Spring and Easter is the time of the year when I feel more homesick for the Old Country, the nature…read morechanges, the big celebrations and the food that you can have only that time of the year.
With a simple Google search I found out that Caviar & Delicatessen sells cozonac for Easter, a sweet bread, traditional for Romania. I realized they are close to me and checked them out.
Caviar & Delicatessen took over a Russian deli about 1 year ago. Don't know about any caviar here, now it's a Romania Deli with owners from my neck of the woods, they do sell products for the Russian and Armenian community.
I called and paid $10 as down payment for a cozonac to place my order with the older owner, who was very nice.
Went to pick it up and checked out the store. They sell imported items: jellies, spreads, canned goods, juices, soft drinks from Eastern Europe. A bit pricey, but they are imported, not their fault (yes, tariffs!). They also sell fresh vegetables, fruit, bread. They make desserts and many salads, dips (boeuf salad=Russian salad, hummus, babaganoush, eggplant salads- salata de vinete and zacusca, bean dip), prepared food- roasted potatoes , meatballs in tomato sauce, schnitzel, kebabs, fried fish. They also had drob for Easter.
Everything looked fresh and inviting! It was fun to browse and explore the merchandise!
Tables outside!
My cozonac was big, delicious, well made. It was rich in ingredients: cocoa, walnuts, raisins, great filling! It is a very hard dessert to make, I am not gonna even try. But it was a major treat to buy it ready to go in LA and the quality is outstanding! It's worth the price because they use all the right ingredients!
I got painted eggs, well done, the bean dip was terrific, the mititei (our version of kofta) were so good, meat well blended, all the right spices. You get them frozen here, a decent amount, we'll have them a few times. I never made them, but they came well off the grill, tasted like in restaurants in Bucharest.
Ready to go back and shop more goodies.
1 star lower because of the service, the girl couldn't find my order, had to step in, helped other ladies ahead of us, even if we were there first! Service was slow, she forgot to take $10 deposit off my final bill. Had to step in.
Also, I couldn't charm my way into placing an order for pasca (didn't know they make it) sweet cheese Easter dessert. As a first time customer I couldn't convince the owner's son, he was tad curt. Maybe too much on his plate.
Live and learn, note to myself to place orders ahead of time.
For non-Eastern Europeans - try their vegetarian dips, they are full of flavor and take home some prepared deli meals. They can spare you from making dinner! It's easy to try, nothing strange here!
Glad they are close, high quality food, helped with my homesickness for my Easter time this year!
