Heading East tomorrow...

[Mikeav8r]

La Maree (34 Suvorovskiy, St) Very expensive but very nice.  Italian ex-pat owner who speaks fluent Italian, Russian and English.  He personally greets everyone at their tables and will pour your wine when the hot wine girl is a bit slow.  A nice place to impress a date but be prepared to spend no less than $250.00 USD

$250 tab for a meal for two? There is no restaurant here in Denver that would be that expensive (depending on the wine that was ordered).

Sorry CC3, I was mistaken.  I went and looked at my CC statement (United Mileage Plus  ) and was reminded that I purchased a bottle of Chianti that the owner recommended which was a bit less (3,170).  The meal was more than I remembered as you can see.

(Attachment Link)

I'm retired. I couldn't afford impressing a potential lady love in St Petersburg or Moscow. I'll stick with L'viv, where my fiancee and I dined at one of the three best restaurants in the city, The Black Cat. It has great ambiance, western style romantic decor and table settings, outstanding food, excellent wine list, and attentive service for the same pricing as Denver area restaurants (not New York prices)...pre-dinner drinks, appetizers, delicious entrees, a good bottle of Georgian wine, dessert, for two, all for less than a hundred bucks.

Next trip, next week, is to Luhans'k, so, alas, no L'viv and no Black Cat. Probably sushi, sushi, and more sushi...with a little борщ thrown in.

Honestly, I was not trying to impress her...we stumbled in to the place and I was a bit shocked at the prices.  I would not normally fork over that much for a meal as I am more frugal than that.  If I could not afford it, I most certainly would have walked out and found another place but since it was not a problem, and I did not want to appear "greedy" during our first real meeting, we stayed.  Of course later, she mentioned it was "too much money" and we should not do that anymore...I was doing a virtual face palm in my mind but at the same time I was happy to know she was not the type to "expect" high end treatment.

I am with you...I try to find good quality food, drink and ambiance for under 100.00 whenever possible.  Nothing wrong with sushi .

It was most definitely related to location though...St. Pete is very expensive and if you notice on that statement above, the Dlinniy Hvost restaurant was a basic cafe with a very basic menu and you can see what that got up to in a hurry.  That was a small meal and 2 beers between us. 

[Manny]

Vilnius, really? 

I hear the gun stuff is big fun. Like being an American, but without a beard and the high-waisted trousers. 

Riga and Tallinn, of course you will end up in the old town, full of expats and balloons. Avoid the hot girls who talk to you on the street, they are imported Ukrainian hookers. Avoid the strip joints in the tourist areas, they will just bleed you of money.

Avoid British expats generally.

In Tallinn, if you have some money in your pocket, step out of old town a few minutes and go here: http://www.argentiina.ee/

You'll never eat a better steak.....

Especially middle aged ones in Tallinn? 

My bad, I meant tourists.

[el_guero]

.....
P.S.  In Austin, there are 4 places that come to mind that I would drop over $100.00 for a meal and a couple glasses of wine by myself, so that wasn't all that much of a shock, especially considering where I was...

Austin?

Where is a tourist trap that expensive in Austin?  Much less 4?

[Mikeav8r]

.....
P.S.  In Austin, there are 4 places that come to mind that I would drop over $100.00 for a meal and a couple glasses of wine by myself, so that wasn't all that much of a shock, especially considering where I was...

Austin?

Where is a tourist trap that expensive in Austin?  Much less 4?

I will ask you one question before I answer that..and I will even provide more than 4 for your viewing pleasure.

Have you ever lived in Austin?  I am referring to the nice capital of Texas and not the small town in Minnesota.

[Phelan]

Vilnius, really? 

I hear the gun stuff is big fun. Like being an American, but without a beard and the high-waisted trousers. 

Riga and Tallinn, of course you will end up in the old town, full of expats and balloons. Avoid the hot girls who talk to you on the street, they are imported Ukrainian hookers. Avoid the strip joints in the tourist areas, they will just bleed you of money.

Avoid British expats generally.

In Tallinn, if you have some money in your pocket, step out of old town a few minutes and go here: http://www.argentiina.ee/

You'll never eat a better steak.....

Especially middle aged ones in Tallinn? 

My bad, I meant tourists.

Mr. Manny wants you to know he has no recollection of making this statement. And, additionally, it was taken entirely out of context. But, he takes full responsibility. And he stands by what he said. Next question?

[Manny]

I'll give it some context.

Riga and Tallinn are served by budget airlines from the UK and are only a couple of hours away. Beer is cheap and women as we know, are often rather comely.

The result of this is hordes of riff raff marauding around the old town (not just Brits, drunken Finns feature highly too) rat arsed. This makes the local women somewhat disdainful of those that arrive simply to leer at them and vomit on their historical pavements. So for that reason, and the inflated prices, the central touristy bits are best avoided if going to socialise or check out the women. Many fellow visiting Brits he will find there will be balloons and are generally best avoided. 

[Mikeav8r]

I'll give it some context.

Riga and Tallinn are served by budget airlines from the UK and are only a couple of hours away. Beer is cheap and women as we know, are often rather comely.

The result of this is hordes of riff raff marauding around the old town (not just Brits, drunken Finns feature highly too) rat arsed. This makes the local women somewhat disdainful of those that arrive simply to leer at them and vomit on their historical pavements. So for that reason, and the inflated prices, the central touristy bits are best avoided if going to socialise or check out the women. Many fellow visiting Brits he will find there will be balloons and are generally best avoided.

I saw plenty of them in St. Pete.  Fleet (or Navy) week started my fourth or fifth day there and a ship from Finland and Mexico pulled in...drunk sailors everywhere.  The Finns were running around with their flags in one hand and beer in the other...an interesting site.

[andrewfi]

La Maree (34 Suvorovskiy, St) Very expensive but very nice.  Italian ex-pat owner who speaks fluent Italian, Russian and English.  He personally greets everyone at their tables and will pour your wine when the hot wine girl is a bit slow.  A nice place to impress a date but be prepared to spend no less than $250.00 USD

$250 tab for a meal for two? There is no restaurant here in Denver that would be that expensive (depending on the wine that was ordered).

You'd be surprised.
There are and without hitting the wines too hard either.

[Herrie]

I'll give it some context.

Riga and Tallinn are served by budget airlines from the UK and are only a couple of hours away. Beer is cheap and women as we know, are often rather comely.

The result of this is hordes of riff raff marauding around the old town (not just Brits, drunken Finns feature highly too) rat arsed. This makes the local women somewhat disdainful of those that arrive simply to leer at them and vomit on their historical pavements. So for that reason, and the inflated prices, the central touristy bits are best avoided if going to socialise or check out the women. Many fellow visiting Brits he will find there will be balloons and are generally best avoided.

Thanks for the 2 new words to my vocabulary and that all in a single post 

[CC3]

La Maree (34 Suvorovskiy, St) Very expensive but very nice.  Italian ex-pat owner who speaks fluent Italian, Russian and English.  He personally greets everyone at their tables and will pour your wine when the hot wine girl is a bit slow.  A nice place to impress a date but be prepared to spend no less than $250.00 USD

$250 tab for a meal for two? There is no restaurant here in Denver that would be that expensive (depending on the wine that was ordered).

You'd be surprised.
There are and without hitting the wines too hard either.

Intimate, romantic, Russian-inspired bistro and vodka bar in Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver. Salmon stroganoff! Horeradish infused vodka! Look at the menu and really reasonable prices! I'm sure it would be up to par in Petersburg or Moscow...except for the relatively low prices:

http://www.opentable.com/red-square-euro-bistro?scpref=100

[CC3]

With an $80 to $100 bottle of wine, Elway's (owned by Denver's American football Hall of Fame quarterback, John Elway) might exceed $250 for two, but it's about the most expensive restaurant, with the exception of the Brown Palace Hotel's Palace Arms, in Denver:

http://www.opentable.com/elways-downtown?scpref=100

[AKA Luke]

I've left Russia now after much huffing puffing and document checking.

Heading home tomorrow,  trip report with photos to follow some point later this week.

[Manny]

Heading home tomorrow,  trip report with photos to follow some point later this week.

Looking forward to it. 

[Slumba]

La Maree (34 Suvorovskiy, St) Very expensive but very nice.  Italian ex-pat owner who speaks fluent Italian, Russian and English.  He personally greets everyone at their tables and will pour your wine when the hot wine girl is a bit slow.  A nice place to impress a date but be prepared to spend no less than $250.00 USD

$250 tab for a meal for two? There is no restaurant here in Denver that would be that expensive (depending on the wine that was ordered).

You'd be surprised.
There are and without hitting the wines too hard either.

Intimate, romantic, Russian-inspired bistro and vodka bar in Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver. Salmon stroganoff! Horeradish infused vodka! Look at the menu and really reasonable prices! I'm sure it would be up to par in Petersburg or Moscow...except for the relatively low prices:

http://www.opentable.com/red-square-euro-bistro?scpref=100

The bar is the busiest area, however.  Filled unfortunately with dudebros / fratboy douchebags and a very high ratio of guys to girls.  However the vodka is served properly, from what I can tell.  There is a kind of neat place called Polish just down the street also, though I have never eaten there.

[CC3]

La Maree (34 Suvorovskiy, St) Very expensive but very nice.  Italian ex-pat owner who speaks fluent Italian, Russian and English.  He personally greets everyone at their tables and will pour your wine when the hot wine girl is a bit slow.  A nice place to impress a date but be prepared to spend no less than $250.00 USD

$250 tab for a meal for two? There is no restaurant here in Denver that would be that expensive (depending on the wine that was ordered).

You'd be surprised.
There are and without hitting the wines too hard either.

Intimate, romantic, Russian-inspired bistro and vodka bar in Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver. Salmon stroganoff! Horeradish infused vodka! Look at the menu and really reasonable prices! I'm sure it would be up to par in Petersburg or Moscow...except for the relatively low prices:

http://www.opentable.com/red-square-euro-bistro?scpref=100

The bar is the busiest area, however.  Filled unfortunately with dudebros / fratboy douchebags and a very high ratio of guys to girls.  However the vodka is served properly, from what I can tell.  There is a kind of neat place called Polish just down the street also, though I have never eaten there.

Thanks for the tip, Slumba, but I stopped hanging out in bars in my late 20's, when my fighter pilot days came to an end, and my parenting years began.

[Mikeav8r]

La Maree (34 Suvorovskiy, St) Very expensive but very nice.  Italian ex-pat owner who speaks fluent Italian, Russian and English.  He personally greets everyone at their tables and will pour your wine when the hot wine girl is a bit slow.  A nice place to impress a date but be prepared to spend no less than $250.00 USD

$250 tab for a meal for two? There is no restaurant here in Denver that would be that expensive (depending on the wine that was ordered).

You'd be surprised.
There are and without hitting the wines too hard either.

Intimate, romantic, Russian-inspired bistro and vodka bar in Lower Downtown (LoDo) Denver. Salmon stroganoff! Horeradish infused vodka! Look at the menu and really reasonable prices! I'm sure it would be up to par in Petersburg or Moscow...except for the relatively low prices:

http://www.opentable.com/red-square-euro-bistro?scpref=100

The bar is the busiest area, however.  Filled unfortunately with dudebros / fratboy douchebags and a very high ratio of guys to girls.  However the vodka is served properly, from what I can tell.  There is a kind of neat place called Polish just down the street also, though I have never eaten there.

Thanks for the tip, Slumba, but I stopped hanging out in bars in my late 20's, when my fighter pilot days came to an end, and my parenting years began.

Parenting drove me to drink