70670 Fri Jun 24 15:57:04 -0700 2005 11 2 Los Angeles Area 0 386526 About a week or so back on the General Topics Board, a poster mentioned buying some Russian butter that she declared to be "the RICHEST tasting butter" she had ever experienced. The butter is apparently from Liberman Dairy in Philadelphia. On the butter package itself, it reads: "Kapobka - Sweet Whipped Butter" Does anyone know where to find this butter in the greater Los Angeles area? I know there's supposed to be good, reliable Russian markets around.. in Hollywood, for instance.. Can anyone recommend a few where I might find this butter? Also, if you can recommend a Russian market where I can pick up some great dark Russian bread, I'd be ever grateful! Many thanks in advance! Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/300439#1669515 Image: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/joykasiski/detail?.dir=/3e3a&.dnm=c0b9.jpg Fri Jun 24 15:57:04 -0700 2005 0 j-rod 3000 1 386571 I am offering a long post of information on one condition. Please send me feedback. I would love to know how it went. I am not sure if they carry this specific butter that you are looking for. But these deli's are the largest that I know of in the Los Angles area, with the best selection:, (besides Jon's market, not really a deli, you should check them out also for the butter) . Tatiana's is on Sunset, and La Jolla (2 blocks west of Crescent Heights. I could not find their business card, but googled it and for some reason pretty hard to find: (Tatiana Product Inc 8205 Santa Monica Boulevard,W Hollywood, CA 90046), not sure about phone number but maybe you can do a reverse search on the internet in case you would like to call them in advance to find out if they carry your butter.) The other large Russian deli is: European Gastronom, 7859 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, Ca, 90046. 323-654-9456. It is on the corner of Santa Monica and Fairfax in the Whole Foods shopping center. It is hidden in the corner next door to a jewelry store and you have to take the stairs down to the basement floor. My father was Russian(who passed away) and he would always go there for comfort food. The European Gastronom makes you feel like you are in pre-capatilst Russian, meaning, bad attitude. They kind of ignore you and if you ask for something they act like they are doing you a favor and many of them don't really speak English well. However they have a great selection, and IMO it's worth some of the cold shoulder. Tatiana's is much more American style, meaning very accomadating. They smile, how are you? and have a lot of patience and will explain to you what everything is. My favorite's at Tatiana's are their meat blintzes stuffed with ground chicken and fried onions. My aunt always caters them for parties. They have good Russain bread, but you have to come early when it's fresh and they don't run out. I rarely have time to go, so unfortunately I am not sure what day or time that is. I always seem to go at the wrong time. The bread is made by a company called Bambi Bakery and looks kind of spongy and very ordinary. Not the impressive artisanal or crusty bread you would expect. However, I love it. My favorite is the dark Black one, almost like a pumpernickel and the Russian Rye which is different then the Jewish Rye bread (no carraway seeds inside). To go with the bread, I recomend spreading some of the high quality butter you find, I personaly buy Raw butter the $12 kind from Whole Foods. They also carry many other imported butters such as President from France and some of the Red salmon caviar. That is my ultimate comfort food. Also, you must try their cheese. I have not found any cheese like it anywhere else. Ask for samples of the different kinds of feta. They have several that they call "Greek feta, low salt". I have tried many Greek Feta's and none of them come close. To be honest, it does not even taste like feta cheese. Feta is usually made from sheep's milk and has a punjent sheepy smell and taste and is extremely salty. Tatiana's cheese is a cross between a feta and a Buffalo Mozzerela. It has such a delicate flavor, not much stink and not salty. It's such a perfect balance. I can't get enough of it in the summer time. The Gastronom's cheeses are pretty good also. Their sweet and sour eggplant spread in a tomatoey, olive oil sauce, and garlic eggplant spread also goes really nicely with the bread. The cakes at Tatiana's look beautiful but I have found them to be tasteless. On the other hand, European Gastronom's special order cakes are the bomb. There is a 77 year old woman who makes the Napoleon and is taking the recipe to the grave. I am kind of sad, not sure how much longer she will be able to make the cakes. She sells them there. It is nothing like a French Napoleon, no chocolate topping. Just pastry and cream, and a lot less sweet then the French version. Very decadent though. I have special ordered cakes from there and one guest was so impressed he had us FEDEX one to his summer house in France. They are beautifully decorated and made only from the finest butter, and ingrediets. Cakes that I would recomend would be the Opera with the Fruit Tart decoration on top, and the Michelle cake. I'm sorry for going off topic, but you must have the full experience when you go. Oh I forgot, and go on a Saturday or Sunday to the Gastronom, that is when they make their Pieroshki. A Russian savory donut. Really unhealthy, but you must try them. They are deep fried and filled with either 1)mashed potatoes and fried onions and lots of black pepper, or 2)a sweet and sour seurkraut cabbage filling, or 3)ground beef. Enjoy, and let me know how it goes Fri Jun 24 18:44:57 -0700 2005 386526 0 madonna 2 386590 "The European Gastronom makes you feel like you are in pre-capitalist Russian, meaning, bad attitude. They kind of ignore you and if you ask for something they act like they are doing you a favor". I love your way of putting it. Absolutely accurate! Fri Jun 24 19:25:27 -0700 2005 386571 0 RicRios 3 386733 And they're closing. Sat Jun 25 23:19:24 -0700 2005 386590 0 Kitchenette 4 386799 who is closing? Sun Jun 26 18:48:21 -0700 2005 386733 0 madonna 5 386913 European Gastronom is closing. I was there Sat. and they said they'd lost their lease. Mon Jun 27 12:49:39 -0700 2005 386799 0 Ktichenette 2 386615 Madonna, this is a great post, detailed, useful, and entertaining all at once. Thank you for sharing. Fri Jun 24 21:34:35 -0700 2005 386571 0 PayOrPlay 3 386617 thank you all for the love Fri Jun 24 22:28:11 -0700 2005 386615 0 madonna 1 386604 The deli next to Traktir has many prepared foods and may carry butter. I am not sure. Many of the prepared foods are good but you must be vigilent about protecting your place in line. Honestly, my experiences with imported butter haven't been great. The butter may be great before it travels but it often arrives in substandard condition and suffers from low turnover. I would prefer to buy from a place with an iron clad return policy if it is expensive. (I will never forget a $40 container of moldy truffle butter.) It ain't Russian but if you are looking for something special, considering trying Organic Pastures raw milk butter or the cultured butter availalable from Vermont. Both are available from Whole Foods. Fri Jun 24 20:50:49 -0700 2005 386526 0 JudiAU 1 386655 I don't know if this is helpful or not but a new Russian/Armenian grocery opened in Encino called "Rasputin". It has deli, bakery (not in house), meat, dairy goods, produce and shelf goods. It's quite clean. They aren't overly friendly, but not unfriendly either. I have only bought some produce as it's well priced and good looking.Frankly, the smell of some thing there is a turn off to my nose and I don't have a clue what I'm looking at so I don't do any real shopping there. Sat Jun 25 03:35:35 -0700 2005 386526 0 compumom 2 386712 Based on this thread, I went into Rasputin this afternoon, and while they do NOT have Liderman butter, they do have several others from Europe, including one, maybe two, from Russia, and others from Denmark and France and a couple of American ones as well. Store seems to have a nice selection of many products, including the wonderful Zergut line of eggplant or zucchini or pepper items, among others, in jars from Bulgaria; pomegranate juice(not from concentrate but just the juice); and as compumom mentioned, the meat, bakery and deli and already-cooked lunch and dinner items to take out. Quite an array for a Saturday in that area, meaning the east end of Plaza de Oro, just behind California Crisp and across the courtyard from Sharper Image. Sat Jun 25 19:11:33 -0700 2005 386655 0 carter 1 386673 Yes the Russian Butter from Pennsylvania is great. Last time I bought it was from the Russian Deli on Tampa and Victory in the Lohnmans Plaza.Also a Russian friend sent me to a deli on Reseda around Topham I thinks its called Barek They had the whole nine yards smoked fish kielbasa ect all the things I need to avoid for health reasons. The chopped liver at the deli on Tampa sent my blood pressure through the roof but it was worth it. Sat Jun 25 13:16:17 -0700 2005 386526 0 Smiling Ed