Crimean Fast Food

Although the likes of McDonalds is popular throughout Ukraine, in Crimea it's more traditional to eat at a place like this.

Cafe Firefly (located in Yevpatoria): chebureki, pelmeni, beer on tap, cold drinks

Чебуреки, or chebureki, are one of my favorite foods. Do a Google image search- you'll quickly see that they're the most delicious thing ever! Chebureki are popular in Crimea. You'll see little stands (called a чебуречная) on almost every street. Anyways, back to the cafe-

We started out with a cabbage salad, of course.

Then on to pelmeni (Russian dumplings).

My beautiful, beautiful chebureki!

One with cheese, one with meat

And for D, the local favorite.

For those of you planning a trip, a meal like this costs less than $10 in most small cafes. We sat at long tables surrounded by groups of men drinking over lunch and families feeding their energetic children. One guy was passed out in the corner.

If you're interested in making your own chebureki, head over to EverydayRussianFood.com. There is a recipe there (ahem, a recipe starting from scratch). If you want your food faster, you can make chebureki like D's mom does in the states: mix up some raw ground beef with onion and spices, add a little meat to the middle of a tortilla and fold the edges together, wet the edges with water and press so that the edges stick together, fry in a hot pan with oil until browned (about a minute). They taste like HEAVEN just out of the pan!