Shashlik

Men entered the room bearing skewers of tikas—kebabs or shashliki, we would call them—spitted chunks of lamb that had been roasted with onions and other seasoning.

Everyone went to the Pump Room where the children would be entertained by the Nubian Slaves with flaming skewers of shashlik, while their parents talked to Irving Kupcinet, the Eiffel Tower of Chicago columnists.

They swam and fished by day, they drank wine and grilled shashliki in the evenings, and sometimes they drove into Yalta to enjoy the night-life, but throughout it all Minka remained detached, like a convalescent.

Some, having lighted a fire on the ground, cook (some) food, roast (some) shashliki.

You may well have heard of some of the national dishes of the Soviet Union, such as Borsch (beetroot soup), Bliny (pancakes), Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev and Shashliki (Georgian kebabs).

The pork shashliki which they had marinated in a large glass jar all day were speared onto long metal skewers, and these were placed over the fire, straddling the large stones.

If you are determined to try something really Russian, go for the shashliki or kebabs at the top of the Old Arbat near the Prague Restaurant, or the Papsi kiosk by the picture of Checkhov on Tverskaya.

On the menu at the restaurant (open noon to 6pm; and from 8pm to 2am) are pelmeni and shashliki, as well as other Russian dishes – a live band strikes up after 9pm.