It is called голубцы (goluptse) - one of my favorite Russian dish. It is made up of cabbage with ground meat and rice as kind of filling. I don't really know how it is made but I think it's kinda poached. It is ususlly served with a sour cream, greens and carrots on the side.
This green garnishing is called "okrop". Dill in English. I'm not an expert to speak about this but as I know, it's some kind of herb. Many foreigners actually don't like when it's added on food especially in soup. They say it spoils the delicious taste of Russian food. I must admit that I used to be one of those who hated it. I'd scoop it out of my soup or at times, I simply won't eat my soup. But recently, I think starting late 2014, I started eating my my food with okrop. I didn't mind it being there. I noticed that it gives some kind of a fresh taste on the the food. I still won't be begging for it but now, I can eat soup or something else with it.
The next dish is more primitive. Meatballs and mashed potato with tomato sauce. I like it too but not my favorite.
Triogolnik in Russian language. I call it tricon. It's Tatar food in fact. I mentioned to you before that the city I'm living in is in the Republic of Tatarstan (one of the many republics in the Russian Federation). Eshpeshmak is the local name of this baked good. It has ground beef, potato and onion inside. I like it more when it's juicy. Just before serving they insert a bit of beef broth so the filling isn't dry.
For all these, we only paid 246 Rubles which is equivalent to $4.25. It's cheap for a good healthy dining.
The place wasn't the most classy. It wasn't a restaurant. In Russia, they only call an eating place a restaurant when you pay for about a hundred dollars for a person's meal. Unlike in McDonald's when the staff welcomes you with a phrase "Welcome to McDonald's restaurant".
So the place we ate is called cafeteria where usually local food served is cooked by local women known for their best cooking.
I have no problem with that...as long as the place is clean and the food is good. In this case, it was more than just worth it. Burp! :)
