Well, there wasn't any vodka, but other traditional favorites were plentiful at the most recent Sac Epicureans dinner. This month was a Russian sampler, set at the small North Highlands restaurant Stolichniy. The Sacramento area has a significant number of the 100,000 refugees from the former USSR who have arrived in California since the 1980s. So in exploring the diverse ethnic cuisines in this area, we couldn't forgo Russian. And Stolichniy fed us well.

As we sat down to a large L-shaped table, we were greeted with bowls of mushrooms with scallions in a vinegar marinade; kompot, a fresh berry lemonade much like a fruit punch; and mixed romaine and iceberg salad with a creamy dill dressing. Plates of thinly sliced delicious brown bread also arrived. Very quickly, the group was presented with a variety of dishes. They began with delicious Ukrainian vereneki (potato dumplings), served with caramelized onions, soon followd by rassolnick, a soup of beef, barley, carrots, potatoes, and the surprise ingredient--pickles! The group was divided by the soup into those who really liked the sour tang of the pickles and those who didn't. Next up were little ravioli-like pelmeni (beef and pork filling), topped with margarine. Pelmeni come from the Siberian region of Russia and were traditionally made in the fall. They were tasty and filling and reminded some of us of wontons.

For entrees, we tried cabbage rolls filled with a mixture of beef and rice, served in a tomato broth, and lamb stew with gorgeously turned egg-shaped potatoes and an unusual sprinkling of cilantro. Cabbage rolls are found throughout Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary as well as parts of Russia. The stew was more potatoes than lamb, but flavorful. Oddly, there were bottles of Sriracha Asian hot sauce on each table, and we weren't sure what to put that on. Maybe the dumplings? The rolls could have been good with a bit of spice too, though.

And after all that meat and potatoes, we were still interested in dessert! Each person got a bliny (crepe) filled with a mixture of four creamy cheeses and topped with chocolate syrup. It reminded me of blintzes and would have been perfect for brunch as well. Everyone agreed that the bliny were one of the favorites. The service was so rapid that we were done quite quickly, and from the size of the restaurant, I doubt they usually have parties as large as ours. It's clearly a popular restaurant with the community, though, as several to-go orders were dispatched while we ate. The pizza place next door has Cyrillic on some of its signs, and I saw a market that looked promising in the same strip mall.

The Web site Russian Dining lists Stolichniy as having good borscht and kotlety. Their Sac-area reviews are worth reading if you like Russian food. I'd love to go explore the Kolobok European Market on Fair Oaks Boulevard. It's supposed to be very well stocked (unlike some actual Russian markets in years past, but hopefully that's history).

Stolichniy Restaurant
5601 Watt Ave
North Highlands, CA 95660
(916) 332-5989

Kolobok European Market
7307 Fair Oaks Blvd
Carmichael, CA 95608
(916) 473-0306