neighborhood recommendation #24: russian.

eastern european and former soviet cuisines were and are among my favorites ever since i lived in nyc. night visits to veselka are fondly remembered and just thinking about the little delis serving pierogis makes my mouth water. stuffed cabbage, blini, pelmeni, red peppers and smetana are all little pieces of heaven during the cold winter months.

helsinki, surprisingly, does not offer ukrainian food. russian is also rare: there are less than five restaurants in town although blinis are served during a certain, wintery time in the year all over the place.

however, there is pelmenit: a small, greasy and rather stinky place where the welcome is always warm but blunt, the food properly fried and you leave stuffed every single time. the selection varies, but there is always at least one vegetarian option on offer.

for the perfect comfort food craving, i wholeheartedly recommend.

veggie stuffed crepes. fried, naturally...