2009 - July 28 (Baku)

New word today. Dobro Utra. It means Good Morning. To bad I used Dobro Veche, which means Good Evening. But my driver Zohrab was pleasant, corrected me, and I have a new phrase. Like a dog with a fresh bone.
Had lunch at a Russian restaurant that I was introduced to on my second visit to Baku. I would love to tell you the name of it but all of the letters of the name are Cyrillic characters that I can not type into the blog. I went to the web site (www.trin-trava.com) and tried to get the English version of the web page. Maybe the name is actually "Trin-Trava". But no real luck verifying it on the site. While there was an English version, it still used characters I could not type. And the narrative they provided was... well... You look at it and decide....

"In the centre of Baku, in the middle of dust, the present Russian log hut has settled down, With piece of Russian history and an atmosphere of a life Russian village. This small and Extraordinary cosy restaurant since the first days was grew fond native habitant and to visitors of capital. And now, to get here without the advanced order, it is practically impossible.

Entered here from street you get as if in a fairy tale - in Russian fairy tale! Already at an input(entrance) of you the affable and smiling gatekeeper will meet and kindly will carry out in a hall. Here, in surprisingly warm and cosy conditions, you instantly will feel extraordinary comfortably - as if houses. This is promoted to no small degree by an interior of restaurant where each detail is thought carefully over and picked up. The combination of a mud hut and a tree give unique heat and a cosiness. Walls are covered with pictures and attributes Russian rural life.


The meal moves in national utensils from wood and clay. Around of you obliging and kind waiters in Russian national wear go. All this creates sensation as if you somewhere away in Russia, in the far past, in Russian village.


First hall (on 40 person), more spacious hall of restaurant the present Russian furnace and small scene for musicians, as well as possible approaches for realisation of small holidays and celebrations. In second, cosier hall, with small arbour, you can retire in a circle of family and close friends.


The menu of restaurant is a person of restaurant. The present gourmets and true judges of Russian national kitchen will not be mistaken, if will come here. The menu represents huge assortment of traditional and ancient Russian kitchen. Here, you are waited with a wide choice of Russian snack and baked puddings, a pickles and marinades, the first and second dishes. For those who wants to try our firm dishes which prepare only here and are not forgotten never, we offer a duck "Trin-Trava", "Stuffed cabbage roll", the pastes baked in the test, a baked pudding "Trin-Trava", snack "Russian roulette "...


Dishes prepared on a lattice (kebabs "celebratory", kebabs "wood", a pike perch stuffed) will not leave indifferent even the most indifferent. Well and what Russian restaurant without traditional Russian tea drinking and a batch! Here again you will be pleasantly surprised with a unimaginable variety of pies and rasstegai, pies and pancakes... We are famous also the various Wine card (map) and firm drinks (fruit drinks, kvass)


And Business from 12:30 till passes lunch under the motto "Quickly, is cheap and tasty!".


Well and certainly - the unique evening musical program: the present Russian both gipsy songs and dances, unique sounds of a violin and a guitar will touch heart and will warm soul at our fantastic restaurant! "

Okay .... so what do you think about this lovely restaurant that "will not leave indifferent even the most indifferent". I actually do like the place, but ordering is a bit of a problem since they only had Russian menus. I can specifically recommend the borscht, which is NOT beet soup! If you get a bowl of cold (or hot) red juice then send it back. It is not peasant Russian food. There should be a good meat broth, vegetables with potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, and a small amount of diced beets as part of the root vegetable compliment. Also their piroguies (dumplings) of beef are fabulous. They serve excellent Belugian caviar, fine vodka, and the blinis (pancakes) served with the caviar are excellent. This is the way caviar should be eaten. No ivory spoons, no toast points, no one saying things like "simply divine dahling". No English spoken, written, or thought about. So don't visit without language skills or a real sense of adventure.

Later I find myself sitting outside a cafe on Nizami Street. Watching people go by and listening to the street sounds. Serious construction sounds too. Every building is being given a facelift with grinders, chisels, hammers, bricks, mortar, and paint. Craft workers clambering all over scaffolds that would not be used to drape a tarp in the US. Here there are anywhere from 5 to 20 men on them, with equipment. And no platforms! Just the frames. No piece of framing bigger than a 2x4. Amazing the who structure doesn't collapse. No metal framing at all. It looks like it is about 4PM. It is already 7PM. Still bright outside. Another 2 or 3 hours before dark. Work continues until then. Walkers and shoppers, friends and business meetings, all going on all around.

Decided to have dinner at a restaurant on the pedestrian plaza. Took a long video while walking around and it was 8PM when I finally stopped to eat. While I was waiting to order, I realised that people were often engaged in snacking while they strolled around. Not just in the plazas but on every street. And the most common snack item seemed to be sunflower seeds. Men, women, children, everyone. Look in any direction and you would see them cracking the shells. You would hear it all the time along the street. Most interesting. This was their consumable like we eat peanuts or chips.


While I wait, I must mention the weather. The breeze was strong and it was maybe 80 degrees. The weather was perfect. Three days here and that is all I have seen so far. Don't want to jinx it though. It helps get me transitioned for Amsterdam.

Well back to dinner. I ask for a Corona to start. Nice and cold. I ask about soup and an entree. The waiter tries to help but he speaks almost no (make that really no) English. But between me, him, gestures, pointing, and words of Russian, German, English, and Azeri I order some Mushroom soup and Beef Stroganoff. In Azerbaijan you find that they can serve a really good mushroom soup, even from street vendors and take away places. Note I said take away. That is both the term and the fact. You walk up to a food kiosk and order, they give it to you, you pay, and you walk away. No place to sit, no covered area. But in spite of minimalism gone wild, the food is always tasty. No regrets so far, even when the meat being put in the pita wrap is unidentified (for me). And the other items would never be in a sandwich or wrap I created. Put them all together and it tastes fantastic.

The soup this time consisted of a rich chicken broth with chunks of mushroom, carrot, potato, and green onion floating in it. And the ingredients had not been simmered in the broth to give it flavor. They were all firm and individually fresh tasting. No cream in it at all. Even Roy would possibly eat some of it if he could get over the thought of cooked carrots and stop unswallowing.

The Stroganoff arrived and it was not what I expected. It was better. First, the beef was cooked on a grill instead of in a skillet, which kept it from being steamed or boiled as it cooked. The meat was therefore juicy and tender. The mushrooms were firm and also grilled. The sauce may have had sour cream in it, but it was a very minor component. And the biggest surprise was the lack of egg noodles or rice. It was accompanied by a grilled Anaheim pepper and a grilled tomato. This was a great way to avoid the carbos the dish normally has. I scarfed it up.

Wandering around a bit more after dinner, I enjoyed the dusk and the lights coming on around the plaza. I could actually use plazas since each adjacent block also devoted itself to pedestrian traffic and not roads. People walked around, children ran around or were pushed in strollers. Old people sat around in spots all over the plaza, watching the people go by and certainly talking with each other about how badly all the younger people behaved. "They would not dress/act/talk that way when I was young." I know this because people are the same the world over. Human nature is the same no matter the language, money, architecture, or cultural background. I have come to believe that is true. No matter where I go I find people friendly even when we don't speak the same language and I may look so different from locals.