Banya Bistro specializes in offering what other restaurants don’t, not the least of which is the occasional peek at men in robes.
They’re not out of place; you are. Banya Bistro is tucked into a corner on the far side of the Russian-style bath house that opened last year on Colby Avenue. To get there, you must first find the front door (it’s just to the left of the front door to the Russian evangelical church, which shares the building), step down into the basement, and walk past the shelves of rubber sandals and through the pool and lounge area.
The bistro isn’t adjacent to the bath house, it’s in the bath house. It was originally open only to bath customers, who often spend three hours or more partaking in a traditional eastern European practice of steaming, soaking and flogging one another with eucalyptus branches.
To the owners, it seemed only natural to open up a small cafe to energize the bathers for another round. To get there, find the men in bathrobes, who spend much of their time playing billiards, and turn right. There, you’ll see a small collection of tables separated from the pool by an elevator. The kitchen is concealed by a floor-to-ceiling curtain.
It’s an experience — one certainly not well suited to those diners who crave a waterfront window while they indulge in prime rib and red wine. But if you’re interested in the best chicken soup you’ve had since your last visit to grandma’s (and if your grandma happens to be a stupendous cook from Eastern Europe), don’t miss a chance to stop by.
The menu is carefully edited. If you don’t want soda, tea or coffee, your only choice is kvas, a traditional beverage from Eastern Europe. Literally a fermented bread drink, kvas falls somewhere between lemon-spiked root beer and yeasty ale.
In Russia, it’s common for home-brewed kvas to be as alcoholic as beer, but at Banya Bistro, the drink is as tame as lemonade. It may be a bit of an acquired taste, but at just under $2 per glass and about $7 for a pitcher, kvas is an affordable experiment.
The food is meant to be enjoyed in a certain order, but don’t worry about getting it right. If you order several items from the menu, servers promise to bring out each dish at the appropriate time. The menu layout offers a clue: soup first, then hearty stuffed cabbage before a few rounds of various dumplings.
These Russians don’t mess around with soup. They use homemade stock, and know good flavor comes from those bones, which, meat barely clinging to them, can be found in large bowls of harcho, a mildly spicy stew of chicken and rice. Served with thick-cut bread and a generous dollop of sour cream, the soup is a meal ($4.99).
Borscht, a traditional beet soup, and chinahi, a meat and bean soup, are also on the menu.
At Banya Bistro, stuffed cabbage leaves are known as golubtsi ($3.99). Beef and rice, sauteed with a little onion, fill these plump little snacks. For the price, a plate of these gems is more of a meal than a refresher between events in the banya.
Next up: pelmeni ($7.99). These thick-walled dumplings hide spoonfuls of chicken, pork, beef or turkey inside. Don’t confuse those with vareniki ($7.99), which are Russsian-style pierogies stuffed with potato and mushrooms or cheese. The dough is identical, but pelmeni is shaped similar to tortelloni, while vareniki is flat and triangular.
Be sure to ask for blueberry-stuffed vareniki. It’s not on the menu, but when it’s offered, it’s a delicious dessert. Blintzes, crepes folded and filled with a sweet cream cheese ($3.99), and a classic Napoleon pastry ($2.99) are the other options to end the meal.
The bistro does its part to nudge along the city’s late-night scene: Open until 11 p.m., it’s an inexpensive option for a snack after working late or a downtown event. The friendly staff also takes phone orders, and offers a $9.99 lunch special of soup and either pelmeni or vareniki.
Don’t avoid the bistro if the idea of unfamiliar food is intimidating. You won’t find another restaurant where the staff is more willing to share what they know about Russian food and Russian culture. Chances are, you’ll like it as much as they do.
Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422, kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
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