Sprats, cold borscht, and apples with a history: writer Yevgeny Grishkovets on the gastronomic image of Kaliningrad
To truly get to know and understand Kaliningrad, it is not enough to see it — it must also be tasted, believes the writer, musician, and playwright, honorary citizen of the city Yevgeny Grishkovets. Answering questions from guests at a creative meeting held at the National Centre RUSSIA, he put together a genuine gastronomic map of the regional capital, featuring both simple street food and refined local products.
Yevgeny Grishkovets noted that Kaliningrad is a city with a "very high average standard in everything", and this fully applies to its cuisine as well. According to him, it is easy to find a decent café here to suit any taste and budget. The first item on his list of gastronomic brands that are essential to try was a rather unexpected dish — Lithuanian borscht.
"Lithuanian borscht is cold kefir with cold grated or sliced beetroot. When paired with small hot baked potatoes, this borscht becomes even better. It is a dish that must be eaten in summer, at any time of day. Traditionally, of course, it is made by Lithuanians, but in Kaliningrad this borscht tastes much better," Yevgeny Grishkovets assured.
Another gastronomic symbol of the region is fish. In the writer’s view, eel and zander from the lagoon are particularly delicious, but the main fish of the Kaliningrad region are smelt and sprats.
"Zander from the lagoon tastes different from river fish — it is slightly salty. Eel is excellently caught in our canals. Smelt must be eaten in season; here it is significantly larger than in St Petersburg or Vladivostok. Our herring is superb. And Kaliningrad sprats are exactly what you want — they are definitely worth trying," Yevgeny Grishkovets recommended.
Another unique flavour of Kaliningrad is apples. "Kaliningrad has long been home to a huge number of orchards and many varieties of wonderful local apples, which are also used to make excellent cider."
Yevgeny Grishkovets also advised paying special attention to local restaurants that work with regional products. In particular, he said that local cuisine is prepared there in a very "clever" way and noted the abundance of excellent coffee shops with fresh pastries, which, according to him, appeared here earlier than in Moscow and St Petersburg.
In conclusion, Yevgeny Grishkovets emphasised that Kaliningrad cuisine reflects the atmosphere of the city itself: diverse, with a European accent, yet cosy and unmistakably its own.
"At every step, you can find a place to have a tasty bite to eat. At the same time, most places are pleasant and not intimidating to walk into, because they offer an inexpensive source of joy and new discoveries," the writer concluded.
Kaliningrad Region Days are held as part of the "Book of Fairy Tales" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA from 13 to 18 January. Events of the region’s thematic programme can be attended free of charge with prior registration on the russia.ru website. The current schedule of events is available in the "Events" section.
On 23 January, on the eve of Civil Servant’s Day, the second Znanie.State forum was held at the National Centre RUSSIA.
Training a new generation of public servants from among the nation’s heroes became one of the key topics of the second Znanie.State.
The Minister of Sport of the Russian Federation and President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Mikhail Degtyarev, spoke at the Znanie.State.
