Hanna & Erkki Tamsalu travelogue: Street impressions of St. Petersburg

Both of us have been to St. Petersburg before, about 8-10 years ago and were anxious to see how the city has changed since. As according to Wikipedia it is permitted to shorten city name to simply Peter we will use it here too

In Russian literature and informal documents the "Saint" (Санкт-) is usually omitted, leaving Petersburg (Петербург, Peterburg). In common parlance Russians may drop "-burg" (-бург) as well, leaving only Peter (Питер, pronounced as "Piter").

Well, first of all, we were pleasantly surprised to see how much the level of service went up. It might come us a surprise for people born and raised in a market economy but 10 years ago one would not hear much of "hello", "thank you" and so on. I am not talking about people in public transport who would step and your foot and keep walking but about people from customer service sphere, those who were supposed to make money by keeping customers happy.
Well, this time we saw a lot of smiles, heard a lot of "thank you, come again" and so on. If they did not have something they always offered a substitute.
All and all it was a pleasure to deal with waiters, sales assistants, pharmacists and so on, this was a great change!

What else did we notice?

Like any other big city (and Petersburg is the northernmost city with over million people) there is a lack of parking spots. However probably due to the fact that the city was planned, not grew chaotically and the streets and avenues are mostly wide this problem is not so acute, like, for example, in Napoli.
Yet one can still witness scenes of this kind:

Parking. Peter style.

Unfortunately modern life has its needs and often beautiful architecture is misused or simply ruined by modern signage. This richly ornate Art Nouveau entrance is covered with a maze of cables, the arch is blocked with ugly metal door. Looks like the carved door on the right is not being used with people sneaking in through the little metal door.

To top it up "Do not park" is painted on the metal gate

Signboards of St. Petersburg are another story. From the city that rightfully carries the name of Russian cultural capital we would expect to see more taste in advertising.
Instead there were all visual "effects" that were used 10 years ago when PC became more accessible and therefore a lot of visual design was created by people without proper education. White outlines, shadows, cutouts, "funny" fonts were all here.

Samples of Peter visual advertising

Another feature of modern Peter is the abundance of Sushi bars. Feels like sushi is their new national dish as at some streets it is impossible to walk a hundred meters without stumbling upon at least one sushi bar. Apparently all the kebab stalls from 10 years ago were now replaced with sushi bars.

This really looked more than just fashion, kind of obsession. And even restaurants that were not initially geared towards sushi rushed to include them in their menus. We were surprised to see sushi on the menu even in Elki-Palki restaurant (unfortunately their site is only in Russian) that specializes in traditional Russian cuisine. The interior is decorated in Russian style, waiters are wearing traditional clothing etc. Sushi really was dissonance with atmosphere. Russian cuisine however was good: blini (thin Russian pancakes) with different stuffings - caviar, mushrooms, ham and cheese and others, famous soups Borshsh and Solyanka, wild mushroom soup, they offered home-made kvas and cranberry drink. It is a franchise with over 50 restaurants all over Russia and quite a few in Petersburg so you will be likely to see them a lot. If you want you want to try traditional Russian cuisine at a reasonable price with quick and efficient service Elki-Palki is a good choice.
It is a shame as there are many cuisines worth exposure. The more so because people of different nationalities call Peter their home so during the visit it is possible to taste dishes from different countries cooked by countrymen themselves. We appreciate it much better than sushi cooked by guys who have never even been to Japan.
For example we visited Uzbek restaurant. Place was by no means intended for any passer-byes and we won't recommend it to those who look for a glamorous place or simply do not speak Russian. But if you are adventurous, want to try something real and interior design (though important) matters less then authentic dishes do not ignore these "holes in the wall". We were the only "walk-ins" as the place was more like club or gathering spot for locals, many of them knew the menu so well that did not even ask for one! TV was on showing some Uzbek movie which was looked us with a lot of interest. We ordered two staples of Uzbek cuisine shurpa and plov.

shurpa (shurva or shorva), a soup made of large pieces of fatty meat (usually mutton) and fresh vegetables; ©Wikipedia

Palov (plov or osh), rice pilaf - is the flagship of Uzbek cookery. It consists mainly of meat, onions, carrots and rice cooked in a special cauldron (deghi or qazan) over an open fire; chickpeas, raisins, barberries, or fruit may be added for variation. Although often prepared at home for family and guests by the head of household or the housewife, palov is made on special occasions by the oshpaz, or the osh master chef, who cooks the national dish over an open flame, sometimes serving up to 1,000 people from a single cauldron on holidays or occasions such as weddings. ©Wikipedia

Both dishes were excellent. We were explained that all the dishes here are prepared according to Islamic laws as the notion of "halal" - food prepared accordingly - is very important for Uzbeks. All the ingredients are delivered from Uzbekistan to make sure all laws are being followed.

We got a glimpse of another cuisine - Georgian (country, not state :)) at "Khachapurnaya-khinkal'naya" on pr. Dobrolyubova. Khachapuri - or "cheese bread" - is a staple of Georgian cuisine.

Khachapuri (Georgian: ხაჭაპური - xač’ap’uri or "cheese bread") is a filled bread dish from Georgia. The bread is leavened and allowed to rise, and is shaped in various ways. The filling contains cheese (fresh or aged, most commonly suluguni), eggs and other ingredients. ©Wikipedia

We did not realize there were many sorts of khachapuri from different regions: I took Megruli Khachapuri (filled with cheese and topped with cheese) and Erkki - not a big fan of meatless dishes - took khachapuri with pork. We also took an appetizer made of string beans and walnut. All dishes were freshly made to order and tasted excellent. Khinkali - another popular Georgian dish - will be something to taste next time.

Khinkali (Georgian: ხინკალი) are Caucasian dumplings filled with various fillings such as mushrooms or cheese, but mostly with spiced meat (usually beef and pork, sometimes mutton) with greens, onions and garlic. ©Wikipedia

The only downslide to otherwise excellent food was the presence of cigarette smoke.

By all means is it specific to this place only. Just the opposite. Smoking is allowed in the vast majority of Peter bars and restaurants and it is difficult to find a non-smoking place. Most places offer smoking and non-smoking rooms, but quite often there is no real separation or stronger conditioning in these areas so even though nobody smokes next to you the smell is still there. After having spent in the US and the EU where the smoking in public places is prohibited it was a shock.

This is another reason why we really appreciated restaurant of Lithuanian cuisine - Gintaras. Again, unfortunately we could not find there site. It is located on Vasilievsky Island, metro Vasileostrovskaya, pr. Sredny 5. The absence of smoke is not the only reason we came there 3 times during 4 days in Peter! Cozy interior with thorough intention to detail (all tables labelled with their symbol - letter "G", watercolors in the bathroom, photos of old Vilnius on the walls), fresh newspapers, books about Lithuania and albums by famous photographer on the side to read while waiting. Every meal starts with a carafe of water with lemon and fresh mint - so tasty even during cold autumn so we could only imagine how much the guests enjoy it during hot summers. The menu has two parts: Lithuanian and European cuisines. The first 2 times we took split pea soup with smoked ribs and zeppelins - national Lithuanian dish. They come with meat or cottage cheese and can be either fried or boiled. First time we took both kinds and agreed that even though both were excellent the fried one is a little heavier so the second time we took boiled ones. It is possible to choose one or two so light eaters, take one! They are very filling. The soup was to die for so Erkki took it all three times. As I like to try new things the third time I took Saltibarsciai, the traditional Lithuanian cold beet soup that comes with hot baked potatoes. For the main course I switched to the European menu and tried the dish that had been recently added and was not even printed but hand-written on the menu: veal kidney and thymus gland. Despite a pretty "anatomic" name the dish was excellent too. We also convinced Kaspar to take home-made ice-cream. Not only was it delicious it was also artfully presented:filled into emptied lemon skin. Highly recommend!

Let us return to symbols of St. Petersburg circa 2011.
Another fashion-becoming-obsession is hookah also known as a waterpipe or narghile

It is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water.

For some reason it is offered not only in oriental-theme restaurants but pretty much everywhere. Almost every coffee shop has "hookah menu" on the last page. To tell the truth we never ended up in such cafe. But it always worried us as non-smokers that the next customer might ask for hookah and we will have to enjoy our coffee in tobacco smell. If you are concerned about it look closer at the café and beware of the signs below:

Water pipes on display and sign saying кальян - hookah in Russian

Of course, like any tourist city Saint Petersburg offers a variety of t-shirts. Unfortunately for foreign tourists most inscription are in Russian so many guests of the city cannot appreciate the creators' sense of humor.
Here is the translation of some T-shirt slogans: "I love St. Petersburg", "Alcoholics against the drugs", "Peter is a stylish bitch", "Kill a beaver - save a tree".

One of the few t-shirts sellers who stayed despite the cold. There are many more during summer season.

Another problem of all big cities - graffiti. And we mean not graffiti as a form of art but its ugly younger brother - graffiti "just because".

Garages in one of the yards on Petrogradskaya Storona

And some more creative displays and shop signs.
Below is a sign incorporated into beautiful Art Nouveau window. The translation of the sign is also remarkable: The shop of LenOblPotrebSoyuza - abbreviation for Union of Consumers of Leningradskaya Oblast'. By the way, even though the city itself was renamed from Leningrad to Saint Petersburg back in 1991 the district surrounding the city is still named Leningradskaya oblast' - Leningrad District. What is the Union of Consumers - I do not know.

The official shop of Union of Consumers

Another element that is used for decoration is balloons. Look how beautifully they ornate the entry to Vasilievsky market!

Entrance to Vaslievsky Market

Apparently there is a law in Russia that forces all companies to have signs in Cyrillic alphabet so do not be surprised to see Louis Vuitton written as Луи Вьюиттон. Below is a similar example from Mollie's Mews pub.

Mollie's Mews and Моллис Мьюз

Design aside, this sign is much funnier when you actually understand what it says. Well, let us help you. Along with standard (and respectively illustrated) "fruits-vegetables" there is smaller sign stating: "We are open. Come on in, the prices do not bite".
Definitely there is humor in Peter air.

The shop where the prices do not bite

Another sign created with sense of humor: "Self-service store in pedestrian accessibility". No jokes, it is important as there are a lot of walkers in Saint Petersburg.