zakuski Archives - Pechluck's Food Adventures

DaNet Review for 2016

July 15, 2016 by Pechluck 4 Comments

I wrote well of DaNet last year in 2015 when I attended and had a belly busting time with the Russian food at the pop up. Since then, DaNet has reduced their pop up to only once a month, which means when they announce their dates you better hop on the phone ASAP. The next dates for DaNet are 6:30 PM Saturday, July 16, 2016 and Saturday, August 20, 2016. The dinners are served family style and are $65 per person with beverage pairings or drinks a la carte extra. Call Imperial to make your reservation 503-228-7222.

It still takes place at Portland Penny Diner and is presented by Imperial and Chef Vitaly Paley, so the best way to get the scoop is to be on the mailing list for all the fun and delicious events they do. Recently in May I was able to get into one of these hot Russian dinners, so here’s my updated DaNet Review for 2016 of what the experience is like.

The doors open at 6:30 PM, where you then check in your name, are given a welcome punch beverage.
Welcome check in and punch at Da Net, the Russian Pop Up Experience presented by Imperial and Chef Vitaly Paley

You are also here given your assigned table letter so you know which table to head to, and your dining party name is placed at each seat. Unless you are a large party of 6+ people that will take up a whole tabletop, expect to make new friends / comrades at your table.
Da Net, the Russian Pop Up Experience presented by Imperial and Chef Vitaly Paley, is only once a month and takes up the entire Portland Penny Diner. When you check in, you are given a welcome drink and told which table letter to look for to look for your placecard

With the only one night a month, DaNet has expanded to take up the entire Portland Penny Diner.
Da Net, the Russian Pop Up Experience presented by Imperial and Chef Vitaly Paley, is only once a month and takes up the entire Portland Penny Diner

The entire diner has been decorated to suit the theme with new artwork and lots of tchotchkes on any decorative shelf available and even the posts had pre Soviet era posters. Da Net, the Russian Pop Up Experience presented by Imperial and Chef Vitaly Paley, is only once a month and takes up the entire Portland Penny Diner

Once you find your seat, you should see two menus before you. The larger dinner menu one has an overview of the four family style courses you will be enjoying. The smaller menu is the specific list of the Zakuski that the dinner menu vaguely refers to as “variety of Russian drinking appetizers”. The first thing you should do is turn the dinner menu over, which is where the beverage menu is located. I highly recommend selecting a vodka flight to share with your group, or maybe some vodka infusions, to go with the zakuski. Alternatively, there are also several cocktails to select from, or you can choose to have a wine pairing with the first 3 courses. The Bar Czar will probably be at your table shortly to take your drink order.
At DaNet, Once you find your seat, you should see two menus before you. The larger dinner menu one has an overview of the four family style courses you will be enjoying. The smaller menu is the specific list of the Zakuski

Since I wanted the full Russian experience, I decided to order all three of the vodka infusions offered – an infusion with pear and clove, an infusion with elderberry, and an infusion with apple and ginger. I thought I would sip on these three throughout dinner, but they went so well with the various zakuski I found that I needed a new beverage for the other 3 courses!
Since I wanted the full Russian experience, I decided to order all three of the vodka infusions offered - an infusion with pear and clove, an infusion with elderberry, and an infusion with apple and ginger. I thought I would sip on these three throughout dinner, but they went so well with the various zakuski I found that I needed a new beverage for the other 3 courses! Since I wanted the full Russian experience, I decided to order all three of the vodka infusions offered - an infusion with pear and clove, an infusion with elderberry, and an infusion with apple and ginger. I thought I would sip on these three throughout dinner, but they went so well with the various zakuski I found that I needed a new beverage for the other 3 courses!

I switched to cocktails for the other two courses since I knew there would be tea with the dessert. I tried the tart !pa ye kha lee! or Let’s Get Started cocktail with bubbly, honeyed campari, lemon, and radish gastrique. The radish is a nod to when Chef Paley was on Iron Chef and won Battle Radish where radish was the secret ingredient.
At DaNet, the tart !pa ye kha lee! or Let's Get Started cocktail with bubbly, honeyed campari, lemon, and radish gastrique. The radish is a nod to when Chef Paley was on Iron Chef and won Battle Radish where radish was the secret ingredient.

Meanwhile for the third course with the lamb and cheesy bread, I went with the slightly more bracing but cleansing !za vas! or !to you! cocktail with horseradish and dill infused vodka, mp roux, tea infused vermouth, fermented apple, and peychauds. Although I didn’t try the wine pairings, my other table mates really enjoyed them, particularly the Clos Cibonne Tibouren Rose 2014 was raved about from the second course pairing, and a few asked for an extra a la carte glass of the Lucien Crochet Sancerre 2013, which was paired with the first course, both wines are from France. The third pairing was Gotsa Mtsvane 2013 from Georgia, making the third course fully Georgian.
At DaNet, the slightly more bracing but cleansing !za vas! or !to you! cocktail with horseradish and dill infused vodka, mp roux, tea infused vermouth, fermented apple, and peychauds

First Course: Zakuski

I definitely advise being prompt to the seating as while the drink orders are being taken, some of the zakuski will be served as passed hors d’oeuvre by a server stopping at your table. For this dinner, this included Buterbrodi with sprats, herring butter, cucumber, radish, and green garlic cheese spread.
Zakuski at DaNet Russian Pop Up: Buterbrodi with sprats, herring butter, cucumber, radish, and green garlic cheese spread

The Stuffed Eggs with beet and sumac
Zakuski at DaNet Russian Pop Up: Stuffed Eggs with beet and sumac

Then, the family style service started with the zakuski of PicklesPicklesPickles that included pickled mushroom, rhubarb, beet, cranberry and strawberry which was perfect with the vodkas
DaNet zakuski of PicklesPicklesPickles that included pickled mushroom, rhubarb, beet, cranberry and strawberry which was perfect with the vodkas

Then there was the Monkfish liver served with Everything Matzo crackers
DaNet zakuski of Monkfish liver served with Everything Matzo crackers

More fish on the table arrived via the Smoked Fish Plate with steelhead, herring, and black cod
DaNet zakuski of Smoked Fish Plate with steelhead, herring, and black cod

Stan’s Meat Plate with horseradish
DaNet Zakuski of Stan's Meat Plate with horseradish

Herring Under a Fur Coat, salted herring layered beautifully withvegetables, chopped onions, and mayonnaise.
DaNet Zakuski Herring Under a Fur Coat, a layered salad composed of diced salted herring covered with layers of grated boiled vegetables, chopped onions, and mayonnaise

This was a particular highlight by Chef Paley as he read from friend Anya Von Bremzen’s book Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking about Salade Olivier
At DaNet last night, Ken Norris looks on as Chef Paley reads from friend Anya Von Bremzen's book Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking about Salade Olivier DaNet Zakuski of Salad Olivier

My favorite, as always, is the Warm Blini and Potato Latkes with steelhead caviar, melted butter, and sour cream
DaNet Zakuski of Warm Blini and Potato Latkes with steelhead caviar, melted butter, and sour cream

Here’s my almost done zakuski dish (minus the Herring Under a Fur Coat which is still coming around to me) with my plate displaying from the left and clockwise the Warm Blini and Potato Latkes with steelhead caviar, melted butter, and sour cream; Smoked Fish plate items of steelhead, herring, and black cod; Salade Olivier; Stan’s Meat Plate stuff with horseradish, and Monkfish Liver with Everything Matzo
DaNet Zakuski plate, including from the left and clockwise the Warm Blini and Potato Latkes with steelhead caviar, melted butter, and sour cream; Smoked Fish plate items of steelhead, herring, and black cod; Salade Olivier; Stan's Meat Plate stuff with horseradish, and Monkfish Liver with Everything Matzo

Second Course

We got another reading from Chef Paley to introduce this course, this time from friend Anya Von Bremzen’s book Please to the Table The Russian Cookbook about Ukha
At DaNet last night, Chef Paley reads from friend Anya Von Bremzen's book Please to the Table The Russian Cookbook about Fish Ukha DaNet second course of Fish Ukha with seafood rastegai. The bread is the seafood rastegai with fish mousse inside to accompany the fish stew that boasts crayfish, prawn, salmon and halibut in the broth

The introduction was well worth it to appreciate the complexity of this Fish Ukha, a fish stew that boasts crayfish, prawn, salmon and halibut in the broth and tender morsels of those as well. Chef Ken Norris, who is working with Chef Paley on the new seafood restaurant Headwaters that will be at the Heathman, and who was in the kitchen as part of this DaNet dinner, is showing off again his sophisticated seafood skillz.
DaNet second course of Fish Ukha with seafood rastegai. The bread is the seafood rastegai with fish mousse inside to accompany the fish soup that boasts crayfish, prawn, salmon and halibut in the broth as well as tender morsels of it as part of the stew

And then there’s this seafood rastegai with fish mousse inside to accompany the Ukha.
DaNet second course of Fish Ukha with seafood rastegai. This is the seafood rastegai with fish mousse inside to accompany the fish stew that boasts crayfish, prawn, salmon and halibut in the broth

Then there was a Birch Juice palate cleanser, a tradition from Belarus, though the birch here is from Alaska
DaNet Birch Juice palate cleanser, a tradition from Belarus, though the birch here is from Alaska

Third Course

The main course featured Georgian cuisine, specifically Lamb Shashlyk with grilled vegetable caviar (eggplant). A little clay pot offered Lobio Beans, another traditional Georgian bean dish.
DaNet Third course included Lamb Shashlyk with grilled vegetable caviar (eggplant)

To accompany the lamb was included Khachapuri cheesy bread with cheese inside of havarti, mozzarella, and feta. There were also three sauces that included ajica (a spicy red pepper sauce), herbed yogurt, and a tkemali wild plum sauce that Chef Paley picked himself at Sauvie Island
DaNet Third course included khachapuri cheesy bread with cheese inside of havarti, mozzarella, and feta

My dish seems small, but I was already having a had time finishing it – all the one of everything adds up!
DaNet Third course included khachapuri cheesy bread with cheese inside of havarti, mozzarella, and feta; lobio beans; Lamb Shashlyk with grilled vegetable caviar (eggplant); and the three sauces included ajica (a spicy red pepper sauce), herbed yogurt, and a tkemali wild plum sauce that Chef Paley picked himself at Sauvie Island DaNet Third course included khachapuri cheesy bread with cheese inside of havarti, mozzarella, and feta; lobio beans; Lamb Shashlyk with grilled vegetable caviar (eggplant); and the three sauces included ajica (a spicy red pepper sauce), herbed yogurt, and a tkemali wild plum sauce that Chef Paley picked himself at Sauvie Island

Fourth Course

This dessert course included Steven Smith Teamakers DaNet Blend black tea from samovar with accompaniments of which jam is the usual sweetener rather than sugar though it is available. This is along with desserts of Eskimo with smoked milk and chocolate, Pistachio halva made with sesame and tahini, and deep fried dumpling Cherry Vareniki. There were birthdays being celebrated at our table, so an additional candle was added to our dessert platter.
DANet fourth course of desserts of Eskimo with smoked milk and chocolate, Pistachio halva made with sesame and tahini DaNet one of three of the fourth course desserts, deep fried dumpling Cherry Vareniki

At the end, your check will arrive with gratuity already included. Just like after Thanksgiving, you will probably feel overly full and want to lie down, but are also completely satisfied with the little bit of everything that was your Russian meal tonight.
Steven Smtih Teamakers DaNet Blend black tea from samovar with accompaniments along with desserts of Eskimo with smoked milk and chocolate, Pistachio halva made with sesame and tahini, and deep fried dumpling Cherry Vareniki

This really is a unique experience to be able to join in on a Russian dinner like this and experience a communal table in a familial atmosphere and Russian food that both respects tradition but also takes advantage of the expertise of someone so experienced like Chef Paley to also improve upon it and take advantage of fresh Northwest bounty. I am always thrilled whenever I can have Chef Paley’s Russian food, and this food is not necessarily easy to prepare – sometimes taking days of work to get ready for this night, and much of it comes from his childhood to recreate the flavor experience he had and techniques from generations of grandmothers so you can have that same love and deliciousness communicated through painstaking patient effort. A big banquet like this would have taken a kitchen full of grandmas aunts and mom’s even with the know how. Fortunately Chef Paley has the skilled staff of Imperial pitching in.

After the Soviet revolution these foods that had proudly been passed through generations of Russians became only a memory for most, and it’s time to bring it back and celebrate it. I can’t recommend DaNet enough for a one of a kind dinner experience. For everyone who wishes there was a babushka in your life, we’ll at least now there’s DaNet and Chef Paley and Imperial.

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: !pa ye kha lee! or Let's Get Started cocktail, !za vas! or !to you! cocktail, #foodiefriday, ajica sauce, apple and ginger infused vodka, Birch Juice, Blini and Potato Latkes, Blinis with caviar and butter and sour cream, Buterbrodi with green garlic cheese spread, Buterbrodi with sprats and herring butter, cherry vareniki, Da Net, DaNet, Deep fried vareniki, elderberry infused vodka, Eskimo ice cream, Fish Ukha, Foodie Friday, herbed yogurt sauce, Herring Under a Fur Coat, horseradish and dill infused vodka, Khachapuri, Lamb Shashlyk with grilled vegetable caviar (eggplant), Lobio Beans, Monkfish liver served with Everything Matzo crackers, PDX Pop up restaurant, pear and clove infused vodka, Pistachio halva, Pop up restaurant, Potato Latkes with caviar and butter and sour cream, Radish, radish cocktail, Russian cuisine, Russian dessert, Russian Experience, Russian food, Russian Food in PDX, Russian Food in Portland, Russian Pop Up, Russian Pop up restaurant, Salade Olivier, seafood rastegai, smoked fish plate, smoked milk ice cream, spicy red pepper sauce, Stan's Meat Plate with horseradish, Steelhead caviar, Stuffed Eggs with beet and sumac, tkemali sauce, Ukha, wild plum sauce, zakuski

Portland Drink and a Bite Highlight: Kachka

January 29, 2016 by Pechluck 6 Comments

For Foodie Friday today, I continue my series highlighting a Portland Drink and a Bite of food that I think not only is best in class within Portland, but is a classic representation of the character of Portland. Of course, that Portland Drink and a Bite Highlight is also delicious, and unique.

When it’s chilly outside, nothing soothes and warms me more than the buttery soft comfort of Kachka and their dumplings. You could select to enjoy the meat one of the Siberian Pelmeni with Beef, Pork, Veal and Onion or the vegetarian version of Tvorog Vareniki with Farmers Cheese and Scallion. Do not miss this, it is a must order and my Portland Bite highlight. I get this every time I visit Kachka.
At Kachka PDX do not miss these Russian Dumplings of siberian pelmeni with beef, pork, veal and onion and also on the happy hour menu! Kachka's tvorog vareniki, a dish of scallion and farmer’s cheese filled dumplings that are just melt in your mouth, and also on the happy hour menu!

As for a drink, you should get a little vodka. Flavor Infused Vodka especially. You can order it at the sizes of 30, 60, or 100 grams, so it’s possible to get a taste of that Russian tradition of drinking and eating without going overboard. After all, a 30 gram serving is only an ounce.

The vodkas infused with flavors vary from chamomile vodka, horseradish vodka, earl grey, cocoa nib vodka and a few others which seem to consistently be on the menu. And there’s then additional other flavors that rotate seasonally, varying from strawberry, lemon to charred rosemary, matsutake mushroom and more. My personal favorite is the horseradish vodka, which I will usually get with a flavored sweet infused vodka flavor too and a seasonal one. I’m pretty excited that they are going to starting March 2016 be offering bottles of their horseradish vodka for sale so I can get my vodka fix on at home!

Vodka, 30 grams from Kachka Kachka PDX Vodka Flights: 30 grams x 3 of curated vodka. This one is the Mother Russia flight with from right to left, green mark, hammer + sickle, and imperia

For a cocktail with a flavored vodka, you could also consider their tart and refreshing Baba Yaga, which features their chamomile vodka, liquore strega, and lemon.

Kachka PDX Happy Hour drink of the Baba Yaga with chamomile vodka, liquore strega, lemon

If you’d like, you can also get (in addition to the dumplings of course) the much raved about “Herring Under a Fur Coat” cold zakuski. This dish is beautiful, and it seems to be the glamour shot that represents Kachka.
The famous Kachka PDX dish of the Herring Under a Fur Coat, a 7 layer dip but russian. and actually a salad, with herring, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, mayo, eggs.

You just remember that you can’t go wrong with any of the zakuski, whether cold or hot. You can’t go wrong.

The reason that I love Kachka, besides the incredible food, and the nice service, is that it’s so very Portland that a restaurant like this can be so successful and loved by foodies. Despite visiting many cities that are considered “Best Food Cities”, it’s only someplace like Portland where food lovers are willing support the unknown just as long as it’s good. Who knew Russian food can be such a hot commodity that it was named 2014 Restaurant of the Year by Willamette Week, and 2015 Rising Star Restaurant of the Year by the Oregonian. Co-owners Bonnie Morales and Chris Israel took a risk that I’m not sure would have paid off in most other cities.

The fact that Portland loves food, and that we embrace all kinds of good food even and especially the unfamiliar, makes me proud to be a Portland citizen. I love how Kachka highlights Soviet era food that just a few decades ago, embarrassed the immigrant kids and was hidden. No, Kachka does more than highlights – it really embraces it and successfully makes everyone embrace it too.

Have you been to Kachka? What is your favorite dish or drink if you have?

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Portland Highlights Tagged With: #foodiefriday, Baba Yaga cocktail, chamomile vodka, dumplings, flavored vodka, Foodie Friday, Herring Under a Fur Coat, infused vodka, Kachka, Kachka dumplings, Kachka vodka, pelmeni, Portland highlights, Russian food, vareniki, vodka flights, zakuski

Russian Dinner at Kachka PDX

June 5, 2015 by Pechluck 7 Comments

Russian food is comforting and filling as you would expect from a country where it can get negative 30 below. For a country that has gone through so much famine and a generation with harsh memories of long queues for rationed food, what cuisine the people have been able to put together feels full of love and hope and celebration.

The cuisine has all the complexity yet simplicity of home-cooked, like you are at a family meal that has perfected and passed a recipe on through generations. The food feels emotional, with its contrast of plenty (though you will notice plenty of food showcasing mayo or pickles, or lots of flavors that may have been a way to make up for the small amount of meat since part of what you purchased may be rotten) with the reality of the harsh, melancholy heartbreak and hardship of Russian history.

One of my favorite restaurants when I lived in Chicago was Russian Tea Time (chef Bonnie Morales and husband Israel Morales are from Chicago too). When I moved from Chicago to Portland in 2008 I was disappointed by the lack of Russian cuisine in Portland. Then, after a few years I was thrilled when I got a bit of a taste with a Russian Pop-up at an early test of what would be eventually Da Net via Vitaly Paley’s Russian Pop-up back in March of 2013. Then, a month later, Kachka PDX opened as a permanent location to get a Russian cuisine fix . After completing a promise to myself to finish a book on Soviet food, I rewarded myself with several visits that I am now sharing with you. While DaNet, as I covered in a previous post, is a pop up Russian Experience with a set menu, Kachka is a restaurant you can visit any day and order your Russian meal a la carte.

Located at 720 SE Grand Avenue, Kachka doesn’t look like much from the outside with it’s rectangular, narrow long space that is dimly lit. Half the wall has fake windows, making you feel just like you were in a communal dining room with other comrades (well hello, I guess we are).

Stepping inside, you feel a bit like you are in a Russian living room with the utensils and napkins on the table in a flowery mug. , The tables are a bit cramped together to continue to give the requisite vibe of a communal space while thankfully, still having your own private table (no shared tables here unlike some actual communal table restaurants). A few kitschy references to Rodina (Russia portrayed as a Motherland) are scattered on the wall here or there to provide warmth, and there are a few pieces of Soviet political decor here or there as well.
Kachka PDX front Kachka PDX front host stand I came in early on a Monday for happy hour on a super cold rainy day and was treated to the ability to take this great shot of an almost empty Kachka. Several seats were taken only minutes after this photo. Bar at Kachka PDX is a nod to the propaganda of Soviet Russia times and Imperial Russia Kachka PDX simple Soviet nods on the wall

While my previous Russian restaurant experience offered more homey foods of the different regions of Mother Russia, Kachka focuses mainly on zakuski, which are small hot or cold super savory small plates that are meant to accompany enjoyment of vodka. The goal is to completely fill your table with zakuski and as you drink your vodka, always have a toast and a bite of zakuski along with spirited conversation.

With their offering of a vodka flight at a reasonable 30 grams times three, or ordering any individual at sizes of 30, 60, or 100 grams, it’s possible to get a taste of that tradition of drinking and eating without going overboard. You can go traditional vodka or the infused with additional flavor liquors (mostly vodka but not exclusively) like lemon vodka, rosemary vodka, chamomile vodka, horseradish vodka, cocoa nib vodka and more like caraway rye whiskey or Earl Grey brandy. My personal favorite is the horseradish vodka.

They also have some pre organized vodka flights for you, this one is the Mother Russia vodka flight with from right to left, green mark, hammer + sickle, and imperia. Even if you don’t think you like vodka, I really encourage you to try one of the flavor vodka in 30 grams in the spirit of what Kachka is trying to do.
Kachka PDX Vodka Flights: 30 grams x 3 of curated vodka. This one is the Mother Russia flight with from right to left, green mark, hammer + sickle, and imperia Kachka PDX 30 g of lemon infused vodka

If you come at happy hour though, or you just want something a bit more with your vodka, check out the cocktails featuring some of those flavored liquors or vodkas. For instance, for a while there was the Baba Yaga with chamomile vodka, liquore strega, lemon. A constant cocktail offering (and also $5 at happy hour) is the Moscow Mule with vodka, lime, homemade ginger syrup, ginger beer. I will count that for you as trying Russian vodka too and getting into the spirit of zakuski.
Kachka PDX Happy Hour drink of the Baba Yaga with chamomile vodka, liquore strega, lemon

Now let’s look at some of the drinking food, aka zakuski. The much raved about “Herring Under a Fur Coat” cold zakuski is beautiful, and it seems to be the glamour shot that represents Kachka in most media avenues that I see Kachka mentioned in.
The famous Kachka PDX dish of the Herring Under a Fur Coat, a 7 layer dip but russian. and actually a salad, with herring, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, mayo, eggs.

I did love the dish, but I also highly enjoyed different mayo Russian salad, perhaps even more so then the Herring Under a Fur Coat. That mayo Russian salad I’m referring to is the Duck Olivier. This cold zakuski is a take on salat Oliver, a traditional Russian salad that as I learned from reading Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking (you can read my review of that book here), has lots of variations representing regions and even the type of person you are (privileged, peasant, artsy dissident…) in Russia. This is the most popular salad in Russia.

This cold salad includes diced boiled potatoes, carrots, brined dill pickles, green peas, eggs, celeriac, onions, diced boiled meat – in this case duck, and all mixed with mayonnaise. Kachka’s version uses duck meat and crispy duck skin, and duck fat mayo. Um, yummm. Fantastic. This is the salat Olivier that is my gold standard to beat and measure all salat Olivier or any potato salad.

Kachka PDX cold zakuski of duck Olivier, a cold salad that includes diced boiled potatoes, carrots, brined dill pickles, green peas, eggs, celeriac, onions, diced boiled meat - in this case duck, and all mixed with mayonnaise. Kachka's version uses duck meat and crispy duck skin, and duck fat mayo

The lesson with either of those Russian salads, whichever one you try, is don’t be afraid of the presence of mayo. As I was enjoying these two dishes (2 different visits), I thought about the book I read, and how containers were hard to find during the Soviet era, and so mayo jars were very commonly used to hold anything and everything. Mayonnaise, similar to sour cream, dill, stews and oven baked pies, are a critical part of Russian food.

For a simpler cold zakuski that is vegetarian, try the brindza pashtet, a sheep cheese and paprika spread with scallion served with lavash.
Kachka PDX cold zakuski of brindza pashtet, a sheep cheese and paprika spread with scallion served with lavash

Or feel luxurious and fancy with one of the Caviar & Roe dishes – the most affordable one is the House Cured Steelhead, but during my visit we went for the prettier Beet Cured Whitefish. All the Caviar & Roe dishes are served with yeasted blini, challah, chive, butter, and sieved egg to make your little piles of bite sized vehicles for the caviar. The Blini here are small and thin, lighter and almost approaching crepe compared to the more richer decadant pancake Blini of DaNet.
At Kachka PDX, feel luxurious and fancy with one of the Caviar & Roe dishes - the most affordable one is the house cured steelhead, but during my visit we went for the prettier beet cured whitefish. All the Caviar & Roe dishes are served with yeasted blini, challah, chive, butter, and sieved egg to make your little piles of bite sized vehicles for the caviar. At Kachka PDX, feel luxurious and fancy with one of the Caviar & Roe dishes - the most affordable one is the house cured steelhead, but during my visit we went for the prettier beet cured whitefish. All the Caviar & Roe dishes are served with yeasted blini, challah, chive, butter, and sieved egg to make your little piles of bite sized vehicles for the caviar.

When it comes to hot zakuski, in particular the Horseradish Vodka pairs perfectly with this dish Crispy Beef Tongue with citrus marinated rhubarb, roasted garlic, chive blossom, and buckwheat cracker. Similar to the Herring Under a Fur Coat and the Duck Olivier, I think this Crispy Beef Tongue represents what Kachka is all about – the homey weirdness of some traditional Russian cuisine but elegantly and expertly refined to a fine dining level fit for a czar.
Kachka PDX Hot Zakuski of crispy beef tongue with citrus marinated rhubarb, roasted garlic, chive blossom, buckwheat cracker

My favorite hot zakuski is the khachapuri, which is smoked sulguni cheese wrapped in dough, sort of like a pita quesadilla. It’s not as doughy or thickly cheesy comforting as an authentic Georgian khachapuri and the adjika is not nearly intense enough, but I can have this one with vodka anytime for dinner so I give points for accessibility and context for this take on the Georgian national dish. The more like a pita bread version here also has a slight crispness that is a great contrast to the oozy cheese, but be careful with your fingers as its less dough layers from that hot cheese to you too!
Kachka PDX Hot Zakuski of khachapuri, which is smoked sulguni cheese wrapped in pillowy dough -- like a crunchwrap and a cheese calzone had a lovechild.

You should not miss the melt in your mouth dumplings – be it the meat ones like this Siberian Pelmeni with Beef, Pork, Veal and Onion or if you get the vegetarian version of Tvorog Vareniki with Farmers Cheese and Scallion. Do not miss this, it is a must order.
At Kachka PDX do not miss these Russian Dumplings of siberian pelmeni with beef, pork, veal and onion and also on the happy hour menu! Kachka's tvorog vareniki, a dish of scallion and farmer’s cheese filled dumplings that are just melt in your mouth, and also on the happy hour menu!

There are only a handful of main dishes, which rotate in and out with new items. During the winter months, I was surprised to see a traditional dish called kulebyaka of multi-layered pie filled with black cod, red chard and crepes, served with creme eurette. This is a time consuming dish – even at Kachka it takes 30 minutes to prepare from when you order. And it’s huge- enough to feed 2-4. I was glad I had a chance to try it while it was on the menu (it was rotated out in the spring menu).
Kachka PDX, a traditional dish called kulebyaka of multi-layered pie filled with black cod, red chard and crepes, served with creme eurette

End your meal with some tea (or start with some if you come in on a cold windy rainy day like I did!). If you happen to come during happy hour, besides the pelmeni and vareniki dumplings which are both on the menu, there is also the option of the Red October with lamb meatballs, adjika, cheese all on a hoagie roll. It’s definitely the largest food item on the happy hour menu.
The biggest item on the Kachka Happy Hour menu is this Red October with lamb meatballs, adjika, cheese all on a hoagie roll.

Because you can order a la carte Kachka gives you control of how many dishes you fill your table with, or simply order the zakuski experience and let the kitchen fill your table on your behalf. Zakuski plates are mostly small to encourage a lot of sharing and trying of a variety of dishes. As you can see everything is plated beautifully and elegantly rather than home style casual, which provides an atmosphere of luxury on the plate contrasting with the humble around you in the restaurant decor. It’s a feel of public communal dining hall but you are given individual party privacy and elevated take that made me feel a bit like a peek into the nomenklatura or privileged class of Russia. I can’t think of a better place in Portland to celebrate the art of zakuski in such an upscale way.

As a coincidence, I saw the day before this post was scheduled to be published that Eater just created a “One Night” feature on Kachka, which includes video and gorgeous photos giving you a peek at one night at Kachka – take a look at One Night at Kachka here. Eater’s feature piece does include pictures of every single thing on Kachka’s menu, at least in May, and a video on how they make those delectable dumplings. Also, it’s just a super cool feature that takes advantage of the web (I recommend seeing it on a computer as the design doesn’t translate as well to mobile though it’s still better than most any other article you would read online in embracing telling a story using all the media available).

What about you? Have you been to Kachka? Is there anything about Kachka that I’ve shared that makes you curious to give it a try? What did you think of the Eater feature if you perused it?

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: Baba Yaga cocktail, Beet Cured Whitefish, brindza pashtet, caraway rye vodka, Caraway Rye Whiskey, Caviar & Roe, chamomile vodka, cocoa nib vodka, Crispy Beef Tongue, duck olivier, dumplings, Foodie Friday, happy hour, Herring Under a Fur Coat, horseradish vodka, Kachka, Kachka PDX, Khachapuri, kulebyaka, lemon vodka, Moscow Mule, Mother Russia vodka flight, PDX Eats, PDX Food, pelmeni, Red October sub sandwich, rosemary vodka, Russian cuisine, russian dumplings, Russian food, salat Oliver, salat olivier, sheep cheese and paprika spread, Siberian Pelmeni, Soviet cuisine, Tvorog Vareniki, vodka flight, zakuski

DaNet, a Russian Dinner Party Popup

May 29, 2015 by Pechluck 8 Comments

After the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia in 2014, Vitaly Paley did a Russian pop up celebrating the Russian Sun Festival. It was incredible, and I was thrilled when he announced they would be doing DaNet, a Russian Pop Up experience in that same space (Portland Penny Diner) once or twice a month starting in September 2014 and ongoing. After holding off on attending until I completed the promise I made to myself to finish reading The Art of Soviet Cooking (I reviewed it as well), this past spring I finally was able to reward myself.

The DaNet dinner / Russian experience consists of 4 courses all at one seating at 6:30pm, where the food is served mostly family style. The cost is $75 per person plus gratuity, and you need to make reservations to secure your seat beforehand.

Although I found some articles at the Oregonian (“DaNet, Vitaly Paley’s Russian restaurant pop-up, takes us back to the USSR” by Michael Russell) and Portland Monthly (“Portland Monthly’s Cuisine of the Year 2014: Kachka and DaNet’s Russian Party” by Karen Brooks) praising the DaNet, there has been nothing recapping what the exact experience was – so I though I’d provide that service for you. That’s the freedom of writing as a blogger – I can go into the play by play details you wouldn’t find in newspapers and magazines (which is why I think news media and bloggers have a very complimentary relationship, not necessarily competitive). So here’s my recap from my experience on May 15, 2015. I believe that although the specific food items may sometimes change, the format is the same for each Russian pop-up experience.
DaNet palate cleanser between fourth and fifth (dessert) course of Beryozovy sok, a birch sap that tastes like a slightly, subtly sweetened water

The doors of Portland Penny Diner open promptly at 6:30. When you enter, check in your reservation at a table at the front. As a reward for checking in, they offer ayou choice of one of three beverages to help tide you over as you walk towards the back of the diner to one of 3 long tables. I was immediately charmed by the apron upon walking in, and the welcome drink immediately shifted the vibe from a typical restaurant to a family gathering or party instead.
You are welcomed at DaNet, which pops up at the Portland Penny Diner twice a month, with a beverage as you check in your reservation name. I was immediately charmed by the apron just upon walking in

The Russian party concept is further reinforced as even before I can get past the first table, I am offered my first zakuski as a passed hors d’oeuvre, one not listed on the menu – it was some sort of fried dumpling, a kind of beef piroshky (or piroshki? I don’t know whether it’s an i or a y…).
DaNet, a Russian Dinner Party which pops up at the Portland Penny Diner twice a month. Fried beef piroshky is passed as people are finding their assigned seats

Meanwhile, as you walk through the long room, you can admire the tchotchkes lining the small countertop on your rightside. Real Russian traditional tchotchkes – all random decorative trinkets like nesting dolls and wooden lacquered containers that you wouldn’t actually use because they are too pretty to function. Well, except for the tea-set you see there – you will actually see that used later tonight. I always get a kick out of the political nesting dolls with Yeltsin, Gorbachev, Brezhnev, and Stalin.
Check out some of the tchotchkes along the countertop as you walk towards the tables of DaNet Russian Pop Up

The various decorative tchotchkes all around are the epitome of the strange mix of the traditional Motherland Russia that are remnants of Imperial Russia, as well as the era of the red Soviet Union. Neither of these personify modern Russia and Union Soviet Socialist Republics, but they are still vivid memories and indelibly part of the culture now. On your left is an impressive DaNet ice sculpture. As you head towards the back, Soviet Union era posters are on the wall, as well as lots of candles and a few Russian cookbooks.
Check out some of the tchotchkes along the countertop as you walk towards the tables of DaNet Russian Pop Up DaNet ice sculpture on the bar at the Russian Pop up at Portland Penny Diner Soviet Union era posters along the back wall of Portland Penny Diner during the DaNet popup

As you walk past the tables, look carefully for your assigned seats for your dining reservation, marked by a little sheet stating simply “xxx Party” at each of the designated seats.
DaNet Russian Pop up Experience - find your assigned seats for your dining party at one of the communal tables

Peruse the menus at your seat – one sheet lists the whole dinner so you can begin to fortify yourself for the big meal that is about to come. While the dinner menu refers to one course of “zakuski”, a second menu sheet lists the bounty of what that zakuski actually consists of and you will see that this one “drinking foods” course is actually more like 5 appetizers! You should expect this, as seems to be a Russian custom, you will be served dishes and dishes of food until you are completely and uncomfortably full.

On the back of the dinner menu are a list of optional (at extra cost from the $75 set dinner price) beverages. Should you want to partake in vodka (highly recommended), they have flights of regular vodka, as well as infused vodkas such as horseradish dill vodka, or elderberry vodka. If straight vodka is a bit intimidating (you can choose to share among your dinner party of course), consider the cocktails as the mix of other liquids in the glass help round out the punch of vodka. You can also choose instead to have a matching wine pairing flight with each course. A server will come to your table to introduce herself or himself, and take your drink order.

The first course are the zakuski, which are traditional drinking foods – aka this is the perfect time to get your vodka on. I prefer the flavored vodkas, which I think is a middle ground between the straight vodka (but the more authentic experience) and the cocktails. It is expected that you take little sips of the vodka, and bites of your zakuski.

Chef Vitaly Paley was our guide throughout the night, ringing a little bell his mother had suggested in order to get everyone’s attention before introducing each course and describing the individual food items. I wish he could have talked longer as we were eating each item so I could look and see and think about each food item as he was telling us the history of it, and more about how it was made. To me, this felt like more than just a chef listing what food was on the menu for each course, but like a tour that we were taking to a country we were not familiar with, done via food. So I kept wanting to hear more, not much different from wanting to hear the tales of the old country from your parents or uncles or grandparents.
Vitaly Paley was our guide through the courses at DaNet, the Russian Pop Up experience. Here he is chatting about the zakuski

Meanwhile, kind Chef Paley seems worried about us being hungry and waiting during these intros to the courses (except for the kulebyaka, which is is super proud to tell us about and introduce us to) and tries to not draw our attention too long with him talking. So he goes over details pretty fast so listen up when he speaks! He’s done quite a few of these, yet still seems endearingly a bit nervous about the right amount of story to share. I understand a bit – he actually has a similar background to author Anya van Bremzen who wrote the memoir Art of Soviet Cooking I just read. He too, immigrated from the former Soviet Union and was a concert pianist, but then ended up turning to cooking and excelling in it at an international level (it is really weird that this is her exact story as well, though they come from different cities in former USSR. Not surprising to hear they are friends.). And from her memoir, it seems Russian immigrants have a complex love and hate relationship with the memory of the Soviet Union.

In fact, just look at the name of the popup overall, DaNet. Da means yes in Russian, and Net means no, so putting them together like DaNet (Да Нет) has a meaning of similar to “yes I agree, but no I also disagree, and even though you might think I am therefore neutral I disagree more than agree.” So the phrase together ultimately means no, a softer no than an outright no, and an illustration of the craziness of an everyday Russian phrase that uses two opposite words but still means something. Complicated, mixed feelings here! Anyway, on to the food recap!

First Course

On my dinner night, the zakuski included Solenya (Russian word for pickles), Ash roasted beet pkhali, Traditional Blini served with sour cream and dill, melted butter and seawater cured caviar (of course this was my favorite zakuski), Salade Olivier (a Russian salad with potatoes and vegetables and mayo and whose specific ingredients vary from family to family and is listed as one of the 1001 foods to die for, just like the Blini and Caviar dish). The acidity of the various types of Solenya (each one varying in sourness) were a great counterpoint to the richness of the heavier Salade Olivier and the rich Blini you assemble yourself. If you think you don’t like beets, try the ash roasted beet pkhali anyway as you may be surprised. The Blini pancakes are generously sized like medium pancakes!
Zakuski, variety of Russian drinking appetizers at DaNet. Solenya (Russian word for pickles)

Nope, the list for the first course is still going, the zakuski also included buterbrodi, which are open faced sandwiches with butter and other toppings – we got four different kinds, of which I can no longer read my handwriting on what I wrote what they were – but all were delicious, and I have a little heart drawn next to the duck one (the one at the very top of the buterbrodi platter in the second photo – and the only one I got seconds of).
Zakuski, variety of Russian drinking appetizers at DaNet. We were served four types of buterbrodi, here being described by Vitaly Paley as Karen Brooks dutifully takes notes

As the second bonus of the night already (still on course 1 of zakuski here), Chef Paley had brought some special garlic sausages from his last trip to New York, and generously shared it with us at the dinner, served with a bit of horseradish. I was having a hard time fitting everything on my plate!
Vitaly Paley explained this bonus zakuski (not listed on the menu) was a special garlic sausage he had brought back with him from New York. It is served here with horseradish Zakuski, variety of Russian drinking appetizers at DaNet. Solenya (Russian word for pickles), Traditional Blini (served with sour cream, dill, and seawater cured caviar), ash roasted beet pkhali, and salade olivier, and four types of buterbrodi (open faced bread and butter sandwiches).