Back To USSR, Brooklyn

The dining room inside Back To USSR transcends both time and space. Entering the restaurant is like stepping back a half century and finding oneself in Soviet Russia. Here, nostalgic music of the USSR still plays and cooks still prepare classic Soviet and Russian cuisine: herring, sprats, salads, and everything in between—from things that once fed factory workers to dishes that could easily grace the tables at the Kremlin. Two prominent pieces of decor draw the most attention: a red Soviet-era automobile and a large statue of Vladimir Lenin, his right arm outstretched with a plate of food.

Even the menu is a history lesson. Descriptions in both Russian and English tell the origins of many of the dishes. Order a ribeye steak for example, and you'll learn that Nikita Khrushchev ate the same dish when he visited the United States in 1959, which is why it's now customary for presidents to give visiting leaders a case of steak sauce. But the restaurant doesn't stem from Cold War–era politics. It emerges from the restaurant's owners, who grew up in the USSR. Their love for their home country spills over from the menu onto their drink list, which includes housemade vodka in flavors such as lemon, garlic, or apple.