Russian Sandwich Fail?
Since arriving in Russia, I feel as though it’s like most Western (but don’t dare tell the Russians you see it as that) cultures: people work, people have one God (if they believe in one), people eat, people drink, people sleep etc. There isn’t a different mysticism or spirituality about the place, at least not on the surface level. Therefore, wouldn’t one feel it safe to assume that most other things are at least relatively similar, such as the types of food they consume?
Of course I’m not about to claim that there are massive differences between Russian and American fare, they are essentially the same. But as is always the case, when one juxtaposes two very similar things, the small differences rear their ugly heads. In this case, this small difference is to considerably affect the style with which I consume my food.
To sum it up: Russians don’t really eat sandwiches.
This may be a horrifically wrong stereotype to throw out there, but in the few days I’ve been here I’ve been observing the Russians and their grocery stores with an overly critical eye. These are the conclusions I have been able to draw:
1. The bread is in round loafs, not in the split-top type Americans use to make sandwiches. This is reminiscent of Germany, where the only bread one could purchase that in any way was like the American form was sold specifically as ‘Toast bread’. Still, in Russia, I’ve yet to find even this ‘Toast Bread’.
2. I have yet to find deli style sliced meat or cheese anywhere. Everything seems to be in slabs or sausages. Raw bacon is the closest thing I’ve seen to a cold cut.
3. There aren’t any shops in the town where you could walk in and order what would be considered a normal sandwich. Again, maybe I’m assuming things too much from a surface level impression, but this is compared to America, where one would be hard-pressed to take a walk down ‘main street’ and not see either a chain (subway, quiznos, jimmy johns, potbelly) or an independently owned business that had some sort of specialization in sandwich construction. I have seen hot sausage and hot dog stands, but we can all agree that they are by no means alike.
I’m sure over the next few days I’ll see what Russians probably refer to as бутерброд (taken from the German ‘Butterbrot’ meaning ‘butter bread’ [literally]); rolls with butter or cream cheese with cucumbers, maybe some salami of sorts, and maybe some cheese. Although the presence of sliced salami would prove that there are indeed cold-cut style deli meats in Russia, I hesitate to classify these as sandwiches specifically because the intent is usually as a snack, not as a meal, and they are generally smaller than the typical sandwich.
Maybe I’m being overly specific here, but I feel as though there is a fundamental difference. In America, I believe one would be hard pressed to find someone who would classify a sandwich purely as a snack; the general consensus seems to be that a sandwich constitutes the main course of a meal, not just a snack between meals.
Regardless, this seeming lack of quality sandwich ingredients has required me to do some improvising. To a certain degree I’ve been successful, if you count replacing deli meat with sausages success, but I’ll take whatever I can get.
