Dinner at Shinook

We had the chance to go to a Ukrainian restaurant for dinner with Toni and John. You go upstairs three flights (I'm not sure how handicapped people make it in Moscow) and it looks like a rustic cabin. We were seated at a wooden table next to a window where a farm scene unfolded complete with a cow, goats, chickens, a lamb, a rooster and a babushka (yes, live farm animals). We were told that the babushka (no, not the same babushka from our earlier apartment hall :) actually milks the cow but all we saw her do was clean up after the animals. It was still pretty cool.

Our waiter was very sweet and even brought Mia a sucker, her first sucker, when she became a little challenging. Mia mostly enjoyed looking at the various cute boys that served on wait staff. She watched and flirted and waved. She's going to be BIG trouble. The boys just smiled and waved back and lavished attention on her. Ah .. Mia in her element!

We dined on cold Ukrainian delicacies - pork roll, pork sausage, chicken sausage, pickled vegetables, cow tongue (yes, the actual tongue of a cow and no, it didn't taste like sweet chicken)and other fun things. We then had meat pancakes which are crepes rolled up like a burrito with minced pork filling. Very yummy and a fav or Toni. We each chose various main courses. I chose the 1/2 duck, Mom had veal escalope, Toni had Chicken Kiev and John had beef stroganoff. All looked very yummy.

Mom took advantage of the fact that the sugar used here is not cane but rather beet sugar so we ordered two desserts to share. We chose strawberry raviolis with burnt custard and a napolean. Both were excellent.

John was our photographer for the farm scene. For some reason none of the photos turned out crisp. See if you can tell which ones he took and which ones I took.

In reviewing the photos in the car, we laughed and laughed. We have NO idea why John's photos were so challenged but we will forever chuckle when we see these pictures (the photo below on the left is actually a picture of the babushka but it looks like the babushka's ghost. Too funny!)

Another great evening in Moscow.