Food Blogger Rates Meals at Volgograd's Oldest Dumpling Spot
Prominent food blogger Alexey Morozov from St. Petersburg, also known as Grillkov, visited numerous establishments in Volgograd based on subscribers« advice. He didn»t overlook street food, tasting both fast-food stalls and the oldest dumpling place on Chuykova Street. The content creator rated the set lunch at the canteen positively, with nostalgia for the past, but also noted several drawbacks in the food.
Even before reaching one of Volgograd«s legendary spots, the blogger noted that this place is considered iconic among locals.
— The place has never closed since 1961. It«s a canteen, folks. The prices are top-notch, but keep one thing in mind: you can»t pay with cards here. Only cash, — says Alexey.
The blogger started with the «salad section.» The first to be tasted was the popular Olivier salad.
— Here it is, magnificence. Of course, this isn«t a restaurant, gentlemen. Here it»s chicken breast, no sausage, you have to mix the mayonnaise yourself. As I understand, this was originally a dumpling place, but now it«s mostly a canteen. Well, you can»t really criticize it. Everything here tugs at the heartstrings of the past. You could have already spoiled, shriveled up like Seryozhenka on the steps.
Next under the camera«s focus was the salad »Herring under a Fur Coat.« The potatoes, in the blogger»s opinion, were «a bit stale,» and the herring turned out to be somewhat oversalted.
Next, Grillkov moved on to the hot dishes. Although, according to the taster, borscht should be tasted first without sour cream, which was added right away, the verdict was brief and concise: «Canteen borscht.»
— The thing is, this is Kuban borscht. The whole idea here is that it has a lot of tomatoes. There«s some kind of smokiness, you can feel that sausage was added. I wouldn»t get it a second time, but if you«re a fan of the »southern style,« then it»s quite «acceptable.»
Grillkov rated the dumplings very positively
Right after the hot dishes, the establishment«s benchmark appears in close-up, namely the dumplings. The taster identified the homemade origin of the dumplings by the dough and demonstrated the »juiciness« with a fork.
— The dumplings are as close to homemade as possible, you can feel it in the dough. If I had something like this nearby, I«d only come here. It»s a pity there«s no tasty infused vodka or something. I»m not turning into an inner alcoholic, but it«s really missing. The dumplings are tasty, perfect.
The blogger liked the potatoes more than the meatballs
Mashed potatoes with meatballs for Alexey Morozov turned out to be comparable to those served in kindergarten, following classic recipes.
— Inside the meatballs, you can see there«s rice. The gravy is classic, well, they made something like this in my kindergarten. Meat is 50%, maybe they added some bread too. Nothing extraordinary. But the tomato sauce is quite decent. I won»t buy this a second time, honestly telling you. The mashed potatoes are specifically tasty, canteen-style.
The pie and compote at the end of the tasting did not receive a detailed evaluation
The final dish was a pie with potatoes. The blogger rated it «only because of the dough.»
— Homemade, most likely. Hmm, a bit sad. There«s a bit too little potato, missing some onion. Only because of the dough you can take this and relax. — assessed the taster.
The final verdict was positive. However, the emphasis in evaluating the place was not so much on the food as on the atmosphere of the establishment and the nostalgia evoked by the location.
— This is the kind of place you can come to and try how it used to be. Here it«s precisely the moment of these memories. This isn»t a restaurant, it«s exactly that canteen from the past that our parents, grandparents told us about. Enjoy yourself if you»re here, it«s worth it. Atmosphere — 10 out of 10. But it»s precisely good as an experience just to eat, but also to slightly stir up your memory strings.
Earlier we wrote that the oldest dumpling place in the basement on Chuykova Street is familiar to several generations of Volgograd residents. People have been coming here to eat for 64 years — for nostalgia, to the unchanged over the years interior, and for a plate of dumplings — the establishment«s signature dish since 1961 to this day.
