A taste of Ukraine - Гуляй Поле - Walk in the Fields

By the time Daria, Iraida  and I climbed aboard the metro tram back into town it was lunchtime, and Daria offered a number of options, including an American style café with beer, or a restaurant serving Ukrainian style food, but with no beer.

So we all know which one you chose, then!

Do we?

Well you are developing a reputation as a "beer person", shall we say.

Well this case "we" would be incorrect. A taste of the Ukraine sounded a lot more appropriate than a taste of America, with or without beer. So there!!

We alighted from the Metro at Ploschad Lenina and walked towards the Volga. We passed a beer house called Bamberg, outside of which is bronze statue of a German chap complete with feathered hat and large drinking stein. 

I was obliged to sit on his knee so that photographs could be taken. Another photo with me at the door of the German style beer hall, and then a short walk to the avenue which border the Volga, brought us to a large log-cabin type structure, with a large balcony for warmer days. 

This was "Гуляй Поле", our destination for lunch. The name of the restaurant "Gulyai Polye", means (I think) a "Walk in the Fields." The building reminded me a bit of a Swiss chalet. As we entered the restaurant the countryside theme was sustained by rustic wooden chairs  around wooden tables, some set in spaces resembling a stable or cow byre, Flowers, especially sunflowers, were everywhere, with other objects hanging on walls. The staff were dressed in traditional Ukrainian costumes. Daria told me that she was glad I had chosen Гуляй Поле, because she has an affinity with Ukraine, because her family name, Panchenko, originates in that country.

We chose a table and I sat opposite my two young friends. They set about ordering me a meal, with conspiratorial glances and smiles at various points. The waiter arrived and took the order.

Before long I had an earthenware pint tankard in from of me, as well as a large bowl of borscht and a basket of pirozhki. In the tankard was.....

Beer!

...a traditional drink very popular in Russia, and in Ukraine - kvas.

 Kvas is a fermented drink, with little or no alcohol, and comes in a variety of forms, depending upon the materials used in its manufacture. The kvas in my tankard was served chilled and was very refreshing. It tasted almost like cider, with a slightly sour but not unpleasant taste. In fact the sourness gave the kvas a sharp taste which was very thirst quenching.

The borscht was delicious - I was expecting it to be red, because  my previous experience of borscht had been one made with beetroot, with smetana, sour cream, swirled on the top. This was a vegetable borscht with ...., well with vegetables. There was cream floating on the top, but it wasn't sour cream. To accompany the soup I ate a couple of pirozhki, one like a bread bun, the other stuffed with mincemeat. I thought I was doing very well, when the waiter appeared with another plate, and a smaller glass, containing a cloudy liquid. 

On the plate were two bread-crumbed potato cakes (Danniki) served with a creamy sauce. I looked at the glass of cloudy liquid and looking at Iraida and Daria, asked: "Vodka?"

"Da!" they responded in unison.

"And I have to drink it in one go?"

"Da!", they responded in unison.

As if by magic, Daria has just sent me a description of the cloudy liquid:it is called XPEHOBYXA, krenovuka, and is a heady combination of....

Don't you think you should describe what happened when you drank it, before telling people what was in it?

Not a bad idea, thanks. So it had to be swallowed in one gulp. Hmm. I've done that a few times with vodka, so was convinced I would impress the girls with my ability to sink a vodka without disgracing myself. I picked up the glass, made a toast, and  lift the lass to my lips. A strangely aroma assaulted my nostrils, but it was too late to back down now. Woof, down it went. For a moment I was expecting the spirit element of the vodka to make me gasp a little. It did more than make me gasp a little. Now I recognised the aroma - it was horse-radish!! So, now I know from the description that Daha has just sent me that krenovuka is made with,I quote from a Russian wikipaedia, a tincture of vodka and horse-radish. As my eyes stopped watering and I could feel my nose again, I blurted out, in English - "horse radish". The girls were giggling, and so was I. The strange thing is, I liked it, and would have liked to have brought a bottle back with me!! I suppose I could try mixing a little horse-radish in a glass and then straining it through a muslin sieve. Or maybe some wasabe, because the taste is very similar.

Once the meal was finished we took more photographs both inside and outside the restaurant, before walking further along the banks of the Volga. 

It was quite busy - people promenading in the sunshine, sitting on park benches or roller-blading and cycling along the footpath between the trees. From time to time there was a statue or a monument, some of them made from pieces of bomb, a turret of a tank because we were walking in an area which was one of the centres of conflict during the Battle of Stalingrad, and we were approaching the museum devoted to the Battle. Our visit there deserves a separate post.

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