Take me with you.: how street food is changing in Moscow
Summer is the best time for long walks around the city, when you don't want to waste time on long gatherings in a restaurant, but it's easier and more convenient to have a snack on the go. At the same time, modern street food has already ceased to be just a way to quickly satisfy hunger: today, high-quality products, interesting flavor combinations and fresh gastronomic ideas are expected from it. Izvestia found out what unusual interpretations of street food can be tried in Moscow today.
I twist and turn
Shawarma has long been one of the main hits of Moscow street food, but the capital's chefs are clearly not going to stop at the classics. People are increasingly experimenting with the usual appetizer, coming up with new fillings, sauces, and even alternative serving formats. One of the notable novelties of this season is the packages that are prepared in the Plancha corner, which opened in May this year at the food court on the Gorky Park embankment.
"Our packages are a variation of the Lebanese arayes, or peanuts, a rather popular Middle Eastern street food format, which we have not yet introduced," Ariil Davydov, Planchi's creator and co—owner, told Izvestia. — In the traditional version, half of the pita is stuffed with minced meat and grilled on a plancha grill, but there is also a simplified method that we use: we spread the minced meat on the surface of the pita, and then wrap various fillings inside. We prepare rolls with beef or chicken, adding homemade hummus, fresh and pickled vegetables and spices.
Beef and chicken planchi, French fries and sweet potatoes
According to our interlocutor, the peculiarity of the bundles, which guests now often refer to simply as "patches", is that they are prepared on site without any purchased preparations and sauces. The whole taste is based on the harmony of high-quality products and a delicate balance of spices. In addition to the rolls, sweet potatoes and French fries are offered in the corner. In the near future, the authors of the project plan to open a second point in Bolshaya Nikitskaya Square, where it will also be possible to have a nice snack in the fresh air.
Closer to Lake Baikal
The format of street food today is increasingly going beyond the usual framework of burgers and shawarma, revealing to guests the gastronomic traditions of different regions of Russia. National cuisines, until recently familiar to only a few, are becoming part of the daily urban snack. So, in the corners of "Buzy" on Solyanka and Arbat, you can try the main gastronomic symbols of Buryatia.
"When we launched Buuz, it was important for us not just to open another outlet with national cuisine, but to make it understandable to a wide audience," Angarag Chagdurov, manager of the Orda Buryat cuisine chain, explained to our publication. — Many people have never tasted Buryat cuisine or know about it only by hearsay. Therefore, we took the most recognizable dishes as a basis and tried to preserve their traditions by adapting the format to both capitals.
Buuzas, khushuur pies, banshee dumplings, boova donuts
If we talk about business cards of projects, then the main focus is on buuses, our interlocutor continues. Their peculiarity is that they are steamed, which preserves the rich meat broth inside. In the corners, guests are given instructions on how to eat bouzas properly so as not to lose a drop of juice. The second important item is the fried pie khushuur. Unlike buuz, it has a completely different taste and texture: a thin, crispy shell on the outside and a juicy beef filling on the inside.
When preparing homemade khushuurs, it is very important not to complicate the recipe. The taste of this dish is based not on an abundance of spices, but on high-quality meat and properly prepared dough. It should be as simple as possible: made from flour, water and a small amount of salt. After kneading, the dough must be allowed to rest for at least 30 minutes — then it will become more elastic and it will be easier to roll out. For the filling, it is better to use meat with a small amount of fat and do not spare onions, which gives it juiciness and rich taste. The dough should be rolled out thin enough, but so that it does not break during frying. It is better to cook the khushuuri in well-heated oil until golden brown on both sides, and after frying, let them lie on a paper towel for a minute to remove excess oil. It's worth serving khushuuri right away — it's hot that they reveal their taste best.
Soft power
Street food today attracts not only young gastroenterologists, but also recognized chefs who are accustomed to working in haute cuisine. Increasingly, they are trying their hand at democratic formats, proving that fast food can also be authored. About dean one of the latest examples is Artem Estafyev, the former chef of the Artest restaurant, which received two Michelin stars under him. At the end of last year, he opened a Bolo corner with original brioche buns with rich fillings at the Moscow on the Wave food court.
Tuna Bun
— Previously, street food was mostly perceived as something utilitarian, but now the situation is changing, and takeaway food has become more interesting, as it better meets the needs of Muscovites, - says Artem Estafyev, creator of Bolo. — Sometimes you don't want to spend a lot of time going to a restaurant, but instead get something quick and cool, try a new idea and at the same time get a full-fledged gastronomic experience. That's why small author projects are working so well now.
Kamchatka crab bun
Before opening the corner, our expert studied the modern gastronomic formats that are developing in the world today. According to him, the idea was to create an understandable street food, not limited to the concept of a quick snack and not repeating existing products. He took as a basis the principle of a compact dish, where the main role is played by a high-quality bun. It should be not just a base, but a full—fledged part of the position - soft, airy, with a slight sweetness and a ruddy crust. The chef also approached the fillings according to restaurant standards, carefully considering the combinations of ingredients, sauces and textures, as well as the balance of salt, sweetness, fat content and acidity. So, in a scallop bun, not only seafood plays an important role, but also mushroom duxel with caramelized onions, and in the version with Kamchatka crab, much is based on the flavors that fresh cucumber, guacamole and flying fish roe bring.
A new plane
Smash burgers are one of the most current trends in Moscow street food. Their main difference is a thin cutlet, which is literally flattened on a hot surface during frying to achieve an appetizing crispy crust and rich taste. The dish came to us from the USA through the European gastronomic scene, and one of the places where smash burgers were the main focus was the JNKL burger, the concept of which can be roughly described as a street food in the Nordic style.
The Smash Burger
"Burgers have always been popular in Moscow, but with the development of junk food and street food over the past eight years, they seem to have faded into the background," says Alexander Garagulya, brand chef at JNKL. — The new name brought them back to popularity and launched another trend. Now, most of my friends, when they say "burger," they mean the smash burger.
Our interlocutor said that his project uses special buns for burgers, which are imported from Spain, and the minced meat is prepared only from the best marbled beef. All other semi-finished products in the project are also made independently. The menu features both a classic beef smash burger and a spicy version with paprika and pickled chili pepper.
The Spicy smash burger
For those who want to cook a smash burger at home, Garagul's brand chef advises to stock up on a stainless steel frying pan and a heavy object for pressing the patty. First you need to heat the pan well, wait 5 seconds, put a ball of minced meat, then wait another 10 seconds and press it down hard, flattening it as much as possible on the surface. After about 45 seconds, the cutlet should be turned over and a slice of cheddar should be placed on top. A bun can be prepared in any usual way — the main thing in a smash burger is the cutlet, and the whole result depends on how it is cooked.
Small Circle
Even pizza is gradually mastering the format of eating on the go. If it's not always convenient to walk around the city with a familiar piece, then it's much easier to eat a miniature Italian snack literally on the run. This is exactly the format that the Entra pizzeria in Moscow City has relied on - pizzuli with a diameter of only 13 centimeters are prepared there, and recently branded pizza dogs have also been added to them.
Pizza dogs with chicken and beef
"For many people today, the most important and expensive resource is time, so we wanted to cook something that would be quick, tasty and convenient to eat on the move," Ekaterina Kolchina, the creator of Entra, explained to our publication. — In the specialty pizzas section, we now have six new combinations, including roast beef, ham and mortadella, strachatella, arugula and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as tuna and olives. And pizza dogs, a mix of pizza and hot dog, are available in two versions on the menu.: with chicken and beef.
Pizzula with strachatella, arugula and sun-dried tomatoes
According to our interlocutor, when developing these positions, the team tried to make them not only comfortable and satisfying, but also useful, paying special attention to a balanced composition. For pizza, they use a dough made from special flour with a high protein content, which is aged for 48 hours before baking, and the sauce is prepared on the basis of Italian pelati tomatoes. For pizza dogs, farm sausages made from beef and chicken are taken, and the meat for roast beef is pre-marinated, fried and cooked using sous-vide technology.
For those who want to cook a pizza dog at home, Entre recommends using ready—made pizza dough, ideally Neapolitan. It is recommended to preheat the oven in the "top-bottom" mode to the maximum temperature (250-300 degrees) along with a pizza stone set on a baking sheet. Then you need to stretch the dough into a hot dog bun, put a sausage on top and bake on a hot stone for 5-10 minutes until ready. After that, it remains to add ketchup, mustard, pickled cucumbers and any other ingredients to taste.
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