If you’re reading this, you may be blinking with either incredulity and/or anticipation. Normally, I focus on posts about places I’ve been to or thoughts/commentary about Russia, but I thought that for today’s post, I’d deal with food in Moscow, specifically burgers. Russian cuisine can essentially be boiled down to any combination of vodka (a stereotype that isn’t going away; my local supermarkets have more brands of vodka than you can imagine.), borsch, pelmeni (aka dumplings), shashlik (a less saucy version of barbeque), and blini (pancakes that can be described as crepes, but better). However, there’s been a noticeable rise in fast food joints around the city, given Moscow’s cosmopolitan aura. However, one can only eat at McDonalds or Burger King a finite amount of time until a certain degree of self-loathing kicks in. With that in mind, there are some notable places in Moscow for burgers, and these are ones I would recommend: Burger Heroes, Shake Shake (American by origin, but it’s crossed the Atlantic), and BB&Burgers.
To get started, Burger Heroes is located at metro Mayakovskaya on Triumfalnaya Ploschad, in a little stand. Despite that fact, you can’t miss it, as you’ll see the booth towards the end of the square. Inside the booth, there’s not a lot of space, but it works. Regarding the menu, I’ve noticed they’ve changed things up every so often, which adds a degree of variety into the mix. Following along with their whimsical attitude, the names of the burgers reflect that: you can eat Agent 007 or a Bad Bro, among others. Their sandwiches are even named Loki and Thor, so you quite literally can say you’ve polished off a Scandinavian god or the world’s best known spy. One favorite touch of mine is that you get to witness the cooks use a torch in preparing your burgers, so that being said, don’t panic if you look up to see them using it.
Moscow’s Arbat is known for plenty of touristy places as well as being home to a litany of other restaurants. So, it makes sense for a rising star of the American burger scene to set up shop here. Shake Shake, as some of you back home may recognize it, is home to plenty of burgers and shakes, naturally. While the burgers themselves are fairly expensive compared to other options, they’re totally worth it. In general, I’ve found it hard to find burgers that fulfill my criteria of a) being juicy and a right amount of greasy and b) reminding me of ones back home, but Shake Shake absolutely met those standards. Portion sizes aren’t massive, but honestly, you won’t be complaining afterwards! Oftentimes, there are concerns about restaurants who cater primarily to tourists, but I can happily report that Shake Shake’s clientele consists of plenty of locals jumping at the bit to indulge their cravings. To get there, you’re going to have to walk fairly fair down the Arbat, but you’ll recognize the place at once. In summary, if you’re in the center of Moscow, you have some of the city’s best burgers very, very close by.
Finally, I’m getting down to my last option here. Unlike the first two, there are multiple BB&Burgers in the city, but I’m choosing to review the one on Maroseyka (which technically is Pokrova; they merge yet are on the same street). Right away as you enter, you notice that the atmosphere is very modern and relaxed. The menu has unique burgers, especially regarding the names. Don’t believe me? For example, you can eat an Al Pacino and a Real Madrid. Each burger has unique flavors, and they’re insanely filling. With so many options, you simply cannot go wrong!
Black Mamba is oh so good.
If you are feeling hungry at this point, good! Head out to these joints ASAP and indulge in your cravings-you’ll fall back in love with burgers.
Travel perspective, tales, and advice 