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

Kiss My Grits

     The more I think about it, the more enthusiastic I become about The Mission. We had lunch there yesterday since I wanted to try someplace new and I’d read good reviews. It’s “new Latin” cuisine, brought to you by the people behind the successful Zinc Bistro, Matt Carter and Terri Ellisor.

     The setting is lovely. It’s housed in one of the outbuildings of the blindingly white old Mission Church in Old Town Scottsdale. You walk through an attractive fireplace’d patio and into the aroma of fire- grilled meats and romantic darkness (even at lunch). Unfortunately, you’re assaulted by the background music which was very loud and distracting.  There’s an interesting back-lit wall of orange and beige Himalayan salt blocks (actually I thought they were fake bricks until I read differently - gauche me). Lots of fancy chandeliers hang from the black ceiling, casting only a little light on the faux finished ochre walls and the somewhat crowded dark topped tables. Our server, Derek, added to the ambience - he was attractove, attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. Many of our south-of-the-border neighbors are represented on it: Mexico of course, Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Cuba,and probably some I’ve missed. 

     I ordered a Cubano torta, one of my favorite grilled sandwiches with pork belly, smoked ham, swiss cheese, pickle, dijon and yucca ($12). The pork belly was meltingly tender.  Surprisingly, the torta did not come with a side, which struck me as pretty chintzy for the $12 price, but that was okay because I had to try the Creamy Grits ($8). Ken chose the Pabellon Arepas ($12). An arepa is a cross between a pancake and an english muffin. It’s made out of a special pre-cooked corn meal, water and a little salt. First it’s fried on a griddle, then it can be baked in the oven for a while where it rises a little and becomes less dense. It’s then split, sometimes some of the interior is scooped out, and then it’s filled with whatever delicacy strikes your fancy. In this case the arepa contained braised beef, peppers, black beans, cotija cheese, and fried plantains. So good. I spent an hour today googling arepas recipes and plan to go in search of the special corn meal tomorrow. The only disappointing (actually downright bad) thing on Ken’s plate were the french fries, a mixture of white and sweet potatoes. They were supposed to have been sprinkled with lime and cumin, but they weren’t, and also they were sadly limp. But OMG, the grits!!!! These were made with the addition of chipotle powder, butter, honey, and cotija cheese. They were on the spicy side, but the heat was moderated by the honey. The color was kind of a cross between pink and salmon (at least that’s how it looked in the dim light), which made it even more interesting to eat. $8 for a good sized bowl which I proceeded to eat pretty much by myself as the grits were too spicy for everybody else (this was fortunate, because I really don’t know if I would have been able to bring myself to share).

     Our friend Ernest had a Skewered Grill Prawn Salad ($14), with arugula, yuzu vinaigrette, avocado, potato and orange sections. He said the prawns were nicely cooked but were somewhat too spicy for his taste. Anna ordered a chicken arepa ($12) with chorizo, corn, aji amarillo (the menu doesn’t tell you, but this is a hot yellow chili pepper from South America - be warned), and Oaxaca cheese. While she didn’t complain, I have the feeling she would have been happier without the pepper. The food here really isn’t for the faint of heart (or heat). I don’t know if the kitchen would be able or willing to tone it down for you, but it’s worth asking.

   

     But the desserts won everybody over. We tried the Pumpkin Bread Pudding ($6), which is composed of pumpkin bread, creme brulee, a butterscotch sauce loaded with Scotch, pepitas, and topped with Berto’s cinnamon gelato. To die for, not to mention get drunk on. The Fried Bananas ($7) were terrific, too, served with butter, nutmeg, peanuts, and a dollop of peanut butter mousse.

     Go on line to see the dinner menu. It’s expensive, most of the entrees are in the $20+ range, but they sound fabulous. The Mission is, for me, one of the most exciting restaurants I’ve been to in a long time, and I’m grateful for it. But especially for the grits!

The Mission

3815 N. Brown Ave.     Scottsdale     480-636-5005

themissionaz.com

lunch daily - 11 - 3,  brunch: Sat. & Sun. 11 - 3,   dinner daily 5 - 10 (11 on Fri. & Sat.)