9 East 1st Street – Bowery
http://www.veselka.com
Ukranian

We had a rather unique Christmas Eve dinner at Veselka Bowery. Growing up with an Eastern European background, we always had what was known as ‘Holy Supper’ on Christmas Eve at my grandmother’s house, or in EU tradition ‘Baba’s’ house.  Every family has its own variation, ours being more Hungarian-style.  After speaking with a Ukranian friend, I felt the commonality would be strong.  At least I was hoping for that when Veselka Bowery posted a prix fixe Ukranian Christmas Eve dinner.  I made reservations immediately.  I look around every year to no avail.  And finally, here it was!

For starters, the newer Veselka on Bowery is cavernous.  It is in new construction with high ceilings, cement floors, and rustic wooden tables.  They tried to warm it up with color and a few traditional Ukranian items, but it is still a very modern space.  The perimeter is lined with floor to ceiling windows as well.

I will admit to liking just about everything save for sea cucumber and a few other oddities. I’d be classified as an adventurous eater.  So when I say I’d never do this again, I would think most might not have eaten the majority of the meal.  It was quite the disappointment.  And that is not to say that Veselka is not good.  This was just an atypical meal from the word go. Below is the menu, which I have deciphered by the course and added commentary.  One thing for sure is you couldn’t beat the price at $35/person for 7 courses or as they said 12 if you consider the 3 fish course and 3 pierogi course each 3 courses.  That’s if you could deal with it.

Kutya – Ukrainian Wheatberry & Poppyseed Pudding with Honey & Walnuts

This is an incredibly sweet dish.  We could not finish even combining with fruit compote and apertif! Perhaps the serving was a bit too large.  But this is a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dish.

Medivka Ukranian Honey Liqueur & A Glass of Dried Fruit Compote

We weren’t so sure what to have the fruit compote with – to drown the sweetness of the walnut, poppyseed, wheat berry concoction or to swill with the booze.  Either way, it helped to improve both a bit.  The flavors go nicely together.

Christmas Borscht with Handmade Mushroom Ushka & Housemade Callah

Man this bummed me out.  I was looking for a nice, rich puree.  This was more like liquid beet juice, which was on the sweet side.  At this point a little salty would have helped the situation.  The callah bread dipped in beet juice kinda grossed me out.

Trio of Smoked & Pickled Fish – Trout, Sable & Herring

Ah crap, here’s the salt.  I knew I’d like the herring least and the trout most, so I ate this one right to left.  My husband made the mistake of doing the reverse and ending with the flavor of pickled herring hanging in his mouth.

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage with Sautéed Mushrooms over Kasha

Yes, a halupki!  Nope, sorry.  More kasha was served with this.  And of course the vegetarian part sorta killed it.  No meat and rice inside this guy.  And please, why over kasha?  Would it kill a restaurant to serve mashed potatoes?  Where I come from, mashed potatoes are the base of every course of this meal, as its traditions come from poverty…and damn, where is that awesome mushroom soup?

Trio of Handmade Vareneky/Pierogi – Potato, Kasha & Sauerkraut

Ok, its going to improve with the pierogies, clearly.  The potato was great.  There we go, a lousy tablespoon of mashed potatoes.  Coulda dumped some of those on the plate with the halupki!  Oh no, more kasha.  Can I swallow any more dry grain?  The sauerkraut was solid.  2 out of 3.

Sauerkraut, Mushroom & Pea Salad

This was hands down my favorite dish.  Go figure.  It was densely packed sauerkraut laced with mushroom and peas.  Lightly oiled and topped with dill.  Too damn bad I am stuffed to the gills at this point.

Ukranian Honey Cake

I forgot the photo on this, but it was a very dense cake – below is a picture of traditional Ukranian Honey Cake.  After ’11’ courses, we couldn’t fit much more in.  The heaviness + sweetness made it even more difficult to swallow.  Oh well, it started to snow.  That’s kinda like Christmas used to be before global warming.

Sorry Veselka, by all rights we love your restaurant.  So while this is a bit of a bash, we’re just not recommending the Christmas Eve Dinner.  But the place was filled with families who seemed to enjoy.  Maybe it was because I’m not Ukranian and my expectations were different. At least we gave it a try.  The cultural experience was worth it – at least once.