I remember my first (and only previous) trip to Veselka back in 2005 when I came to visit NYC, long before I was a resident myself. It was late, and I remember stuffing my face with fried potato pancakes and sour cream until I had eaten to my heart's content. This East Village staple is always bustling. The 1st Ave and 9th St location opened up back in 1954 and has remained an iconic restaurant to date. It's a 24-hour Ukrainian joint with a classic diner feel. The food is decent (and cheap for the epic proportions) and the wait staff is authentic. I can see why it's a favorite of so many people who need to load up on cured meats after a night of boozin' it up on the LES.
We were seated immediately, and were served by a sweet, older Eastern European waitress. She was attentive and the service was friendly and fast. To start, she brought out a heaping plate of thick challah bread with butter. It was a nice start to a super filling meal.
I knew I was hungry, but I didn't know if I wanted to commit to eating several pounds of meat (as is the custom in the old country). I decided to go with the DELUXE Vegetarian combo plate ($14.25), because, yeah I was hungry, but alas, I am also a girl. All of the special plates start with soup and salad. I ordered a cup of the vegetarian borscht and they brought me a basic green salad with a creamy dill dressing.
I was in love with this borscht. I could taken a long, hot bath in this steamy beet soup. It was complex with tones sweet and sour in quality. The beets themselves had a good bite to them and the soup had the right hit of acid without being too salty. I REALLY loved this soup. The salad was fine, and the dressing was yummy, albeit a little heavy, but hey, "When in Ukraine", right? And besides, that was nothing compared to what I was about to conquer.
That's my girly vegetarian plate that you see above. Holy sh*t that's a lot of effin' food. That big mound of awesomeness on the left hand side of the plate is a meatless stuffed cabbage. It was a large green cabbage leaf rolled and stuffed with a hearty filling of wild rice, mushrooms and Ukrainian spices, then topped with a thick mushroom gravy and garnished with parsley. The the right, those lovely little dumplings are pierogies with a variety of yummy fillings: cheese, potato, sauerkraut . . . wait a minute, WHERE THE EFF IS MY MUSHROOM PIEROGI? Oh well, they must have forgot, but I think I had enough to plow through already, so I refrained from being a fatass, and just consumed the monstrous mountain of food that was already on my plate. The ramekins you see are full of sour cream and sauerkraut, standard condiments that come with most Eastern European dishes. And up top, that's a big ass helping of buckwheat.
The food was solid. I really loved the filling in the stuffed cabbage, but it was a little messy to eat. There wasn't a good way to cut into the cabbage roll without completely tearing the thing apart. The boiled pierogies were decent, but definitely not the best I've ever had. I think I liked the sauerkraut one the best. The potato was yummy, but the cheese one was a little sweet for my taste. I CAN'T COMMENT ON THE MUSHROOM ONE. I actually really enjoyed the buckwheat too. It was so fragrant and had a great, almost nutty texture. One complaint: I wish the food had come out a bit more hot. It was warm, and totally edible. Some may even prefer that heat, but I like my food scorching, so I guess I could have sent it back, but I didn't have the balls last night.
I was glad to revisit this popular East Village establishment, and I'm sure I'll be back after a late night of beers at Grassroots, or after hitting the stage at Under St. Mark's. It's not the best Eastern European cuisine I've had in the city, but the history/prices/location/hours of operation make it a place worth putting on your list of late night restaurants to check out. My friend Dave says there is a superior Ukrainian place right up the street from here. More deets on that when I have them!
THE DAMAGE: $20 (including tax and tip!)
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