In July 2018, I had the experience of attending the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. I have never really had the experience of eating Russian food, so everything that I ate was new and different for my taste buds. With some research and with my Russian friend’s knowledge, I was able to experience a wide array of Russian food, and in this list, I will share you my top 5 eats in Russia!

1. Pelmeni

From Italy’s ravioli to China’s har gow, each culture has some sort of dish that consists of dough filled with meat, cheese or vegetables. Russia is no different with their pelmeni. They are dumplings of Russian cuisine which consist a filling of meat (usually lamb or beef) wrapped in thin dough. Compared to other dumplings, pelmeni have a very thin dough shell and is pretty small in size. For this reason, you are able to really taste the meat inside. I got pelmeni with veal and lamb, and the meat that they used is what made this dish so good. You can get pelmenis for around 250 rubles ($5.15 CAD).

Pelmeni with veal and lamb. 8.5/10

2. Rye with Honey Ice Cream

When I first took a bite of this ice cream, I was perplexed with this unique taste. It began with a hint taste of rye bread and finished with a honey aftertaste. Russians loves their rye bread so it would make sense that they would put that flavour into ice cream. The price of this dessert came to 120 rubles ($2.48 CAD).

Rye Ice Cream. 8/10

3. Beef Stroganoff

Ahead of my trip, I was surprised to find out that beef stroganoff was a Russian dish.  It consists of sautéed pieces of beef served in a a sour cream based sauce. I was able to try the beef stroganoff at one of the top Russian restaurants in St. Petersburg, the Severyanin. I highly recommend the restaurant as it is a cozy place with a decor that steps you back in time to the 19th century. The wait staff were really polite and professional. There were also live music as an accordion player entertained the room. The prices are also reasonable as the beef stroganoff came to 740 rubles ($15 CAD).

Beef Stroganoff with porcini and truffle oil. 8/10

4. Medovik

Medovik is a classic Russian honey cake. It is a very popular dessert and can be found in many restaurants throughout Russia. It was a simple cake yet and had a melt in your mouth texture. I had the cake at Taste to Eat in St. Petersburg, which cost me 320 rubles ($6.63 CAD).

Medovik with cranberries. 8/10

5. Russian Tea

Another fact I did not know coming to Russia, is how much they love their teas. Due to its cold weather, tea is one of the most popular beverages in the country. It is common to have tea at the end of meals with their desserts. The traditional way having tea (pictured below) is to pour a tea concentrate called zavarka from a small tea pot (the white tea pot). Then you mix in hot water from the samovar (the big pot with the tap). Different flavour jams (strawberry, black currant, cherry) can be added to your liking. I was able to experience this at Dachniki in St. Petersburg which came with cookies and gingerbread for  650 rubles ($13.47 CAD).

I also got to experience a variety of herbal teas, such as this herbal tea with thyme, linden, chamomile, black currant leaves. You can find many herbal teas served in most restaurants at around 220 rubles ($4.56 CAD).

Other Notable Russian foods I tried

• Salmon Caviar
• Borscht
• Dressed herring salad
• Chicken Kiev
• Olivier or Russian salad
• Blini
• Solyanka
• Okroshka
• Pickled herring
• Pyshki
• Kvass
• Mors

If you have been to Russia, I would like to know your top 5 eats in Russia!

The thing I was looking forward to the most during my trip to New Orleans was definitely the food. The cuisine of New Orleans is one of the most unique in the world due to its heavy influence from Creole cuisine, Cajun cuisine, and Southern soul food. Seafood is also important to the cuisine as the city is located between the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, meaning that residents have access to a wide variety of both saltwater and freshwater sea creatures. In this list, I will go over my top 5 eats in New Orleans!

1. Pralines

Prah-lins are a form of sweets containing nuts, sugar, butter and cream (basically everything that is not good for you!). I didn’t consider myself having a sweet tooth, but after practically eating the whole bag myself, I probably have to re consider that. They are so sweet and creamy and melts in your mouth!

I was able to try pralines at both Leah’s Pralines and Southern Candymakers. Upon entering either stores, you can sample pieces of the different kinds of pralines they have! The price of these treats do not come cheap at $10 USD for this bag of pralettes below, which were small bags of bite-size pralines, but they are so worth it!

Leah’s Pralines. 9.5/10

2. Fried Chicken

Just let me start with a disclaimer that fried chicken is probably my favourite food in the world! So note some bias adding this to my list. My favourite fast food restaurant is Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, which originated in New Orleans, so I had high hopes for fried chicken in NOLA. Let me tell you that it did not disappoint. I don’t think there is such thing as a dry piece of fried chicken in the city.

Here are the spots I was able to try:

I had such a good time eating fried chicken in New Orleans that I have made an analysis of the best fried chicken in New Orleans.

Fried Chicken at Mother’s Restaurant. 9.5/10

3. Shrimp Po’ Boy

This traditional sandwich from Louisiana consists of meat which is usually roast beef or fried seafood in a French baguette. Back in 1930’s in New Orleans, these sandwiches were given to feed striking streetcar drivers. These strikers were jokingly referred to as “poor boys”, and soon the sandwiches themselves took on the name.

The best in NOLA that I had was at Parasol’s Bar & Restaurant. Located outside the French Quarter, this dive bar has the Firecracker shrimp Po’ Boy, which is a spicy take on the classic fried shrimp Po’ Boy.  The shrimp are breaded, fried and dipped in of spicy buffalo like sauce, which created a good kick. The French Bread and the accompaniments such as the lettuce, tomato, pickles, and sauce were spot on in terms of ratio and quality. The sandwich comes in two sizes, the regular (pictured below) comes to $10.50 USD and the large which is $13 USD.

Firecracker shrimp Po’ Boy at Parasol’s. 9/10

4. Bread Pudding

A surprise entry to my list as I was never huge fan of bread pudding. But this dessert overshadowed all the other dishes I had in ACME Oyster House. The bread pudding had juicy raisins inside and was accompanied with whiskey sauce and vanilla ice cream. The warm bread pudding with its caramel-y taste goes so well with the cool vanilla ice cream. This sweet treat will cost you a reasonable $5.99 USD.

Bread Pudding at ACME Oyster House. 9/10

5. Jambalaya

Probably the most iconic Louisiana dish on this list, the jambalaya is a dish consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. It has roots from the Spanish, when they introduced paella into the new region. However it evolved when the locals used more popular ingredients such as celery, onions, bell peppers (or the Holy Trinity). I went to Johnny’s Po-Boys to get the their Po’ Boys. They also had a special for the day for their shrimp and alligator sausage jambalaya which cause my eye. It might not look too appetizing, served in a styrofoam cup, but the jambalaya packs a good amount of flavour and heat. The rice was cooked perfectly as texture was just right. The big chunks of alligator sausage and shrimp were juicy and tender. All in all, pretty good for $7.95 USD.

Shrimp and alligator sausage jambalaya at Johnny Po Boys. 8.5/10

Other Nawlins foods I tried

• Raw and charbroiled oysters at Acme Oyster House
• Crawfish from Cajun Seafood
• Fried Seafood Platter
• Turtle Soup from Mothers
• Shrimp Po Boy from Johnny Po Boys
• Coconut Cream Snoball from Ike’s Snoballs
• Banana Foster Ice Cream Cake
• Seafood Gumbo from Coops and Mothers
• Muffuletta at Central Grocery and Deli
• Beignets from Cafe Du Monde and Cafe Beignets
• Étouffée from Coops

If you have been to New Orleans, I would like to know your top 5 eats in New Orleans!

This past November, Adi and I booked a weekend trip to Chicago because a) the man really loves to travel, b) flights were cheap, and c) it worked with both of our schedules. I was particularly interested in The Windy City as I have heard amazing things about its architecture, museums, and food. We managed to snag a good deal on plane tickets and booked a private room at a budget-friendly Airbnb. With transportation and accommodation taken care of, the days leading up to the actual trip was spent figuring out how we could see/eat the best of Chicago in 72 hours.

Day 1

After we landed at Chicago Midway Airport, we bought Ventra cards and loaded 3-day CTA unlimited ride passes — a convenient option for getting around the city and an absolute must, in my opinion. Riding the L-train is an unique experience in itself, as you get to meander along the cityscape and see the nooks and crannies of each passing neighbourhood.

As soon as we checked into our Airbnb and dropped our bags off, we hit the ground running. Our first mission was trying the iconic deep-dish pizza. There were numerous options but we decided to go with Lou Malnati’s, a chain restaurant with a big reputation. We had to join a waiting list to be seated and once we ordered, had to wait another 30 minutes for the pie to be made. But the wait was definitely worth it — my tastebuds fell in love at first bite.

I recommend:

Day 2

The next day we headed to one of the city’s best attractions, The Art Institute. Pro tip: buy tickets in advance online and you won’t have to queue in a ridiculously long line. We spent a good part of our morning exploring the numerous exhibitions — there’s bound to be something for everyone. Afterwards we headed to Cloud Gate which is a nice place to take selfies and people watch.

As we were visiting Chicago near the start of the holiday season, we were able to check out Christkindlmarket at night. There were vendors that sold authentic German eats such as pretzels, currywurst, roasted nuts, among other things. Adi was the more adventurous out of the two of us and tried the pickled herring (I abstained from kissing him after that). We ate a low-key dinner at Portillo’s before heading to a live music bar, where we jived to old-school hits and even witnessed a proposal!

I recommend:

Day 3

On our last day, we hopped on a bus and headed north to Lincoln Park for a picturesque view of the city. The weather was finally cooperating and we were able to snap photos of Chicago’s famous skyline. We then walked around to the nearby Zoo and Conservatory. Despite being free, it never felt overcrowded and the indoor and outdoor enclosures allowed us to view a fair amount of animals. My favourite part was probably seeing the penguins! Spent a good five minutes watching the little one on the rock contemplating life.

As our flight back to Toronto was scheduled in the evening, we spent the rest of the day exploring Old Town and The Loop before making our way to the airport. With a bag of Garrett’s Popcorn in one hand and XXtra Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in the other, our short but sweet trip to the Windy City came to an end. I would love to return in the warmer months and discover new eats and sights outside of the city core. Until next time! 🙂

I recommend:

• Taking a short detour to Chinatown to eat cumin lamb flatbread (omg so good!) at Xi’an Cuisine
• Lincoln Park for a different view of Chicago’s skyline — also houses the Zoo and Conservatory (both free!)
• Checking out the various free public art downtown

Bonus vlog footage:

Also! Make sure you check out Adi’s top 5 things to do in Chicago!

The Sum Of Our Chicago Trip

Chicago in 72 hours cost each person $ 544.95 CAD.  In all, I think we had good value for our money. Props to Adi for being so savvy and finding the cheap Porter flights — it was my first time flying with them and was quite impressed by their service (even though we had our return flight delayed and rerouted to Hamilton). For the most part, we never really splurged on food and got by on affordable, but satisfying eats.