RUSSIAN THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic Russian immigrants turn out in force at local Russian restaurants on weekend nights. But these restaurants, if they remain open on weeknights and at lunchtime, remain relatively quiet. The new Barin on Reseda Boulevard in Tarzana is evidently connected to an adjoining retail food market and is typically not busy on weekdays. Consequently, diners who are not familiar with some of the names on the menu can get more attention and presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. better service at these times. Needless to say, Barin has a very good kitchen, and though some dishes take time to come to the table, they generally are worth the wait. Obviously, just about everything is prepared from scratch, the old-fashioned way. I've always maintained that if a restaurant kitchen makes good soups, you can bet that the rest of the fare will be above average. And so it is with Barin, sporting a comfortable dining room complete with snow white linen-topped tables and gleaming glassware, and also a fully equipped stage for weekend entertainment. Barin uses an all-day menu that features at least four steaming hot soups, ranging from a soup of the day Soup of the Day is the loosely scripted 2006 internet phenomenon that told the story of one man who is dating three women at the same time. Each of the 19-episodes of the story was its own 4-6 minute self-contained viral video. The entire series can be seen at [1] [2]. ($3.99) that could be a richly nutritious and savory beef-vegetable named harcho, to an intensely flavored beet and cabbage borscht ($5.99). Other soups ($3.99 each) are also rich and hearty, one being a piquant and satisfying potage called solianka sbornaya, another utilizing Canadian bacon Canadian bacon n. Cured rolled bacon from the loin of a pig. Noun 1. Canadian bacon - from a boned strip of cured loin pork loin - meat from a loin of pork and sour cream titled schi po-barsky. But not everyone wants to start a meal with soup, and Barin complies by offering four salads ($6.99 to $15.99) and several hot and cold appetizer items. One of the hot ones, dubbed simply seafood julienne ju·li·enne n. Consommé or broth garnished with long thin strips of vegetables. adj. also ju·li·enned Cut into long thin strips: julienne potatoes; julienned pork. ($9.99), arrives as two shining, mini-skilletlike pans holding a tasty, oven-baked, melted cheese-topped melange mé·lange also me·lange n. A mixture: "[a] building crowned with a mélange of antennae and satellite dishes" Howard Kaplan. of seafood (salmon, scallops, shrimp and squid) in a sour cream sauce cream sauce n. A white sauce made by cooking together a mixture of flour and butter with milk or cream. Noun 1. cream sauce - white sauce made with cream . Great for sharing by a twosome. Other hot goodies are Barin's version of potato vareniki ($8.99), Russia's traditional potato dumplings, here also available with other fillings; and blini, the small crepes preferably filled with duck meat ($10.99), and here complemented with an Asian plum sauce Noun 1. plum sauce - for Chinese dishes: plum preserves and chutney sauce - flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food . On the cold side, starters include a delightful assorted fish platter ($12.99) consisting of two types of salmon, smoked cod and sturgeon sturgeon, primitive fish of the northern regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Unlike evolutionarily advanced fishes, it has a fine-grained hide, with very reduced scalation, a mostly cartilaginous skeleton, upturned tail fins, and a mouth set well back on the . This is definitely a sharing plate. In fact, after downing a crock crock - [American scatologism "crock of shit"] 1. An awkward feature or programming technique that ought to be made cleaner. For example, using small integers to represent error codes without the program interpreting them to the user (as in, for example, Unix "make(1)", which of soup and consuming half of this dish combined with a few slices of Barin's crusty black or rye bread, there's barely room for an entree. So one time, from the separate list of seafood items that presents lobster and sturgeon steak plates, an order of steamed crawfish crawfish: see crayfish. ($6.99) was ordered. Didn't even finish it. At other visits, a hearty beef stew ($6.99); beef stroganoff ($11.99) of tender beef loin loin (loin) the part of the back between the thorax and pelvis. loin n. The part of the body on either side of the spinal column between the ribs and the pelvis. strips mixed with wild mushrooms and cream, served on shoestring fries; and two meaty pork chops ($10.99) cooked in butter and garlic and moistened with a creamy mushroom sauce were enjoyed. And Barin's chicken Kiev ($13.99), with a crunchy exterior and delicious, butter-spurting white meat interior, is as top-notch a rendition of this classic as you'll find anywhere. The bonus is its handsome presentation, on a large square white plate with perfect roasted potatoes, small carrots and firm asparagus spears. After all this, several cakes can be had for dessert. Two of the better ones are the smetannik cake and the cranberries cake ($6.99 each), cut in large enough wedges for sharing. Barin, which definitely has skillful skill·ful adj. 1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient. 2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill. cooking hands in its kitchen, deserves more local attention than it's been getting during its first few weeks. Especially from the large number of adventurous, non-Russian locals seeking reasonably priced, interesting food. BARIN Food: Three stars - Service: Three stars - Wine: One and one half stars Where: 6020 Reseda Blvd., Tarzana. Phone: (818) 776-8474. Meals/hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from noon to midnight daily except Monday. Food type: Russian. Cost: Starters from $4 to $13, entrees from $9 to $22, desserts from $6 to $9. Credit cards: All major except AE. Patio dining: No. Parking/valet: Free in small lot. Full bar: No. Beer and wine only. Wine/corkage: Limited list. Decent international beer selection includes Svyturys Ekstra from Lithuania and Baltika, a Russian brew. No corkage cork·age n. A charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of liquor served that was not bought on the premises. corkage Noun a charge made at a restaurant for serving wine bought elsewhere fee is charged here. Music/entertainment: Live trio entertains for listening and dancing; begins at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Takeout/delivery: Neither. Reservations: Helpful. Needed on weekends. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Owner Mila Shishelouskaya with some of her dishes at Barin in Tarzana, a new Russian restaurant that's worth the wait. (2) A favorite at Barin is the Russian classic chicken Kiev. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News |
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