The food seems to move around Russia and its neighbors, so some of the items will be semi-familiar. We mourned that we couldn’t manage enough room to try things like meat blintzes, for instance, or the Armenian bean dip. A very garlicky dish of roasted red pepper strips charmed, with a sprinkle of hard feta-like cheese on top, and some slices of very un-European black olives that were clearly as Californian as the Golden Gate Bridge. We expected hardy main courses and weren’t disappointed. Goulash isn’t the sort that’s heavy with sour cream and served on noodles. Instead, we got a sprightly, un-greasy stew laced with dill and slightly tart from its tomato-ness and perhaps some sour salt, a favored ingredient in that sort of cuisine. The beef was carefully trimmed, some nice chunks of potato were properly cooked, the whole thing was a great pleasure. We’ll have to bring our pal The Old China Hand next time; he’s also a goulashophile. One of the daily specials was a pork roast, and while it’s no secret that we’re partial to the pleasures of swine, this was special. Four generous slices of pig arrived, each almost as lean as a loin, but more tender than that cut. The roast had been pierced with a long knife and pieces of carrot and garlic inserted into the lengthwise-slits, so each slice had some vegetable. Rubbed with black pepper and herbs, the pork was topped with a white sauce that looked like milk gravy but had been graced with horseradish for a lovely nudge of flavor. It came with a generous serving of roasted mixed vegetables, potato, onion, carrot, and broccoli, healthy if somewhat bland. From the dessert menu, we chose what it called fruit cake, described as a biscuit with cream and fruit. We expected a shortcake-like dish, but it turned out to be a piece of a shallow tart, its crust filled with something much like cheesecake and topped with blueberries and slices of white peach and banana. Tasty and just enough. No liquor license here; it’s soft drinks, teas and coffees. But this is granny food, and granny probably didn’t have one either. Dvin 8143 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves 314-968-4000 Dinner Mon.-Sat. Credit cards: Yes Wheelchair access: Poor Smoking: No Entrees: $9-$14
Sitting quietly in the Old Orchard neighborhood of Webster Groves, Dvin has been around for many years, running under most radar screens. The small interior is decorated within an inch of its life, filled with large plants, pictures, figurines, all adding up to a feeling of being in something truly Eastern European. The decor fits right in with the menu. Two women run the place; we suspect they’re mother and daughter. If it gets busy, things probably get a little harried, but our service was pleasant and business-like. We watched as a solo diner, obviously a regular, came in, had a long discussion about just what he wanted to eat, and spent the next 10 minutes with his head in a large bowl of soup, smiling and nodding and eating.
