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| - For all things Russian..Tovarich!
To begin with, there is the greatest selection of smoked fish I have been this side of New York. They are all there, mostly unknown to be, but looking delicious. They also feature a great delicatessen counter with many head cheeses and more 'serious' cold cuts, from cold climates.
The also have a great assortment of imported sweets, and in November they bring in a great and inexpensive chocolate dipped marzipan loaf. I have it on good authority that for under $ 2.00, this is the best marzipan loaf you can buy comrade.
They also feature a full selection of canned fish. I was lucky enough, one time, to buy fish balls in tomato sauce, which the Ukrainian part of the family just loved. But unfortunately most of the labels are in Cyrillic and that makes it difficult to divine what the wondrous package contain. There is one item that was clearly marked that I bought and neither I nor the dog could consume: sprat pate. This would have made the worse cat food taste great. It is made of the odd bits of smoked sprats (a kind of sardine), that have been mashed together to a grey gooey consistency.
I did buy 1l. of nectar (on spec), and it turned out to be plum nectar and was really tasty. They have a great great line up of imported jams, jellies and cookies. In most cases you have to go by colour and the drawing on the label.
For those of you really nostalgic about the old country they have a large selection of health and beauty aids (shampoos, soaps, lotions, creams, etc.). When you couple that with a great selection of Russian and Baltic teas, you have a winning combination.
Come stroll the aisles, close your eyes, and imagine yourself at GUM. No this it better!
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