46. St. Petersburg Food #1 - Popular Cuisines
There are all sorts of food options in St. Petersburg, and for every budget. The cost here for one person to enjoy a meal seems comparable to most big cities in the United States: 300-500 rubles (USD $5-$9) for cheaper fast food, 500-800 rubles (USD $9-$14) at a fast casual restaurant (not including a drink), and 1000-1500 rubles (USD $18-$27) at a standard restaurant (including a drink). I've not been to any super-fancy establishments, because really, what's the point when you're dining solo?
The most popular cuisines in St. Petersburg (as measured by my general impressions of the number of options available in the city center) seem to be:
1) Russian - this is of course the top category. Numerous options abound on every block in the city center - fast food blini & borsch, different levels of stolovaya, fancy restaurants with 19th-century French-influenced Russian cuisine; there are choices for any mood. Eventually I'll include some posts that go into more detail on my impressions of Russian food. In summary, though: YUM!
2) Italian - nothing especially unique by the standards of Italian eateries in the United States, but these are quite popular and may be outnumbered only by Russian restaurants.
3) "European" - I'm not quite sure how to describe what these are, in the same way that I'm not sure how to describe what exactly "American" mid-priced and high-priced restaurants serve in the United States. Plenty of restaurants advertise that they specialize in this style, which might be described as a lack of any particular distinctive elements - just a variety of meats, potatoes, grains, vegetables, and pastas. Usually there are plenty of tasty choices on the menu at this type of restaurant, some of which are identifiable to one particular national cuisine, and many of which are not.
4) Irish pubs - not generally my favorite option so I have not been to any of these yet. They're all over the place, though.
5) American fast food chains (McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, KFC). The less said about these, the better. I've no personal experience but I'm guessing there might be some regional variations in the menus from one country to the next.
6) "Street food" - burgers, fries, etc. Surprisingly, most of the "street food" I've seen has been in actual restaurants, not in carts or food trucks on the street. I've already done some hamburger taste testing at local chains (Ketchup Burger vs. Bureau). The Ketchup Burger location on Vasilyevsky island is the current champion, due to the ambience (low lighting, comfortable booths, decent drink menu, and a live DJ when I was there at 10 pm on a White Nights weekend).
7) Georgian - most people in the US have zero exposure to Georgian food, but it's quite popular in Russia. Further research is definitely required before I can say anything intelligent about Georgian cuisine. It's unique, full of unfamiliar dishes and with no recognizable names as far as my knowledge will take me. So far I've had huge Georgian dumplings, a calzone-like bread, and several delicious hot pots full of tasty meats and vegetables.
8) Chinese - I've been to a fancier Chinese restaurant, but so far have skipped the cheaper fast-food Chinese places.
9) Indian - there's a decent Indian restaurant across the street from Tolstoy House on the top floor of a mall. It's in a food court but it's a legitimate restaurant. Surprisingly, they did not have chicken tikka masala on the menu, which is basically the staple item in American Indian restaurants.
10) "Other" - including Azerbaijani, Belgian, English, Mexican, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
To summarize: there are tons of options here. More restaurants, in more categories, than just about any other place I've lived. St. Petersburg definitely competes with New York City for the sheer variety as well as quantity of places to have a meal.
The most popular cuisines in St. Petersburg (as measured by my general impressions of the number of options available in the city center) seem to be:
1) Russian - this is of course the top category. Numerous options abound on every block in the city center - fast food blini & borsch, different levels of stolovaya, fancy restaurants with 19th-century French-influenced Russian cuisine; there are choices for any mood. Eventually I'll include some posts that go into more detail on my impressions of Russian food. In summary, though: YUM!
2) Italian - nothing especially unique by the standards of Italian eateries in the United States, but these are quite popular and may be outnumbered only by Russian restaurants.
3) "European" - I'm not quite sure how to describe what these are, in the same way that I'm not sure how to describe what exactly "American" mid-priced and high-priced restaurants serve in the United States. Plenty of restaurants advertise that they specialize in this style, which might be described as a lack of any particular distinctive elements - just a variety of meats, potatoes, grains, vegetables, and pastas. Usually there are plenty of tasty choices on the menu at this type of restaurant, some of which are identifiable to one particular national cuisine, and many of which are not.
4) Irish pubs - not generally my favorite option so I have not been to any of these yet. They're all over the place, though.
5) American fast food chains (McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, KFC). The less said about these, the better. I've no personal experience but I'm guessing there might be some regional variations in the menus from one country to the next.
6) "Street food" - burgers, fries, etc. Surprisingly, most of the "street food" I've seen has been in actual restaurants, not in carts or food trucks on the street. I've already done some hamburger taste testing at local chains (Ketchup Burger vs. Bureau). The Ketchup Burger location on Vasilyevsky island is the current champion, due to the ambience (low lighting, comfortable booths, decent drink menu, and a live DJ when I was there at 10 pm on a White Nights weekend).
7) Georgian - most people in the US have zero exposure to Georgian food, but it's quite popular in Russia. Further research is definitely required before I can say anything intelligent about Georgian cuisine. It's unique, full of unfamiliar dishes and with no recognizable names as far as my knowledge will take me. So far I've had huge Georgian dumplings, a calzone-like bread, and several delicious hot pots full of tasty meats and vegetables.
8) Chinese - I've been to a fancier Chinese restaurant, but so far have skipped the cheaper fast-food Chinese places.
9) Indian - there's a decent Indian restaurant across the street from Tolstoy House on the top floor of a mall. It's in a food court but it's a legitimate restaurant. Surprisingly, they did not have chicken tikka masala on the menu, which is basically the staple item in American Indian restaurants.
10) "Other" - including Azerbaijani, Belgian, English, Mexican, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
To summarize: there are tons of options here. More restaurants, in more categories, than just about any other place I've lived. St. Petersburg definitely competes with New York City for the sheer variety as well as quantity of places to have a meal.
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