UKRAINIAN FOOD IS...(secret underground restaurant)

This bar is in front of our restaurant because here you can find no job of foreign alcohol.

We're Kara and Nate. We've been traveling the world full time for the last three and a half years, and we've had the opportunity to sample local cuisine in over 90 countries.

Wow.

Most of it has been incredibly delicious. Some of it has been incredible. Interesting. I never thought I would be eating lamb testicles, and a few just weren't for us.

Delicious. Do I have to eat the head? We are currently in our 94th country of Ukraine in the capital city of Kiev. And today we are going to be trying as much Ukrainian food as our stomachs could possibly handle.

We have created A list of 11 traditional Ukrainian dishes that we have to try today.

We're gonna see how far we can make it through the list because we've heard the cuisine here is very heavy.

But we're really strong. Let's go.

We are starting today's DIY food tour at a restaurant that has become our go to this week while we have been in Kiev. And we have lovingly referred to it as grandma's house for multiple reasons. As soon as you walk in the front door, it smells like grandma's cooking. You can see into the kitchen, and you can literally watch Ukrainian grandmothers making dough by hand. And the. The decorations all look like what would be in your grandmother's house that she decorated in the 80s and hasn't updated since. Pretty sure we could just get all 11 things on our list at this restaurant. But we have narrowed it down to four things on our list, starting with okroshka. I have no idea if I'm saying that correctly. I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for mispronouncing all 11 things on this list. So this is what they call a summer soup. It is from Russia, but it's very popular in the summer in Ukraine because it's cold and yogurt based.

It tastes like soup salad. Like, it literally tastes like I'm eating a salad in soup form because, like, all the things that a salad has, onions, little chunks of chicken, celery, cucumber, tons of dill. And then it's like the dressing is just soup. So there are a lot of variations of dumplings in this part of the world. They're all called different things, but they're all very similar. We just ordered vareniki, which might be the national dish in Ukraine. I'm not positive. I'm pretty sure it is. So we got some varaniki stuffed with cabbage and mushrooms topped with caramelized onion and these beautiful chunks of fried pork. And the Ukrainian grandmas just made them in the kitchen.

It's seriously the best thing I've put in my mouth since we've been here. We actually had these in Poland as well, but they call them pierogi there. They're pretty much the same. So I like to make the perfect bite with a little bit of that salty, chewy, crispy bacon with some of the Caroline's onions for, like, the sweetness. And then mixed with the doughy handmade with grandma's love dough with the savory veggies on the inside. Can you see me salivating, like, as I'm talking? It's the best combination.

It's so good. Another type of dumplings that we've seen on almost every menu is the polini. These originated in Russia, and it was a way for them to store meat in the winter. So they would actually make them raw, put the meat in the middle, and then they would put them in the snow. So we have some chicken plinis, we have some Siberian plus, and we've ordered them fried, so they have a nice crispy outside. And like a lot of dishes that we've encountered here in Ukraine, it comes with a side of sour cream to put on top. Let the mystery pulimi eating begins. It doesn't matter what's in the middle. Cold sour cream with the warm, crispy dumplings. You just can't go wrong. Our last dish is the famous borscht soup. We had this for the first time on the Trans Siberian Railway, so it's something that I've always associated with Russia, but apparently it actually originated here in Ukraine, so we had to try it in the country where it originated. I very first heard of this dish, that it was a soup with a beetroot broth, and it's just like everything just turns red, red in the dish. It doesn't look very appetizing. It didn't sound very appetizing to me, but it's something that I've come to love. There's tons of onions, beans, potatoes, some kind of meat. So good. Wow.

Not a bad first start to the tour.

Can I have one hot dog? Sausage? Yes, one sausage. Thank you. We've come right around the corner to try one of Keith, Kiev's most famous street foods. From what I understand, it's like a mix between a corn dog and a hot dog, but it smells like a donut. It's a yeast roll that has a hot dog put inside. And then it's all deep fried into one steamy, fatty snack.

First bite tasted like a sugarless don.

It seriously tastes like a sugarless donut stuffed with an American hot dog. I feel like the drinking culture is pretty big here. There's a lot of vodka and this seems like exactly what you'd want after a night of drinking. A lot of shots of vodka. Just a guess. I don't know from experience.

No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I really like the bread, the sour yeast dough.

It's very greasy.

You want it? Huh? Okay.

Yeah.

Okay. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

What just happened? I actually, I was like, oh, this is funny. He's giving me a thumbs up and then he had like a hammer in his hand. Give him the hot take. Take the hot dog. I don't want the hot dog. Good thing you don't like hot dogs. Anyway, I tried. Anyway, I think my favorite part of the whole interaction was that he forced his girl, the girl that was with him, to eat the hot dog.

I don't know why we didn't just hand him the whole thing.

I tried to. And then he like. I don't know.

Very weir.

One oyster. So we just came right across the street to this restaurant that so many people told us to come to because everything is one euro. None of this stuff is actually on our list of things to eat today. But it was all €1 and they only had five things on the menu. So we ordered four out of the five things because the fifth thing was a hot dog, which we just had. We were kind of scared the guy with the hammer was going to come back and eat it. Just kidding. But it really is a random menu. It kind of has an apple theme. There's apple cider, apple brandy, apple pie and oysters. No idea where these came from, but they're a dollar and why not? Uh, oh, it's an oyster. I think you're supposed to wash it down with.

This is good. It's like adult apple juice. I don't think you really come here because it's like the best food ever. I think it's more just like a cheap, cool vibe. Barrels as the tables.

I like it. Next, we're going in search of Kiev chicken. And we've heard that the best spot to get it is in Podil, which is like old Kiev. And it's probably at least a 20 minute walk away, which is probably a good thing. We need to walk off some calories.

And it feels amazing. In the podcast, breezes blowing.

There's a party in the street. I feel like we picked, like the best days ever to be in Kiev.

I think a terrible mistake. I wanted to cut it open because she told me it was really hot when she set it on the table. And then all this beautiful, beautiful melted butter just went all over the table. This is called the chicken Kiev. And from what we understand, they take a chicken filet, they pound it out, they roll it in cold butter, and then they stuff it with dill, roll it up and fry it. How beautiful is that?

That is so good. Fried to perfection. The dill and the butter on the inside, so savory. I really wish it had all the butter still in there. I hate that I smelled it. I'm so sad. But it's still really good.

We're very sorry.

I'm so sorry.

It's okay.

It's usual for us, really. I'm not the first one who's made a mess like this.

No, not first. Not first.

That makes me feel better. Part of my sadness, us how, like, disappointed our waitress was going to be when she saw the mess on the table. I'm going to continue dipping and enjoy it.

So I think I may have discovered my new favorite food here in Kiev. It's called serniki and it's cottage cheese pancakes. And what I really love about them is you can either order them savory or sweet. So like a lot of things here in Ukraine, it comes with a side of sour cream, but it also comes.

With a side of jam.

And that's my favorite way to go. Going for the double dip here.

Just imagine a cheesecake without the crust and then sticking it in a pan and frying it on both sides until they're just a little bit crispy. And then dousing it in jam. That's what I'm eating right now. And it's incredible. Who would put sour cream on?

I would.

Gotta work off those calories.

Just. I'm doing this for you, not for me. Just gotta keep going.

Well, we started this adventure at lunchtime. Now getting dark. We're not through our list yet. Not throwing in the towel yet, though. See how tonight goes?

We can do it.

I'm like getting side cramped just from walking right now. It is a very heavy cuisine.

Pretty sure our next stop is the most popular place in town. Look at this line.

Okay, so the line was really long. And then I made friends with this really nice lady and her husband and her son. And we're gonna sit with them. We're holding hands.

She said we would have had to wait 40 minutes. We've been here for two.

That's crazy.

It turns out you can't actually order the drink that we came here for when you're sitting at the table. So now I'm standing downstairs with the husband who only speaks Ukrainian, and we're trying to order the drink.

So he fills it all the way up to the top. And then apparently you have to. You have to drink it out so you can put the cherries in it. Is that right?

Problem is, Kara's not here and I have to do both. Is that enough?

Okay. Thank you.

Yay.

Okay. This restaurant is so cool. We just came here for this traditional cherry liqueur that we heard that they had. We had no idea. The upstairs is this really cool restaurant. No plates, no silverware. They draw a plate with a fork on the tablecloth, which is a piece of paper. Everybody has these bibs that they've also drawn some semi vulgar things on. And you just eat with your hands. Our new friend is so nice. He insists that I try the ribs.

Oh, my God. I told you.

Well, that was just the best.

Those are the moments that you just can't plan for.

So I'm just clueless. There's all these people. I'm like, are you in line? Are you in line? Everybody's like, like, nobody knows what I'm saying. And then this angel came up to me and she said, are you asking who's last in line? And I was like, yes. And she said, go over there. Tell them your name. They write it on a piece of paper. And, like, told me I was having. I was like, oh, like you put your name on a list. Turns out you only have to do that if you were eating.

There were two separate lines.

I didn't.

You were in the food line. And then there's like the bar line where you go the drink. That was like, the whole reason we came to the restaurant.

Best mistake I've ever made. Because we have new friends named Claudia and George.

They were the best.

By the time we finished dinner last night with our new friends, the last two places that we really wanted to go were closed. But we still had three things left on the list. So now it is dinner time. Our stomachs are a lot more empty. We're going to finish what we started.

We're no quitters.

So this place has also been one of our go to's while we've been in Kiev. We've been calling it the Ukrainian McDonald's because it's a chain, and we've seen them on every street. It seems like it's called Puzata hata, and it is so cheap. This entire tray of food was, like, $5. It's cafeteria style, so you just point to what you want. And the food is not bad. And the reason we came here is because this is on our list. It's called Nalas Nikki, and it's like a crepe. Apparently, crepes are a thing here, we think. But instead of folding it like a normal crepe, they roll it up. Looks like it has caramel and chocolate drizzled on top. And it's filled with something. I have no idea what that is. And believe it or not, it is served with a side of sour cream. Even though it's a sweet crepe.

This isn't really fair. I don't like sweets unless it's chocolate. The filling is, like, really fruity, but, like, really. But the sour cream, like, weirdly works.

So our last stop on this entire food tour, we think is located somewhere in this mall. But it's a speakeasy, and we've heard it's located on a secret floor. And you need a password, and the.

Password is Ukrainian, So we're gonna have to do some. Some practicing.

That is not how it looks at all.

We're on the secret floor.

I don't know.

Well done. Wow. Do you know what it means?

If you fight, you will win.

Keep. Keep on fighting and you're going to win or keep struggling. Yes, exactly.

Wow. Thank you.

Wow.

I feel really awkward. I don't know where to go. Like, everybody knows what's going on except for me.

You, the table.

Yeah.

Fortune.

Yes.

Awesome.

This is much fancier than I expected. I thought we were coming into a dark dungeon.

We've been instructed to sit down at the bar.

This bar is the price of our restaurant, because here you can find no job of pouring alcohol.

Wow. I feel like it's really obvious that we're new here.

This is, like, the best finale to our food tour. The wall with all the hands. There's 72 hands, which are the 72 years that Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. And then once you walk past that door, you're in free Ukraine. Then she told us about a bunch of stuff on the wall, showed us the kitchen. Everything here is Ukrainian. Like, no foreign foods or drinks. Showed us this cool old ruin upstairs, and now we're back in the free room.

Now we just have to hope they have the last two items. On the notebook. Okay, so they didn't have duni, but they did have some salo, and they had this entire platter of local meats. So salo is pretty much just pork fat, which sounds extremely unhealthy, but apparently here in Ukraine, they actually think it has a lot of health benefits. A little skeptical about that, but our waitress told me, she said if you eat salo by itself, it's like 50%. So what you do is you take the bread and then you smear some horseradish on top of it. She was like, it's like, you Ukrainian wasabi. And then you stick the salo on top and you just eat it all as one cohesive unit.

Oh, it burns so bad. I have no clue what solo tastes like. All it tastes is horseradish. I should have known.

That was a heavy, heavy serving of horseradish. It tastes kind of like. Like salty bacon. Like, that's the closest thing I could compare it to. Like, bacon with a really weird texture. Not bad. Okay.

We've heard that the only way to wash down your salo is with vodka.

The waiter said this was the best in all of Ukraine. Staritsky. Levitsky.

Budmo.

Bud.

Ah.

Wow.

That felt like the most appropriate way to end a Ukrainian food tour.

So close.

And something else that we have never seen before. A make your own garlic bread. So this jar is just butter, a ton of garlic, and dill. And then we think you just dip it right in. It's really good if you just, like, let it soak in there for, like, five minutes. Beetroot.

Beetroot.

Here we go.

Okay.

What I ordered earlier, I was like, one hot dog, and she was like, no sausage. That's, like, the most American hot dog I've ever seen.

And so yummy. And cheese.

Pretty sure our next stop is.

When we. When we first watched it, she's like, where are you from? And we're like, American. She's like.

She goes, really? America? And we were like, do you still.

Want to sit with you? By the end, we were best friends. She felt like we were famous. She was too funny. Strong alcohol.

I can't believe how strong that was. Ukrainian bikes.

Even after the dumplings, the bread, the meat, everything we've had, I still feel it down here.

Yeah. I wonder if that's why it's good. Like, that's a sign. The longer it burns, the better it is.

Ours has been real good.