Anya And Masha

MARI VANNA: A RUSSIAN JOINT

Is a little Eastern Bloc oasis in the heart of Chelsea, currently nestled under a network of scaffolding, so you might not notice it from the street or even mistake it for the local neighborhood flower shop, but hidden behind its humble exterior of aging plant stands and unkempt ficus trees, sits a little jewel of a restaurant and my new favorite place to eat. Recommended by my dear friend Masha, we decided to give it a try and made our way to 20th Street for an all things Russian dinner date. The menu at Mari Vanna is simple but rich and quintessentially Russian: pickled herring, borsch (beet soup), blinis with black caviar, vareniki (pierogis), beef Strogonoff, golubtzi (stuffed cabbage) and, of course, all served with a side of vodka. The atmosphere is warm and homey, as if you just stumbled into your grandmother’s dining room for supper and the decor is quaint, and according to my lady friends, all typical paraphernalia from their Soviet childhoods. It’s always a good sign when a restaurant is filled with its own people; at Mari Vanna, the staff is Russian as well as the kitchen. Just after 9:30pm, the Rooskie ladies flock the restaurant in all their buxom and over processed glory and consequently, the volume gets turned up a notch. (**Make sure you reserve a table in advance, because there ain’t no haggling with the hostess…unless you’re Russian.

Listen, Professor!

Tsarina

Intercontinental press

Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard)

The journals of Father Alexander Schmemann, 1973-1983