(This venue is closed.) Cyrillic letters point to Eastern Europe; a silhouette in the colors of the national flag specifies the cuisine.
To be sure, the silhouette is out of proportion; in reality it is less svelte, more chunky. The red of struggle and the green of hope (and forests), however, belong to none other than Belarus, a former Soviet republic that attained independence in 1991. Belarus borders both Russia and Ukraine, and the languages of the three countries are largely mutually intelligible, but the name "Syabri" is a distinctively Belarusian way of saying "friends."
The cuisine of Belarus is also largely mutually intelligible with those of its neighbors, but it claims mochanka ($8.50) for its own. Usually described as a meat-based soup or stew, and often served with the potato pancakes called draniki, at Syabri mochanka is cooked down to a sizzling platter of fatty pork. Perhaps the accompanying crepes, three in number, should have cautioned me that this rendition of mochanka is considered a communal dish, ingested during communal drinking. At lunchtime I washed it down with compot, or fruit punch (not shown, $2.50), but afterward the proprietor confided that straight cold vodka is the traditional way to cut through the fat.
Also shown: "Belorusskiy salad" ($7.50) whose principal components, daikon and beef tongue, were jumbled in a mayonnaise-slicked mass; fried onions offered a blessed contrast in texture.
Syabri
906 Kings Hwy. (East 9th-East 10th Sts.), Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
718-645-2299
