Food funnies

[groovlstk]

I just returned from a week in Dnepropetrovsk. What an experience!

One of the woman I was writing to, Elena, invited me to dinner with her family. I was determined to eat well to compliment her mom. I plowed through 2 bowls of borscht, it was fantastic. Ate about a dozen tasty vareniki. Then someone passed me a bowl of herring beet salad. At that point, I'd absorbed about 10 shots of vodka as everyone there wanted to toast my health, America, etc. I'm not a big fan of fish, so when I felt my gorge rising after the first bite, I had to cut my losses and explain that I was too full to eat another bite. Naturally, I got a rebuke from her mom ("he doesn't like my cooking!") but considering the alternative, we all got off easy.

[Photo Guy]

Mark,
Welcome back!
Hey, let's hear the ENTIRE trip report, bro.   Doug

Food? I was really impressed. I tried it all, including of course,
Chicken Kiev.  I love the food there. Mmmm. And a big
lunch/meal for four cost me only 150 grivnas. ($30)

[groovlstk]

Thanks Doug, I'm sorry we couldn't hook up but I never made it to Kiev. The women in Dnepro ran me ragged. On my first night there, I must have walked 5 miles through the central part of the city, Shevchenko Park, and along the river. The woman I was with was in high heels, and she never tired. I walked her back to her flat that evening, and there were no street lights and the sidewalks were like the surface of the moon. She never stumbled or put a foot wrong. Meanwhile, I put in 10-15 mile hikes every weekend through the mountains and I was stumbling along like a drunken sailor!

Things got really interesting when I got lost on my way back to my flat--it was pitch dark, I didn't have a cell phone yet, and I left my Russian phrase book at my flat.

But I have to agree with you on the food, I went to several traditional Ukrainian restaurants and the food was fantastic. Meanwhile, the two hot local spots (Pastoral and Reporter) that serve other cuisines were only mediocre.