can come in handy. Away from Red Square, the majority
of signs are in Russian, while the Metro carries no English
directions at all. It’s also a citywhere virtually everything
has a fascinating – if implausible – back story.
Take the Metro map, for instance. If you look at it,
you’ll see that one of the train lines forms a perfect circle
around the centre of town. One explanation, says
Bagautdinov, is down to coffee. When Stalin was asked by
city planners what he thought of their design, he gave his
approval, then put a half-finished cup in the centre of the
blueprint and left the room. After the cup was removed, it
revealed a brown circular stain underneath. Too scared to
question the dictator, the planners
included a Metro line along the route
of the stain. “Of course, this is
probably an urban legend,” says our
guide. “Moscow is full of them and it
gives a good insight into our psyche.
We often use irony and humour to
explain the events of the past.”
Food for thought
Wander
into
the
Eliseevsky
delicatessen
(
eliseevskiy.ru
),
on
Tverskaya street, and you’ll find an
embarrassment of edible riches that
puts paid to culinary misconceptions about the city.
There’s nary a dumpling to be seen and even if you don’t
buy anything – the prices are notoriously steep – it’s worth
a visit just to gawk at fine products and the gilt and gold-
edged splendour, which makes Harrods food halls look
decidedly drab.
This is just part of a gastro revolution taking place
right now, similar to the one that happened in the UK
over the past decade. “People are getting really
sophisticated when it comes to food,” says Alexei Zimin,
who an annual gourmet food festival “When Russians go
out these days, they talk about what they are eating.
Fifteen years ago, 1,000th of 1% of the population
regularly bought olive oil. Now it’s 1%. People are
travelling abroad more – they know when a spaghetti
carbonara is bad because they’ve eaten it at seven
different restaurants.”
Today, there are two big dining out trends. Sushi is
still the nibble of choice in most swanky bars, but slowly,
and more interestingly, regional cuisine from the former
Soviet Union is taking hold. From Azerbaijani, which is
spicy and Asian-influenced, to Georgian (a cross between
Middle Eastern and Mediterranean) these reflect the
serious geographical breadth of the
former empire. And they’re growing
in number.
Much of this is down to Arkady
Novikov. Since opening his first
place with a $50,000 (€36,810) loan
in the early 1990s, he has become the
city’s most successful restaurateur,
with more than 50 restaurants to his
name. And many of them offer a new
twist on Soviet cuisine. “Russian
traditions are coming back,” he tells
me. “But this does not in any way
mean that Western technologies,
recipes or trends can be forgotten. Quite the contrary.
Russian cuisine with a European accent – this is the new
trend in Russian food.”
Legend has it Novikov was refused a job as a chef in
Moscow’s first branch of McDonald’s, but today he counts
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, as a personal friend.
However, this success isn’t entirely without drawbacks.
“
Muscovites today really are showing more interest in
gastronomy,” he says. “So it’s increasingly difficult to
impress with a new establishment. This actually pleases
me as it shows we’re doing something right.”
*
FOR T&CS SEE P175
Destination
Moscow
(
5,000
)
people who turned up for the opening of
Moscow’s first McDonald’s in 1990
(
126
m
)
length of Europe’s longest escalator in the
city’s Park Pobedy Metro station
(
125
)
rubles (€3), the average price of a
half-litre bottle of vodka here
easyJet
Want to find out more about Moscow?
See our insider guide on page 160.
Book online at easyJet.com
easyJet Holidays
Two nights B&B at the three-star Maxima
Irbis hotel, departing fromManchester
on 20 May, costs from £179 per person.
easyJet.com/holidays*
Hotel Baltschug Kempinski
Enjoy the on-site spa, fine-dining
restaurant and some of the best views in
Moscow. Book at hotels.easyJet.com
Truth No 03
YOU DON’T
HAVE TO
SPEND A LOT
OF MONEY
D I S C O V E R Y
M O S C O W
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