Kachka

Kachka Restaurant Review:

Kachka’s narrow storefront space is crowded but welcoming, featuring mid-century Soviet kitsch ranging from brownish diamond-patterned wallpaper to window frames straight from a country dacha. Chef Bonnie Morales, a first generation Belarusian-American, draws upon the foods of her childhood to craft a menu of sophisticated takes on Russian cuisine that are comforting and exciting. Zakuski (vodka snacks) make up many of the offerings. The best way to enjoy them is to order the Zakuski Experience, ensuring your table is quickly cluttered with intriguing small plates such as a cucumber-dill-tomato salad, eggplant stuffed with walnut paste, blini with caviar, and “Herring Under a Fur Coat,” which is a hearty stack of herring, potatoes, carrots, beets, mayo and hardboiled eggs. Without a doubt the best thing here is the bite-size pelmeni, or dumplings, filled with either spicy bites of lamb, pork and beef, or velvety farmers' cheese, sautéed and served with sour cream or broth. Be sure to save room for, or at least share, sweet-and-sour cabbage rolls, beef tongue stroganoff, or pan-roasted trout with walnuts, figs, leeks, buckwheat and cauliflower. For dessert, indulge in cherry pelmeni, each bite a miniature cherry pie. Pair the food with vodka, of course. Kachka boasts a large selection, from smooth to peppery versions, including artisanal varieties from Oregon distillers, Russian standards, and Vladimir Putin's reputed favorite.