Oh, weekends. Yes, I know it is Tuesday, but I am just a bit behind the times. I have Sunday and Monday off from working, so my schedule is a little funky, I know. I get really confused as to why things close so early on Saturdays, until I remember that it is actually Sunday. Doh.
So, without further ado, I present to you: Weekend Eats. But be warned–these eats are wild and woolly, and not for the faint of heart!!
If I may be so bold, I recommend this lovely song for a reading soundtrack. (P.S., Ari, please make an official music video for this song soon. And repost “I Love That Girl” on YouTube. Thanks.)
Sunday, I woke up with one of my infamous “fake hangovers.” Now and again I wake up feeling awful: headachey, icky tum, sluggish, the works! I have no idea what causes it, but let me tell you, it is no fun (especially since I didn’t have any fun before feeling so blech 
). So even though I was supposed to meet my girls in Moscow for a big ol’ brunch, I rolled over and stayed in bed until it was quite late.
And then I ate a yogurt mess. I didn’t even bother trying to thicken up this yogurt. However, I felt a little better when Heather told me that she had had some bad experiences with Chudo brand yogurts, as well.
2 apples, plain yogurt, raspberry preserves, honey, cinnamon. And coffee-cocoa.
More or less revived, I rode into Moscow to meet my girlies for a way-past-brunch kind of brunch.
And where else would a few amerikan girls eat, but at the Starlite Diner?! Yup. I sidled into our great, big, glittery booth and immediately ordered “American coffee,” aka not that instant nonsense. Score 1 for the Sarahmeister. And at 85 roubles (less than $3), I don’t think I could have gone wrong! It was SO GOOD.
After some hemming and hawing, I went with my gut instinct and ordered the Cowboy Burger, which was loaded with cheddar, BBQ sauce (yes!), and two strips of bacon, plus the standard lettuce/onion/tomato/pickle. What can I say, this girl loves a good burger! And do I even need to say that it was a “good” burger? This was bomb. I subbed grilled veggies (a mix of zucchini, onion, cauliflower, celery, and mushrooms) for my crinkle-cut fries, since I knew I would eat some of the chili cheese fries that Caro ordered.
mmmmmm
Caro ordered a regular cheese burger with potato salad, and Heather got the “Veggie Cheese Avocado Burger.” Just look at these happy faces!
Heather’s Veggie Avocado Cheese Burger was a marvel. It was a glorious composition of onion roll with alfalfa sprouts, avocado, a crap-ton of melted brie, cheddar, swiss, tomato, and onion. It was awesome:
Obviously, I had to look out for my friend and make sure that this sandwich wasn’t sub par. If I have two burgers (as opposed to cocktails/beer) in front of me, is it still “double fisting”?
nommin' outrageous
Oops. There are two cups of coffee, too. I was livin’ large. Really large, apparently, because then we ordered this to share:
YUM!
Vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, Oreos, whip, and nuts. Niiice.
We also fell in love with our waitress, Natasha, when she said (in English), “Here is your deeelicous dessert” as she put this little bowl of heaven down in front of us. And when she came to take the dish, she commented again on our awesome-sundae picking prowess. Basically, she was the cutest thing ever, and a genuinely great waitress. So we left her a love note:
P.S. if you just happen to be able to read Russian, please forgive our grammatical error(s)....
Who am I becoming?? Trying to pick up the waitress at the diner…? For the record, she hasn’t called. Siiiigh.
After our epic eat-a-thon, I went to meet up with another friend. We went on a long walk, which in retrospect was a bad plan because I was wearing 4″ heels and it was raining. But, you know. After a while, Shane was hungry and wanted Chinese food, so we went to a place off Tverskaya Blvd. For some reason they put us in a really funny little room. It was like a private “chamber” with a table for two and there was shiny, red fabric draped all over the walls. It would be quite intimate, if that was what you were looking for, but since that wasn’t the case, it was just comical.
ridiculous
Since I was still stuffed from that indulgent lunch, I just got a bowl of some sort of chicken soup with ginseng. It was interesting. Not good, not bad. But full of mysterious things that we couldn’t quite identify–maybe dates and raisins? But they had funny textures and sizes….
also pictured: Shane's shrimp fried rice and beef in oyster sauce
After that, it was pumpkin time, and I rode back to the girlies’ home to spend the night (too far of a commute back to Domodedovo). Breakfast the next morn involved a lot of sugar. Donuts and a pumpkin pancake…
not as good as Dunkin', but I'll take what I can get
Heather did nice work on that pancake, let me tell you! If only I could learn how to make pancakes, too….
I hung around with Caro all afternoon, and we dined on some “tomato soup” for lunch. I don’t think there is such thing as soup in a can in Russia, but Caro thought up an ingenious alternative: she heats up tomato juice with a bit of onion/garlic, adds milk, and lets it boil so it gets thicker. Then, she adds a little bit of salt and Mrs. Dash. Tastes better than Campbell’s!
Finally, I made the trek through Moscow back down to Domodedovo. I had such a fulfilling weekend, that I haven’t been hungry all day, still! It was definitely an epicurean adventure, as far as I was concerned… Worth it overall, though. Especially if Natasha ever calls.
Qs:
So now I want to know what your favorite coffee and/or tea drink is! Coffee straight up, or a vanilla latte. For tea, I think there isn’t much better than black tea+mint. And best of all? A dirty hippie, which is a chai latte with a shot of espresso–and I like mine with pumpkin spice syrup, too! Yummy.
What kind of toothpaste do you use? I’m currently rocking the Aquafresh Extreme Clean. I love oral hygiene. Remember to floss, too!
Gratuitous picture of the day….
Probably the most famous building in all of Russia: St. Basil’s Cathedral! Honestly, I thought it was a bit disappointing and a lot gaudy the first time I saw it! But it is pretty at night. You can also see GUM (say: goom) all lit up in the background. In another month, Red Square will be an even bigger color/light/sound explosion than usual, because they will put up all the Christmas/ New Year’s decorations, including a giant ice skating rink, ginormous fir trees, and basically glitter everywhere.
Giveaway Alert! Visit Holly’s post for a chance to win some Tera’s Whey! Enter by Tursday 11/12 at midnight! See ya tomorrow!
