Tverskaya impresses with simplicity of colorful, fresh food

Well, easy if you follow the fortunes of the few Russian restaurants we’ve had in Las Vegas, and if you can suss out the basically phonetic pronunciations. Eliseevsky broke that ground on the southeast corner of the intersection of Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard with good food, a charming interior with booths reminiscent of dachas in the countryside and tons of atmosphere that included Russian expatriates (many of whom were Cirque performers, I’ve been told) gathered around bottles of vodka (and under clouds of blue smoke in the days before the smoking ban) looking like nothing so much as extras in "Gorky Park."

Eliseevsky — the name of which referred to an upscale Russian department store — has been gone a few years. Today the same spot is occupied by Tverskaya, the name of which refers to a principal roadway in Moscow that was known as Gorky Street during the Soviet era. And the two names very much reflect the two restaurants, the glitz replaced by the much more basic.

The dacha-esque booths are gone now, and the space is one large, open room in hot pink and burgundy, decorated solely by some Russian-language posters and large cutouts of Russian folk characters. There also are linen tablecloths and napkins, though, with extra paper napkins in case they’re needed, and little lamps on some tables for extra illumination. There’s a big stage area across the front that indicates it’s a late-night hot spot, though I doubt the smoke clouds live on. We visited on an early evening, and its plain-Jane status was underscored by a dearth of customers that left our footsteps echoing across the room.

The irony? Though the faux dachas are gone, the food that’s being served at Tverskaya reflects what would be served in a real one in the Russian countryside — simple and colorful, with lots of fresh flavors.

I make the comparison between the two not just because they’ve shared the same space but because the Eliseevsky legacy has seemed to cast somewhat of a shadow over Tverskaya. When she cleared our borsch crock ($6.95), the woman who was the sole employee we saw asked if we liked it and commented that she’d heard the one served by Eliseevsky was fancier.

It was — with a crown of puff pastry — but this one was absolutely delicious, colored and enriched by beets and containing prodigious shreds of cabbage, chunks of potato and some meat. And, the best touch of all: Sour cream had been liberally scooped into the hot soup where it sort of thickened and congealed, which was a lot better than it sounds.

Another starter, the golubtsky ($8.95), were what most of us think of as stuffed cabbage rolls, and were so good I wouldn’t have gotten to taste them if I hadn’t jabbed my fork across the table. The gently seasoned blend of meat and pork was enfolded in the tender cabbage leaves and bathed in a light tomato-based sauce.

Shashlik is an Eastern-European favorite and, since they were out of chicken ($14.95), we ended up with pork ($15.95; beef is $16.95). We were served three wooden skewers, each with a generous number of chunks of pork that had been marinated for both tenderness and depth of flavor and grilled to nicely sear the edges, and a piquant sauce that complemented and accented the flavor of the meat.

The presentation was particularly impressive. This is clearly a mom-and-pop place, which showed in the basic decor, slightly chipped soup crock and slightly stale bread served to us before the appetizers. But great care had been taken with this entree, the plate graced with fanned orange, tomato and cucumber slices, plus a tall cylinder of pickled and shredded beets, carrots, onions and more and a few sprigs of parsley.

Since the menu simply said that both entrees would be accompanied by "fresh vegetables," I expected the same pickled mixture would be served with the Langyet steak ($16.95), but it was a different mix (red bell peppers, tomatoes and carrots) along with a mound of pureed potatoes. The steak itself was tender and flavorful, the onions atop it sauteed until they were meltingly soft.

Service throughout was fine, the woman a motherly presence who really seemed to care if we were enjoying our meal and suggested that next time we forgo appetizers in favor of desserts, which certainly sounded tempting. Tverskaya doesn’t serve alcohol, although she told us we were welcome to bring our own, and our water glasses contained slices of lemon and were refilled frequently.

When we were seated, she asked if we wanted our menus in Russian or English, clearly unwilling to judge from appearances.

I urge you to do the same. What Tverskaya may lack in glitz, it more than makes up for with superlative food and exacting detail.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or email her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.