Welcome to my first blog post! I’m Daleyna, a lover of Marvel, Star Wars, musicals, reading and writing, and food! I think and talk about food way too much, and I needed a space to make it everyone’s problem. Daleyna Eats is that space—a blog dedicated to my adventures in eating wherever I go.

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To celebrate the end of the semester and their graduation, my friends and I went to Babushka’s, a restaurant serving Eastern European/Russian cuisine in Hyde Park, Tampa. The building itself is cute and rustic, and their logo of a little Russian grandmother is charming. Outside, they have a Ukrainian flag to show solidarity with the nation, and just past the door, a cool life-size stuffed bear and Russian sign with a “F*ck Putin” sticker.

Inside, the vibes were equally charming and homey. We went for lunch and the place was nearly empty when we went, which made for an even more comfortable setting. The interior walls are a mix of dark wood and white concrete, and there are lots of Russian knickknacks. Plants also hang from buckets attached to the ceilings (which the server told us were real). All the detail made it more fun to look around while we waited for our food.

We ordered tea for the table, which the menu said would fill a cup for 2–4 people, but it provided the four of us with multiple cups. The tea came in a small cast iron pot that kept it steaming hot the entire time we were there, and we each received our own matching teacup and saucer with cute floral prints. The tea itself was very tasty (I love tea!). We ordered the Ivan Chai, which is a chai with willow herb, sea buchthorn, and lemon. It was perfectly bitter and had a touch of citrus tang.

For our food, a friend and I split a feast of entrees. We got the Khinkali dumplings filled with goat and beef, and topped with a colorful and hearty sprinkling of cilantro, parsley, and Georgian spices. They were served with a side of sour cream. We agreed these dumplings were the best thing we ate there, and we’d come back just for them. The dumplings were each huge (big enough to be split between two people) and filled with not only rich, tender meat, but a steaming soup broth, which was a lovely surprise. They were moist and soft in the best way, and the sour cream paired nicely as a cooling counter to the savory dumpling. These were absolutely mouthwatering and so flavorful.

Next, we split the lamb plov, a rice dish sautéed with lamb, vegetables, and herbs. This was addictive and instantly reminded me of seco de chivo but with a twist. The rice in this dish was more moist and fluffy than the short grain rice in the dishes I typically eat at home since it was made with Jasmine rice, and the spice combination was a bit different due to its Georgian origin. Overall, it tasted fantastic. The lamb, like the meat in the dumplings, was very tender.

The last thing we shared was the beef stroganoff. I’ve never eaten this before, but I’ve always wanted to try it simply because I’ve always wanted to know what they’re referencing in this line from one of my favorite musicals:

Do not slurp the stroganoff. 
I never cared for stroganoff. 

–Anastasia

Now I can say I’ve tried beef stroganoff and that I would gladly get it again. The egg noodles were chewy and moist without being mushy, though my friend said they weren’t quite al dente. The sauce they were slathered in was slightly sweet and very creamy. The steak tasted flavorful too, though a teensy bit dry and tough. I happily ate as much as I could and took home plenty of leftovers to enjoy.

At the end of our meal, the server brought over the receipt in a little matryoshka doll (Russian nesting doll), which was the cherry on top of the experience. I will definitely be returning to Babushka’s again.