nose, the combination of parmesan cheese and oregano smells like someone got sick and threw up.  The bread was so hard I couldn't chew it and I detest the garlic flavor on everything.  I got to the point I could smell an Italian at 20 paces.

I could never, ever, never marry an Italian woman.

D V,

We eat what she cooks, sometimes I do BBQ, but she likes that too.

[BC]

ROFL jb!!

Yeah the Naples pizza with burnt crust drenched in olive oil is kinda soggy.. LOL  The fish in Naples though is great..  I think you went to the wrong places..

Aversion to garlic?? you kidding??

A few cloves of garlic and raw onion dipped in salt, a little sala on the side, some crusty bread, a beer and we're in heaven!

Sure you married a Russian?

 

[Darth Vader]

Likewise, I'm sure the best Chinese food in the world is in China. 

But I have yet to acquire a taste for it and had to work hard to stomach the silkworms and chicken toes they fed me! 

[jb]

BC,

I hope you aren't drinking Italian beer.  It's got to be the worst in the world.

I remember a place in Naples that was run by the deported Mafia hit-man called "Boston Blackie", (he had to have been 80 at the time) he served local beer and other crap, like pickled squid.  You didn't dare not take it, he might pull a gun and make you eat twice as much.

It was awful.  Same thing for the most popular pizza joint in town, called the Pizziacota, IIRC, you wound up with a pan of cheesy mush swimming in olive oil,,, not good stuff.

BTW, I also served two tours in Vietnam and never learned to like that slop either.  R&R in Hong Kong was a culinary disaster as well....

[Darth Vader]

At the risk of offending our Italian members, I didn't like the food when I was stationed in NaplesD V,

DV: We eat what she cooks, sometimes I do BBQ, but she likes that too.

JB, I did a stint at the Naval base in Naples, and still remember to this day the delicious mozzarella cheese and tomato appetizers we had...and the bread and pasta and wine.

That does it...I just told my wife I will cook Italian tonight :-)   And BTW-- Italian is one of her favorites.   Unlike you, Mexican is my favorite, but she finds it way to spicy so she opts for a salad when we eat Mexican food out.

Sorry, Turbo, for the food run here.  But having done several FSU visits, and quite a bit of international travel, food is a big deal.  I understand your feelings completely.

[Darth Vader]

Corn on a pizza???? YUKK!!!

Just pulling Groove's leg, BC.  I read in one of his trip reports his astonishment at corn on his pizza in Ukraine.

I did not have corn; in fact, i just pointed at the ingredients I wanted since my Russian vocabulary is so short of terms for veggies.

[jb]

Vader,

I did 13 years Naval service, 10 years of it was sea duty abroad.  After returning to civilian life in the early 70s, and not liking the reception returning servicemen were getting at home, I opted to work ex-pat and lived abroad for close to 8 years.   Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Arabia, and later Russia, and were some of the places I survived in.  I've eaten things I couldn't recognize, and a few things I had to be dead drunk to put into my mouth.  I've had amoebic dysentery, malaria  aggravated hemiroids, and Montezuma's Revenge from a dozen different places.  I know about foreign foods.

I like Russian food.

[Turboguy]

I have eaten a lot of pizza with corn on it.   I can't say I would put it on my pizza at home but it isn't bad.  

In America I virtually never eat at McDonalds.  Maybe Wendys and sometimes a breakfast at Burger King.   I do like the escape from Russian foods though.   I like Shuslick, (pork primarily)  I like Borsch and some of the chicken dishes are ineresting if they don't bury them in sauces.  

To me garlic seems to be a staple of Russian cooking.  I really don't mind it.

I think it is stretching things to say I don't like Russian Culture.  I love Russian Culture.  I think it is way ahead of ours in many ways.   I just don't like slabs of fish for breakfast and don't like some of the foods.   If it wasn't so cold I could enjoy moving there.  

jb, you said. "I've had amoebic dysentery, malaria  aggravated hemiroids, and Motazuma's Revenge from a dozen different places.  I know about foreign foods."  Ah, and you think I am wrong for not liking the food.   Hummmm.

[BC]

BC,

I hope you aren't drinking Italian beer.  It's got to be the worst in the world.

Well tonight it was Obolon Premium... picked up a 6 pack on Sunday along with other FSU goodies at the FSU market in Bari (usually 3 or 4  mini busses from Ukraine loaded with goods)  otherwise we usually drink Heiniken brewed about 15 miles from here.  Unfortunately no smetana or salyotka this weekend - 

I enjoy 'whine' above all though.. and am having a hard time finding the cheese..

So... Time for bed I think!

Cheers

[jb]

T/G,

Russia was about the only place I didn't get sick,,, Russian food most often resembles "White Folks Food".

[BC]

T/G,

Russia was about the only place I didn't get sick,,, Russian food most often resembles "White Folks Food".

What is the difference between a Northern zoo and a Southern zoo?...The Northern zoo has signs on the cages with the scientific and common names while the Southern zoo just has the common name and recipes!

[Darth Vader]

I like Russian food.

I like most Russian food too, and it certainly is better than the crap out of Southeast Asia!  But I truly do like Ukrainian food better than Russian food; my mother-in-law cooks a lot like my grandmother from the south did.  

My wife did not acquire all of her mother's cooking skills :-) But like you, I've added a few pounds recently.