ate caviare from a little pot embedded in ice, the stage
was occupied by variety performers, some of them
English, some American, some French, some Russian,
but none, with the exception of a Russian girl who
sang in her own tongue, of the first class. Three
sterlet were brought to us alive and kicking in a long
deep silver dish covered with a napkin, and we made
our choice of them. The maitre cT hotel, who attended
as though this was a solemn ceremony, advised that it
should be cooked with white wine sauce. While we
waited for the sterlet we tried a bottle of Russian
champagne, which, wonderful to state, was on the
wine list. It was labelled Excelsior, was dry, and
much resembled the wine some of the Rheims firms
sell for the public-house trade. The sterlet when it
arrived was served nobly ; its back was garnished with
parsley and sliced lemon and the claws of crayfish,
and in its white wine sauce were crayfish flesh and
truffles and little mushrooms. If a good eel from a
clear river had all its oiliness taken from it and if its
flesh became so light as to be almost gelatinous, then it
would taste like a sterlet. A sturgeon served with
champagne or a strong rich sauce cannot compare to
a British salmon or a turbot, nor can the great white
fish of the Don ; but a sterlet, it seems to me, stands
very high on the list of small fish delicate to the
taste.
As a contrast to the Russian dining-places, the
restaurant of the National Hotel gives one a dinner of
the cosmopolitan type which one finds
Hotel National . r ^ yr -ru u
in those great caravanserais or which
Ritz may be considered the patron saint. The fur-
niture has all come from Oxford Street or Totten-
ham Court Road, the china from Paris, the waiters
from Germany. Every language under the sun is
talked by the maitres d! hotel. A sterlet with a pink
shrimp sauce gave the Russian touch to the dinner, a
Russia 395
specially ordered one, which I ate there. This was
the menu : —
Cavare frais avec de l’eau de Vie Russe.
Consomme a la Colbert.
Sterlet a la Russe.
Mouton Braise.
Gelinotte roti, Salade.
Haricots verts a TAnglaise.
Peches a la Bordelaise.
The Moscow Clubs
The English Club of Moscow, though only English
in name, is hospitable to travellers who are suitably
introduced. Its members are of the aristocratic
classes. It is situated on the Tverskaia.
The Merchants’ Club is on the Great Dimitrovka.
The Club of the Nobility, which has a magnificent
suite of rooms for balls and receptions, is also on the
Great Dimitrovka.
Odessa
At the great port on the Black Sea the restaurant
of the Hotel de Londres Yastchouk is one of the best
in Russia. Yastchouk was the name of yastchouk
its late proprietor, who died in 1902. 11 Boulevard
He was a real lover of good cookery, Nicll0las
enjoying nothing more than to serve an exquisite
meal to a real connoisseur. When any gourmet
came to his restaurant, he would ask him whether
he came from the north or the south. If from the
north, he would suggest a real southern meal, with
Rougets a la Grec and the delicious Agneau de lait ,
unobtainable in St. Petersburg, and a ragout of auber-
gines and tomatoes. If from the south, he would
recommend a good Bortch with petits pates , or a slice
396 T^he Gourmet's Guide to Europe
Page 211
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
ate caviare from a little pot embedded in ice, the stage was occupied by variety performers, some of them English, some American, some French, some Russian, but none, with the exception of a Russian girl who sang in her own tongue, of the first class. Three sterlet were brought to us alive and kicking in a long deep silver dish covered with a napkin, and we made our choice of them. The maitre cT hotel, who attended as though this was a solemn ceremony, advised that it should be cooked with white wine sauce. While we waited for the sterlet we tried a bottle of Russian champagne, which, wonderful to state, was on the wine list. It was labelled Excelsior, was dry, and much resembled the wine some of the Rheims firms sell for the public-house trade. The sterlet when it arrived was served nobly ; its back was garnished with parsley and sliced lemon and the claws of crayfish, and in its white wine sauce were crayfish flesh and truffles and little mushrooms. If a good eel from a clear river had all its oiliness taken from it and if its flesh became so light as to be almost gelatinous, then it would taste like a sterlet. A sturgeon served with champagne or a strong rich sauce cannot compare to a British salmon or a turbot, nor can the great white fish of the Don ; but a sterlet, it seems to me, stands very high on the list of small fish delicate to the taste.
As a contrast to the Russian dining-places, the restaurant of the National Hotel gives one a dinner of
the cosmopolitan type which one finds Hotel National . r ^ yr -ru u
in those great caravanserais or which
Ritz may be considered the patron saint. The furniture has all come from Oxford Street or Tottenham Court Road, the china from Paris, the waiters from Germany. Every language under the sun is talked by the maitres d! hotel. A sterlet with a pink shrimp sauce gave the Russian touch to the dinner, a
Russia 395
specially ordered one, which I ate there. This was the menu : —
Cavare frais avec de l’eau de Vie Russe.
Consomme a la Colbert.
Sterlet a la Russe.
Mouton Braise.
Gelinotte roti, Salade.
Haricots verts a TAnglaise.
Pêches à la Bordelaise.
The Moscow Clubs
The English Club of Moscow, though only English in name, is hospitable to travellers who are suitably introduced. Its members are of the aristocratic classes. It is situated on the Tverskaia.
The Merchants’ Club is on the Great Dimitrovka. The Club of the Nobility, which has a magnificent suite of rooms for balls and receptions, is also on the Great Dimitrovka.
Odessa
At the great port on the Black Sea the restaurant of the Hotel de Londres Yastchouk is one of the best in Russia. Yastchouk was the name of yastchouk its late proprietor, who died in 1902. 11 Boulevard He was a real lover of good cookery, Nicll0las enjoying nothing more than to serve an exquisite meal to a real connoisseur. When any gourmet came to his restaurant, he would ask him whether he came from the north or the south. If from the north, he would suggest a real southern meal, with Rougets a la Grec and the delicious Agneau de lait , unobtainable in St. Petersburg, and a ragout of aubergines and tomatoes. If from the south, he would recommend a good Bortch with petits pates , or a slice
396 T^he Gourmet's Guide to Europe