M&I International Foods

(This venue is closed.) Even the small, $2 portion is a sturdy pint.

Rassolnik is a Russian beef-and-barley soup, bolstered by the likes of potato, carrot, and onion, whose other notable ingredient is pickled cucumber. The sliced pickles are cooked with the soup, not simply added as a garnish, so that the brine ("rassol") adds a distinctive sour flavor. Though the meat may be beef or pork kidneys, or chicken, the choice of pickle — in various recipes applied to various cucumbers, and occasionally to watermelon, cherry, or other fruit — provides the baseline for many rassolnik riffs.

Above the main floor of this expansive market and past a confectionary counter is a small café; though inelegant, it usually offers open seats, as does the connected, covered patio. Baked goods, such as the filled pastries called piroshki, can be enjoyed in the smaller seating area downstairs; the pirozhok below (about $1) featured meat of some sort (my old notes don't tell more). Also: Monastirsky brand kvas (0.5 l.; 99 cents), from Russia, is a carbonated, nonalcoholic beverage fermented from rye, wheat, barley, or in this instance some unspecified combo.

M&I International Foods
249 Brighton Beach Ave. (Brighton 1st Pl.-Brighton 2nd St.), Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
718-615-1011

Comments

[polina and alex]

your blog is great. i love the brighton beach section.thats where we live.the oblong pastries are piroshki and they are great.

[Eugene Y.]

Russians have really settled in New York, and opened a lot of businesses dating back to the 70’s and 80’s. This food store on Brighton Beach is a classic. Every Russian-American New Yorker has shopped here at least once. But we also have our classic Russian bookstores, cafes, and restaurants. One restaurant that comes to mind is Rasputin on Coney Island Ave. They are more upscale and trendy, offering great food and music on the weekends. So it seems like again that every Russian-American New Yorker has eaten there at least once!

[Thoughtfulplate.wordpress.com]

I've also read great things about the carrot cake. Perhaps you could review that next time. :)