I think cabbage rolls and perogies are definitely on.

[BobTheSubgenius]

I wanted to go to the Ukranian Cultural Centre last night for their fundraising dinner, but it was sold out before it officially opened.

I guess I'll make our own food and just give them money.

On a slightly different note, I wish I could get hold of my dog-walking friend Natalia. I hope she's holding up well.

[smirkymonkey]

1. I love Eastern European food, despite it's heaviness, it can be very tasty.

There used to be this Ukrainian restaurant in the East Village in NYC called Veselka that we used to love to go to. It was a great brunch place but they also had a lot of Ukrainian specialties (which I also recognized as Polish/Russian/Jewish/other EE, etc.) such as pierogi, kielbasa, bigos, borscht, blintzes, latkes, varenyky, buckwheat pancakes, stroganoff, paprikash, stuffed cabbage, challah french toast,etc. Great hearty food for cold or rainy days!

I loved it because it was so unusual to find food like that anywhere, but there were also a number of other restaurants down in that neighborhood that were either Polish, Ukrainian, Jewish that were kind of like little hole-in-the wall types of places, but some of them had these great gardens out in back with tables and they were so inexpensive and gave great portions of food. They were all very good! I really miss them.

[LisaL]

2. Where did they go?

Did they all close?

[smirkymonkey]

3. No, I think they are still there.

Last edited Sat Feb 26, 2022, 10:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I am pretty sure Veslka is still there. It has been around since the 50's. Unfortunately, I think the 2nd Street Diner closed years ago (Kosher Deli), and I am not too sure about the others. Do you live in New York? That neighborhood was heavily Ukrainian, Polish, German, Jewish, other EE at one time. There is still an influence, but other cultures have moved in and it has also become a bit gentrified.

When I left the city a little over 10 years ago, it still had a lot of ethnic charm, but you could tell that the old-world businesses and flavor of the neighborhood was fading away. It was kind of sad. One of the things I loved about NYC when I first moved there was that there were still the remnants of the old immigrant cultures and neighborhoods, but they were being rapidly pushed out by rising rents and chain stores. It was a pretty sad thing to see.

[LisaL]

4. No, I don't live in New York.

Was just wondering if those restaurants closed.

[BobTheSubgenius]

5. Shifting demographics can be a tug at the heartstrings.

Even more so when gentrification is part of the mix. The great neighbourhood I remember from my youth is all but gone. BITD, it was an intown bit of suburbia - but with lots and lots of postwar houses.

The breadwinners had jobs like teaching, small business owner, and the occasional tradesperson. When my father sold our house, the buyers did it over the phone from Hong Kong. It was a perfectly adequate house - 3 BR, 1.5 bath, partially finished basement...around 1800 square feet.

Now there's a monster in its place that has a footprint that seems to be almost the entire lot, and nothing anywhere close to there is under $1.5M, and many are considerably more. When my wife and I went back for her first visit, I was so nostalgic and disappointed that I know I'll never go back.