SATURDAY - After coffee, Bill and I picked up stuff for me to make dinner back at their place. The grocery store was Yeliseyevsky and in soviet times was the place that pretty much only the politburo shopped. Today, most Russians are so poor, it remains out of reach. Inflation here is incredible.As you can see in the picture, the place is amazing with crystal chandeliers, ornate cornices and windows... it's like a cathedral for groceries.
There was a nice selection of beer, soda in very small glass bottles, and all kinds of bottled water. The fresh vegetable selection was very small, but there was a lot of fruits and citrus. Most foods were in the realm of reason in price and the meat counter offered excellent selections of meats (I got a pork cutlets for us - they were very good quality) and cuts to choose from, each cut to your specification while you waited.
The cheese section... my god.... the cheeses... so many wonderful European cheeses in giant rounds and slabs staring from behind the counter. We got a nice slice of blue and a great piece of camembert.
There was a nice seafood selection too, and that brings me to inflation and one item I really wanted to enjoy in Russia, but could not: black caviar. The smallest jar, probably about an ounce, not much more, was $250. Bill told me that in the early 2000s, that $250 jar would have been only $40-$50. The tin size (a large flat tin that was approximately 12 ounces) that I had hoped to buy and enjoy with ice-cold vodka while I was there was about $2400. I just couldn't pull the trigger on even the smallest one.
As I held back my tears of culinary disappointment, Bill was kind enough to ask the woman behind the counter to take out a jar for me, so I could at least hold one in my hand. And until the Russian economy stabilizes or inflation goes down here, this will stay out of my reach. It's flying fish roe for me until then. *sigh*
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