Any chance of Americanized food in Russia?
 

Any suggestions for restaurants that offer somewhat Americanized food in St. Petersburg or Moscow?

Mcdonald's

Why not try the local foods?

I understand your "concerns" but I think you also have to accept the fact that the cuisine offerings are more varied than beet soup and stale bread and suspicious potatoes. Well, at least I have heard that it is.

Be sure to post a trip report if you do go.

The hotels (Sheraton, Marriott, etc.) would be a place to find some food for a more "western" crowd. I would be wary of eating at some of the local street vendors (unless you are current with your hepatitis shots).

There's just about every western fast food chain you can imagine, KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, etc

Accross from the big bookstore near the old Arbat there's a restaurant called "Yolki polki" or something close to that. Very good and reasonably priced Russian food, it should be in guide books.

Hey, before you decide to have McDonald's on your trip you might want to see the documentary SUPERSIZE ME.

Or not, if you're really set on eating there.

Millions of people eat at McDonalds and don't get any fatter than people who stuff themselves elsewhere. I don't think they get any sicker, either.

Unless you end up eating contaminated shellfish or food that has been contaminated with fecal material, Hepatitis A would be the least of your worries. Salmonella, Shigella, Norwalk, and all those other wonderful things that people get in places like cruise ships in the Caribbean, etc., would be more likely.

Drink bottled water and take some Immodium along.

<b>BEK</b> : Hotels, yes, for Westernized foods. I wouldn't count on Americanized. Henry Rollins recently excellently related tales of his band and crew and their culinary experiments in the Former Soviet Union. One is reminded to drink bottled water there!

See also : the thread here titled &quot;Don't Drink the Water.&quot;

<b>kswl</b> : That film was an eye opener. My kids are far out of reach of the school system's food programs, however, I feel that it is important that people with children &quot;in the school system&quot; view the film. Even some of the local private schools here don't have the finest foods available. Vending machines are an easy temptation. An open campus doesn't help much...

I thanked my wife for making the effort to provide our kids with great meals to take to school. I know they could not have always eaten them. What with peer pressure and more.

Supersize Me also got me to think about what we've been feeding our pets. I try to vary their diets, but you know most people take the easy way out and follow the path of least resistance...

Hi, TripleSec. I agree that the information presented about the school lunch is very alarming. Until health insurance policies star charging by the pound, a &quot;national conversation&quot; about healthy eating is going to consist of, &quot;Do you want fries with that?&quot;

Intrepid, I do not advocate litigation over personal responsibility. Perhaps you should see the movie before commenting on it.

For 38 years I lived in the &quot;former Soviet Union&quot;. Now, why would anybody think that russian food is healthier then McD?

I, for one, know NOTHING about Russian food, just warning against McDonald's. But, if Russian food is worse (or worse for you) than McDonald's, BEK is in for a pretty untasty trip!

Hey! Why not stay at home and gorge yourself on American processed food? Not least because it's incredibly insulting to the Russian people to turn your nose up at their food...

Surely the point of travelling is to experience new cultures? Or is that too tricky for you?

To me it is a normal request-I work with many tourists going to Russia, and occasionally they do long for a familiar cuisine.

As noted elsewhere, the major hotels are a good place to find American food. In Moscow the Stardust Diner is a tranplanted American-style diner in the center of the city. In St Petersburg, you can try B-52 for an American-style dinner.

Also, there are many fast food outlets (the McDonalds on Pushkin Square in Moscow is still one of the chain's busiest locations worldwide).

French and Italian cuisine is also quite popular in the upscale restaurants in both cities in Russia.

Incidently, if you were asking about almost any other major city in Russia, it would be far more difficult to find a restaurant with American cuisine.

I don't see why people have to eat Russian food (whatever that means) in order not to insult Russians. What random Russian is going to be insulted if a tourist goes to McDonald's (which the Russians also patronize in droves)?

Now I do have a cast-iron stomach so I just eat whatever wherever I go. But I know other people whose digestive systems simply cannot take the shock, and they do require uniformity in their diets. You may not believe them, but if they deviate, they suffer. Different people have different food requirements, both psychologically and physiologically and religiously - what is so difficult about that?

I also always try the local food everywhere I go and have never been disappointed in Russia.

There is however a TGI Fridays just down the road from Red Square that satisfied my craving for &quot;American Food&quot; during a trip to Moscow a couple of years ago.

I was in Moscow in late September and noticed that it was still there.

A piece of information that might surprise you:

Russia is the largest export market for US poultry, so the Chicken Kiev you are dining on in Moscow or St Petersburg is probably of American origin. George HW Bush is memorialized in Russia through &quot;Nozhki Busha&quot;, the name for chicken drumsticks.

Marc: You've rather put me off chicken drumsticks now! :-(

Food itself is not the only cultural experience, and not even one of the most important cultural experiences.

However, dining in local restaurants that serve dishes native to the area and that are frequent by local people certainly provides a more enriching cultural experience than dining at tourist spots and American fast food joints.

Although...observing the culturally related adjustments made in the menus and service of American fast food chains to accomodate local sensibilities and preferences is also very educational.

If Italian is available... When I'm feeling the need for a less-foreign meal, usually Italian works because you can get a simple butter, garlic, pasta dish or the like.