Sorry, Babushka

Our group went to the Russian Restaurant “Sorry Babushka” since we were unable to find a Ukrainian restaurant on Staten Island. It is a restaurant situated in a little strip mall that also has a pizzeria and a barbershop. Since it is open for everyone to come eat, it fits easily into American culture. At the same time, however, it is an ethnic institution because it caters to Russian and Ukrainian people through the dishes it serves. We were pleasantly surprised to find the many cultural similarities amongst differences between the ethnic foods of Russia and those of Ukraine.

The restaurant wasn’t very explicit in representing the image of the home country because it’s probably trying to appeal to those of all ethnicities. But the waiters/waitresses were from the countries that were once in the Soviet Union. We had spoken to someone from Ukraine, someone from Russia and someone from Kazakhstan. All said that because each country shared so many similarities, they don’t have trouble communicating the dishes to the clientele. Also, the dishes have been partially Americanized to accommodate to everyone. The setting in general was very pleasant with dimmed lights in a narrow room. The pictures on the wall seemed to be irrelevant to the culture itself. But it was pretty relatable to anyone who wished to dine there because it was very pleasant. For the most part it seemed as if the décor was thought of with the intent of appeasing everyone’s needs in order to have a more spread clientele. They serve Russian and Ukrainian food, such as Ukrainian borscht, which is a soup made of beetroot and Russian ravioli. Besides these traditional Russian and Ukrainian dishes, they also serve food that is commonly seen in America such as grilled pork ribs, grilled chicken, and beef stew.

In terms of authenticity, the restaurant had one of the most authentic names. It makes it a more appealing restaurant because of its comedic nature. The restaurant also has a larger gathering for dinner because the dimmed light sets the mood for the peaceful night out. Once again the authenticity is all for the purpose of maintaining business. The restaurant probably had to go through a few adaptations over the years in order to maintain its business.  One adaptation is the name of the restaurant itself. When it primarily served Ukrainian and Russian food, I presume that not many people went there to eat. Because of the new, more friendly, and culturally accepted name, “Sorry Babushka” is functioning very well. My group went on a Saturday night, and many people were enjoying the restaurant. Another adaptation is that the menu had the name of the dish and a description of it underneath. This was done to serve the non-Ukrainian/Russian community. The waitress said the food at the restaurant, especially the borsht, is served in bigger portions than it would be served in a restaurant in Ukraine. Many of the ingredients in the food are readily available in the US, such as beets, potatoes, cabbage, and even kielbasa. A local Ukrainian cultural norm is that an entire party at a restaurant orders one dish. The food is ordered for the table, while in America the food is ordered for the individual person. Another difference is that alcohol is ordered in grams, as opposed to a glass or a bottle.

The clientele of this restaurant is predominantly from the Ukrainian/Russian community. They seem to be very familiar with the food they order as opposed to my group which is having the food for the first time. They arrange themselves as is customary in an American restaurant. The institution participates in this process by providing tables, chairs, and booths. The experience of eating at this ethnic restaurant is very much like eating at a traditional American restaurant. My group ordered borsht at the restaurant. It is a hearty soup with beets and potatoes among other vegetables. It shows that Ukraine is a fertile place where many vegetables can grow. Also, the fact that a soup is a staple item shows how cold the climate is in Ukraine. It is very hearty and healthy; it was able to fill me up quickly. For these reasons, it is a popular dish. In American cultures, where meat is very popular, beef, chicken or kielbasa is often added in larger quantities. This object captures the history of the community’s immigrant experience because it includes all the ingredients had in their home country, and while only some are offered in American cuisine.

Attending or involving yourself in another culture is highly subjective because it could range from being curious to wanting to become part of that culture and indulge in their beliefs. In terms of participating in this institution’s culture, people can go to different restaurants. When we went to “Sorry Babushka”, we realized that since Ukraine and Russia are so close to each other, they culturally influenced each other. They had Borscht, a vegetable soup that can sometimes include meat, Zelenyj borscht, a water or broth based soup amongst other dishes that both cultures share. The waiters said that slight changes have been made to accommodate the lifestyle and available ingredients of Russia but for the most part the dishes are very similar. Interestingly, by experimenting with the dishes of different cultures, we noticed that we can learn a lot about cultural influence, as is the case with Ukraine and Russia.

We are all of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. For Christian, who is Filipino, his culture represented itself through restaurants, giving people a taste of the food made in the Philippines. Historically, the Philippines has been a very religious country consisting of mostly Catholics and the biggest traditions center around attending Mass, which my family and I still do regularly, to uphold the tradition. Ukrainians are much the same, representing themselves through both food and religion. Christmas is the most important holiday in the Ukraine and they celebrate it with huge feasts. As for an Indian background, food is predominantly the biggest celebration of life and our values as well; the more you eat, the closer you are to the family because people bond over hearty meals. In terms of maintaining the perpetuation of ethnic culture, we have all agreed that our grandparents and mothers are most responsible because their values have been carried down from the previous generation and that’s how each family maintains their culture and values. For us, eating and having conversations while eating is the most common way of maintaining the perpetuation.

Overall, we found a lot of cultural similarities in between Ukraine and Russia but more importantly to our own, individual cultures. Our next Ukrainian institution is going to be a Ukrainian food store in which we hope to find a lot of unique ingredients that are often used in many Ukrainian dishes.