In the center of Dnipro, on “Executive Committee” Street, stands a building that was constructed in 1867. For decades it contained several floors of meeting rooms, a synogogue, and a basement apartment for the rabbi. When the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in the Second World War, Nazis bombed this building… but the rabbi had […]
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Open arms and hot soup in Eastern Ukraine
In the city of Zaporizhzhia – the first major stop for refugees fleeing Mariupol and other war-torn towns in southeastern Ukraine – we met Nella, who became a local guide, bringing us to refugee centers and hospitals, opening doors around town. On our second visit, she greeted us with homemade Ukrainian perishke, savory donuts stuffed […]
Breakfast with the Batallion
We headed out in the early hours to visit one of the newly liberated towns surrounding Kyiv. The area was one of the first targets of Russian forces in late February and early March as they tried to encircle the capital and take hold of some air fields. That advance was largely unsuccessful, and Ukrainian […]
Forshmak, Korushka, and Other Specialties in St. Petersburg
The greatest risk, when in search of a Russian meal, is of stumbling into a restaurant of gut-bombs: platters of cream-drenched chicken, iron crocks of cheese-laden something or other, hunks of greasy meat and bowls of doughy dumplings that turn into glue as soon as you digest them. The struggle is real. Which is why […]
Kurdish Cuisine… With a Side of Guilt
In the half-dozen trips I’ve taken to Kurdistan, not ONCE have we been able to finish the food on our table, whether we’re a party of two or of 8. Part of the charm and tradition of Kurdish hospitality is cooking and serving too much… that way if others drop by, there’s always some to […]