Domino's [Kiev Style]

Back in December Laura and I visited Kiev and were craving something American and so we decided to stop at a Domino's pizza we had walked by a couple times on our adventures.  The view of the store was pretty amazing:

This Domino's was very new and had a screen letting us know the status of our order.  And Laura's name fit right in with everyone else ordering pizza.

And here it is...real pepperoni and black olives...and not a piece of corn in sight!  

Although we wouldn't normally seek out a Domino's in America, on that cold rainy day the pizza was more than excellent.  

And of course they deliver too... from America just dial 011 + 380 + 44 + 222 + 1111 and it should be there in a few days.

Shalena Mama: The Rolling Stones Themed Restaurant

You have a free night in Kiev, you say?  No dinner plans, you say?  Would you be up for an unauthorized Rolling Stones themed restaurant?  How can anyone say no to that!  The restaurant is called Shalena Mama and offers a wide variety of dishes with the main focus being Asian food.    

And here was our menu.  It was clear that absolutely none of this was authorized by the band but as I doubt they or their representation make it to Kiev that often I can see how it has slipped through the cracks.

Each dish had a corresponding song title...unfortunately it didn't look there was too much original thought in assigning songs with dishes.  I would think "Sympathy For The Devil" might be a super spicy Asian dish but instead it's a shrimp soup.  Here are some song and dish combinations:

"Sympathy For The Devil"
A light spicy soup with shrimp, mushrooms, lemon, juice and Thai fresh herbs.

"Stupid Girl"
Thai noodle soup with soy bean sprouts your choice of chicken, veal, or shrimp.

"Ruby Tuesday"
Stir-fried selection of market vegetables with oyster sauce and rice.

"Tumbling Dice"
Sauteed chicken with cashew nuts, onions, and mushrooms in a light soy sauce and rice.


"Under My Thumb"
Cheese Fries


"Wild Horses"
Wok fried chicken, veal, or pork with white mushrooms in oyster sauce.

"Jumpin' Jack Flash"
Traditional Caesar salad with shrimp and our special salad sauce.

There were a ton of Rolling Stones paintings and prints around but the lighting was such that most of them turned out too dark. Here's a poster celebrating the Stones 1975 North and South American tours.

I ordered a chicken sandwich with coleslaw and what arrived was closer to a BLT with chicken substituted for the bacon.  It was still good though and the coleslaw was nice a creamy...just how I like it.

Laura went with chicken fried rice...one of her favorite dishes although I don't believe she has ever had it served with a fried egg on top in this style.  She reported that it was excellent.

Our friend Vanessa got a Thai dish...the name of it escapes me but it also received good marks.

I think I've ordered cheese fries once or twice in America but the mystery of what Ukrainian cheese fries...or the "Under My Thumb" as it was named in the menu...would be was too much to pass up.  Would it be traditional American french fries with cheese dipping sauce.  Would it be heavily salted baked potato wedges and some slices of cheese? But wouldn't you know it!  Cheese fries that were exactly what I expected.

And more ketchup than I could have dreamed would appear.

And when the bill came we got a little more Rolling Stone copyright infringement.

And outside we have the tongue logo in neon.

Chocolate and Cheese Pie

Behold the wonderfulness of Chocolate and Cheese Pie from the Lviv Chocolate Cafe in Kiev.  

Here you can see the sedimentary layers of chocolate and cheese that built up over millennia and the last layer of molten chocolate that cascaded over the side sometime in the last century..

I've found that Ukrainian restaurants [and most of Europe as well, I assume] take much more enjoyment and fun in providing the customer the bill.  You'll often get a stylized envelope or something more extravagant holding the bill at the end of the evening.  Without a doubt the best one of these we've seen so far was this treasure chest that was presented to us after or chocolate and cheese pie was eaten.

Inside, you've got your bill slip and you leave your hryvnia inside.