Traditional Lithuanian Food

I have so much work to do online that I barely got out yesterday. Practically a sin for travelers, and I know a few people who'd read me the riot act, but I'm more interested in relishing that I get to work here at all.

I left the room in the afternoon for lunch, and went to a local pub around the corner. I recognized an American couple from breakfast at the Conti. (Our hotel provides a free breakfast every day, buffet style, but not with the amounts or caliber of entrees that you've come to expect from buffets in Vegas) So, breakfast couple was also eating at the pub for lunch. They didn't have an English menu, but the waitress could speak a little English, and I asked for their famous beet soup, bread, and beer.

The soup was fantastic! Warm magenta colored soup with beets and potatoes at the bottom and a dollop of sour cream on top. That, the bread, and the beer came to 5lita - $1.70.

For dinner we went to a traditional restaurant that John's co-worker had suggested. After entering the building we hunched over and made our way down uneven stairs that anyone over 5'11 would have trouble with. At the foot of the stairs were cavernous rooms with cozy inlets, some rooms leading to even smaller rooms. We took a cushioned seat at a wooden table in a large bright room, after the cozy library room seemed too full to enjoy our conversation. The black and white pictures on the wall with women in various states of undress, and a man with a surprised look on his face suggested that this restaurant had once been a whorehouse. I don't think we'd even gotten our beers when who should walk in but the Conti couple.

"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner?" I asked. John was perplexed. Ok, breakfast and lunch made sense, but how'd they make it over to this restaurant for dinner with all the other restaurants around? It's not like our conceirge suggested this one. I assured him that there was no reason that any CIA or FBI would be following me to Lithuania. Bad credit yes, checkered past, no.

Anyway, I had stuffed pork with potato pancake, mushrooms, tomatoes and brussel sprouts. John had a traditional Cepelinai, grated potatoes mashed together and boiled, usually with ground meat inside, but also curd, mushrooms, or even herring. We agreed my dinner was better, so he finished it up. That and three beers and a mineral water came to 51.20 Litas = $17.93

I loved the restaurant. Other diners had their food come in on stand up skewars, while other tables had candelabras on their table. Cellar dining is pretty darn cool, so I've been reading up on other traditional restaurants we can go to. This might be my favorite part of the day. That means that there's no way I'll be getting down to my TV weight on this trip.

I think there are so many reasons to like Vilnius, it's hard for me to understand why John hates being here. But we might've figured it out. He's working in a 400 yr old building and comes home with serious headaches every night that make him pass out. This morning he connected the way he feels to the building and thinks there might be some ancient Lithuaninan mold doing him in. This morning we woke up to a light falling snow out our window. The Conti couple was not at breakfast, and I will check in again with you later. Huge work day today, but hopefully I can do some of it offline and out in a cafe.

Thanks for following along.