Pie

In 1714, Saint Petersburg became the capital of Russia and the destination for the majority of foreign restaurateurs. As a result, Moscow managed to maintain Russian cuisine practically pristine: there were very few restaurants, and almost everyone went to traktirs (closer to a brasserie than a restaurant in the European understanding). According to Vladimir Gilaryovsky, the major chronicler of Moscow life, “for many Muscovites, traktirs […] replaced the stock exchange for merchants, who made deals worth thousands over a cup of tea, the cafeteria for the lonely, and hours of leisure time spent in friendly conversation with all kinds, and a location for business meetings, and merriment for all – from millionaires to tramps.” Traktirs served Russian food in large portions, in contrast to the few restaurants, where dishes were French – or ‘Frenchified’ – and portions were – to the Russians – rather small.
The best taverns were well-known in and outside of Moscow: it was not just well-off Muscovites that lunched at Testov’s, or Yegorov’s, or Gurin’s, but also people who came to town for business or leisure. Many traktirs had their own signature dishes worthy of a dedicated visit: Yegorov’s traktir was famous for its blini (pancakes), Testov’s traktir was known for its baidakovsky pirog (coulibiac – pie – with 12 layers of filling), solyanka, and roast suckling pig.