by SARAH MUSGRAVE

Finally, I’ve found the Russian restaurant I’ve been searching for. And it’s no wonder it took a little time, because the sign outside La Caverne suggests that it’s more a 2-for-1 pizza joint than a bona fide Slavic eatery. You can indeed pick up a slice here, but the focus is unquestionably real, lovingly made food from the homeland - at amazingly affordable prices.

On the night my friends and I stopped in, the party was already in full force in this basement hideaway. A large table of patrons was raising glasses and bellowing at each other gleefully. Later, there would be dancing to the sounds of a one-man band, singing and playing the sax earnestly, with canned tunes backing him up (weekends only). There aren’t a lot of seats and it does get crowded, so if you can’t handle the hoopla show up for lunch instead. But do show up, because the food is fantastic.

The appetizers here are colour coded for some reason. Orange, for instance, is Asian carrot ($2.99) - one of several dishes with Siberian or Mongolian influences. It’s made with slivers of carrot lightly marinated in mustard seed, garlic and vinegar, with a perfumed aftertaste. Rose is the colour of the mysterious “herring under coat” ($3.50), an exquisite layered square of beet salad, carrot and fish, sweet and mild and better with each bite.

Other things to start with include five different kinds of soup, from borscht to solana. Or you can begin with one of the cheap snacks not listed under appetizers, like tcheburek ($1.75). This was billed as a large deep-fried pierogi, similar to a pizza pocket with a seasoned meat patty inside. It too had an Asian feel to it, and dipped into a slightly creamy tomato sauce, it was delicious.

For my main course, I picked pogrebok ($11.99), the house dish (it means “cavern” in Russian). It consisted of three stuffed potato patties that had been coated in a slightly crunchy and tasty breading, and fried to a dark brown colour. One contained ground beef, another was filled with thinly sliced mushrooms and the third had an herbed egg mixture in it. Each was excellent, whether or not it was doused with the accompanying tomato sauce or sour cream. The plate also came with slices of pickle and more of that refreshing Asian carrot.

After tasting Caverne’s varenekes I can never get them anywhere else - we were all freaking out over how good they were. Stuffed with sour cottage cheese, these little dumplings had a perfect consistency and were not remotely greasy. I’d kill for the cheese ones again, but they also come stuffed with cherries, potato, mushrooms or cabbage. Orders are available in three sizes: small ($4.99), a generous medium ($5.99) and large ($6.99). Another option for dumpling lovers is a plate of pelmenis, “ravioli” with a different range of fillings including ground beef with coriander or chicken. Yet another version called manty is more Asian in style; the dumplings contain lamb and are served with a mild red sauce.

The blini of ground beef wrapped in a thin crêpe ($1.25) disappeared before I could get a taste of it, so I guess that means it must have been good, right? Anyway, they’re available with different fillings, and considering how fast they go down I think you’d be better to order two. Or you may want to check out the many other regional dishes, like dolma (vine leaves with mint and meat), troika (eggplant, green pepper and tomato stuffed with meat) and homemade pot roast - all guaranteed to be the real thing for less than 10 roubles. :

La Caverne
Address: 5184 Côte-des-Neiges (@ Swail)
Phone: 738-6555
Hours: Daily 10am–10pm
Best features: Real Russian specialties, atmosphere
Alcohol: BYOB
Vegetarian friendly: Yes
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: No
Price: $12/person before tax, drinks or tip
Rating: **** out of ****