Cyrillic Soul - Кириллица души

          Ordinarily I wouldn’t bother you with reviews of out-of-town restaurants, but while in San Diego last week we had some of the most soul satisfying food in our long foodie history. This bliss took place in Pomegranate Restaurant, an unprepossessing  Russian/Georgian establishment that you wouldn’t look at twice while driving by. 

     On entering you’re transported to another place (although I’m not sure where). Every inch of the walls, ceiling, and even the piano, are covered with writing - witty sayings, and some not-so witty ones, comments about the food, etc. - put there by patrons. The owner, Mark, will supply you with a Sharpie if you can find a spot to write your own. Tree branches hold up little twinkly lights. Samovars are displayed, along with 

tchotskys (junk to some, treasures to others). Delightful. You’re given a fairly extensive menu to peruse, but our server, Dimitri, was more than happy to help us decide.

     There’s lots of appetizers (zakuski in Russian закуски). Lots of salads: Salat Vesna made of fresh cabbage, berries and herbs ($10.75), Lobio with beans and walnuts ($7.75). We had a dish made of roasted eggplant, scooped out of its skin and mashed with walnuts, garlic (much garlic!), and herbs, put back in the skin and topped with tomatoes and red onions. Right then we knew we were in for an amazing experience. I’ll tell you here that we came back for dinner the next evening, so if it looks like we ate a huge number of things, divide by two ( and it will still be huge). Dumplings are well represented. Vareniki with potato and onions or cheese ($10.25); Khinkali, peasant style meat or vegetarian dumplings, and the fabulous pelmeni (($9.50) a Siberian treat filled with meat, served in a delectable broth with a side of yogurt. You can also get them filled with a mixture of salmon and chicken - we’ll try those next time. Borscht made with beets, cabbage and meat ($9.75), or a vegetarian version and Schi, sorrel soup.

     While waiting for our main course, Dimitri brought us tea. Hot for Ken, served in a glass with sugar cubes to hold between your teeth and a little pitcher of black currant syrup to add. I had iced tea, with my very own pitcher of cherry syrup. This is not your mother’s Lipton, so the $4 for each didn’t seem too outrageous.

     I ordered a special of the day, “Russian Meatloaf”. Two large patties of ground meat, each stuffed with blue cheese, then topped with a sour cream and blue cheese sauce, sent me to heaven. A dish that could sit in your stomach like a cannon ball was light as a feather. It was served with spears of English cucumber which was the perfect foil. On the side was a plate of kasha (a buckwheat grain) and a few new potatoes. When Dimitri came by I asked if by any chance the restaurant had ever published a cookbook. In answer, he sent out John, the chef. John graciously sat down and told me in detail how to make the meatloaf. You can bet I’m going to try. If it comes out well I’ll have Dexter blog about - he still owes you a recipe for arepas, which he has perfected. Ken happily ate his pot of Zharkoyie ($18.50) a beef stew of the tsars, made with onions, dried fruit and spices. The meat was a tad tough, but the sauce was delectable. The following day we shared a lamb shank in a broth loaded with fresh herbs, onion and garlic. On the weekend Shaslik is served, either beef, pork, both $17.50, or lamb ($23.50) marinated in yogurt or pomegranate juice  cooked outdoors over charcoal and prunings. There’s Beef Stroganoff ($20.50); Chakapuli - lamb, onions, tarragon, wine and plum sauce ($19.50), and Smoked Trout or Salmon ($19.50). And lots more.

     The first night we asked John what he would recommend for dessert. He suggested the sour cherry soup ($7.50). While it was delicious, I actually would have preferred it as a starter rather than dessert because it was quite tart. On the second night, we capped off our experience with Napoleon Torte ($8.75). This is an exquisite cake, made of many layers of a wafer thin cookie alternated with custardy, almost cheese-like filling, then left to meld together (quite different than the French Napoleon). It was served with a slightly orange flavored ice cream topped with pomegranate molasses. Ken is still raving about it. John gave me an short explanation of how it is made, and I was able to find a recipe on line. It’s a huge amount of work, but Ken is willing to help me. 

     Now, if you’ve been looking at the prices of the various dishes, you’ll see that this is not an inexpensive place. And be forewarned, they don’t take credit cards. But if you’re looking for something totally different, and, as our friend Matt would say, “Life Affirming”, this is the place for you. We’re actually thinking of returning for Ken’s birthday. Would you like to join us? If we can gather 15 people for lunch we can have the whole place to ourselves.....

Pomegranate Russian-Georgian Restaurant

2302 El Cajon Blvd.   San Diego, CA    619-297-4700

daily 5 - 10 PM

russiangeorgianfood.homestead.com