Hawa Russia

It might be a little behind the times after the avalanche of press and Web 2.0 support pouring in for Hawa Russia, but I finally got over to the place to try out their vegetarian wares. Hawa Russia is as good as advertised--and it is also surprisingly vegetarian friendly to boot!

The interior is decorated in a classic, Old Russian style, with vibrant yellows and reds decorating the walls alongside decorative plates with images of Russian architecture. The dining room is large. There is also room for a live band to play.

Hawa Russia (pronounced "Nasha Roosha", meaning Our Russia) features two vegetarian soups on the lunch menu, and both come in a gargantuan cup with a pirozhki, a dumpling that can be prepared many ways (this came with mushrooms and dill). There is Borscht, the staple Russian beet soup, and a mushroom barley soup, which I sampled. Both also come with sour cream, which is apparently the Russian answer to ketchup as it is served with everything. The soup was earthy, hearty and very satisfying.

Pierogies attract me like a moth to the flame, and even though the Russian word for pierogi is vareniki, the Eastern European dumpling still commanded my attention. I sampled the potato vareniki, which came drenched in butter with browned onions and sour cream. The portion was enormous. I prefer my pan-fried pierogies a little more crisp, but these were still very tasty. The vareniki also seemed to be a little heavier on the black pepper than its Polish cousin.

There are a few other vegetarian options on the menu. There are a number of salads. There are also cherry, cabbage and farmer's cheese vareniki. The menu does seem to lack protein for vegetarians (with the exception of the cheese vareniki), so caveat emptor.

The menu also features Russian desserts and drinks including Kvas, a Russian non-alcoholic (or more properly, low alcohol) malt beverage fermented with yeast that I will have to sample at a future date. It is an Eastern European drink consumed in a similar fashion to the way Americans drink Coke.

Hawa Russia