What to Eat Around the World | Page 4 of 70
Borscht: A Thick Soup of Beets, Cabbage and Meat
In Moldova, borscht goes by borș roșu, "red borș," and on menus it's as much of a given as the local soups. Ukrainian neighbors brought it to Bessarabia, Soviet canteens spread it across the whole country, and today Moldovan websites write about it as the taste of childhood. The bowl usually holds beets, cabbage, beans and plenty of meat, with smântână, a hot pepper and garlic pampushky on the side.
Solyanka: The Russian Sour Soup of Cured Meats and Pickles
Solyanka has become so at home in Moldova that restaurants, canteens and round-the-clock places all cook it under the name soleancă - and yet locals still call it the Russian soup. It's a thick sour-and-salty soup made with several kinds of meat and cured meats, with fermented pickles, olives and lemon, served with sour cream; it comes from Russia and has spread across the whole former Eastern Bloc.
Moldovan Beer: Chișinău, Litra and Lagers in the Shadow of Wine
Moldovan beer lives in the shadow of wine and divin, yet consumption keeps rising year after year - it currently stands at 61 liters per person over the age of fifteen. The market is ruled by the pale lager Chișinău from a brewery that dates itself to 1873 and is now owned by the Turkish group Efes, while a craft scene led by the family-run Litra brewery is making its mark alongside it.
Wine.md Wine Bar: Moldovan Wine from Self-Service Machines in Chișinău
Wine.md is a self-service tasting room in the center of Chișinău. Nobody pours for the guests here: they get a card at the bar, pour themselves small measures of Moldovan wines from Enomatic machines and pay only when they leave. The wine bar stands at an intersection known as the Drunken Corner, where wine was already being sold in the late 19th century, and it bills itself as the city's first tasting room since 1985.
Marlène Bar: Signature Cocktails in Central Chișinău
Marlène cocktail bar opened in central Chișinău as 2019 turned into 2020 and today sits at the top of the local rankings. It occupies the ground floor of a historic house: three Art Deco-inspired rooms and a hidden courtyard with a pergola overgrown with grapevines. Its signature cocktails are built on local flavors, from quince brandy to linden honey, and it has its own gin distilled in Denmark.
Eli-Pili Bar: Chișinău's Late-Night Classic That Closes at Six in the Morning
Eli-Pili is a fixture of Chișinău's nightlife: a bar with a kitchen that only closes between six and nine in the morning and keeps cooking almost until closing time. The name is a Russian play on words meaning "ate and drank", the decor brings together the 1950s from both sides of the Iron Curtain, and in the karaoke room next door people sing until dawn.
Salată Șuba cu Hering: Herring Under a Fur Coat
Salată Șuba cu hering, known in Russian as herring under a fur coat, is a layered cold salad: pickled herring hidden under potatoes, carrots and beets, bound with mayonnaise and sprinkled with grated egg. This Soviet New Year's classic from the 1970s caught on in Moldova to the point that Chișinău restaurants keep it on the menu all year round - and it makes an easy everyday appetizer.
Sochnik: The Quark Half-Moon from Soviet Canteens
Sochnik is a sweet pastry made from short dough: a round folded in half, with a quark filling peeking out of its open edge. It's no Moldovan specialty - the Soviet era brought it to Chișinău, and it's still sold everywhere there, in supermarkets and at street stalls. Its name comes from old Russian flatbreads, which also gave their name to the Russian Christmas Eve.
Colaci: Ceremonial Breads Braided into a Ring
Colaci are yeast-raised wheat breads braided from strands of dough into a ring. In Moldova and across the Romanian-speaking world they mark christenings, weddings, funerals and Christmas caroling, and their name puts them in the same family as the Czech koláč, the Polish kołacz and the Russian kalach. The big ceremonial ones are ordered from bakeries in advance, while smaller ones are sold every day in supermarkets.
Syrok: The Glazed Quark Bar from Soviet Dairies
Syrok is a small chilled dessert of sweetened quark coated in a thin layer of chocolate, invented by Soviet dairies. In Moldova it has made itself at home under the Romanian name brânzică glazurată, and several local brands make it. The whole post-Soviet world knows it by names of its own, from Ukraine to the Baltics, and in Hungary it grew into Túró Rudi.