Karelian Brunches on Tsvetnoy

On April 20 and 21, guests of Folk will have the chance to get acquainted with the region's national cuisine at an ethnic brunch hosted by Ivan Balin, chef at Petrozavodsk restaurant "V Karelii i Est."

Guests will be able to try old recipes that the chef has creatively reimagined. Ivan Balin is bringing sulchin and kalitki to Folk to introduce guests to traditional Karelian cuisine. Those who want to learn more about the region's history, and even "taste" it, can try "Girvas Volcano" — a black kalitka with trout roe, resembling in appearance the ancient extinct Karelian volcano of the same name. It's decorated with "black ash," played here by a gastro-soil made from dried olives. For those wanting something heartier, there's sulchin with slow-cooked moose meat, one of Karelia's calling cards. While the chef cooks, you can order tea made with the region's most popular herbs, or choose the "Topь" (Bog) cocktail, a nod to Karelia's marshy terrain, made with dill sugar syrup, apple juice, mint wine, gin, and microgreens. You can round off the brunch with a signature dessert of lingonberry mousse, vanilla cream, and sponge cake — "The Shaman Woman's Pain." Its name came from a play on words — once, the chef was asked to add "bol'she manki" ("more semolina"), but he misheard it as an entirely different phrase, and that's what the dish ended up being called.

A la carte menu:

Girvas Volcano — black kalitka with trout roe, 670 r.
Potato kalitka with lightly salted trout in blueberry and a poached egg, 790 r.
Sulchin with Onega whitefish sugudai, 890 r.
Sulchin with slow-cooked moose meat, pickled cucumber, and cranberry, 920 r.
Ladoga zander with nettle and tomatoes, 960 r.
The Shaman Woman's Pain — lingonberry mousse, vanilla cream, sponge cake, 350 r.

"Topь" (Bog) cocktail, non-alcoholic, 450 r.
Karelian herbal tea, 550 r.