Dnipro Eastern European Grocery
When you've got to have borscht, and you've got to have it now.
A recent thread on Table Hopping turned me on to the existence of Dnipro, an Eastern European grocery store and deli.
Now really, how could I not check that out?
So a took a ride to Cohoes and found everything from instant borscht to Czar Nicholas tea.
Somehow I'd imagined an Eastern European grocery store to be cramped and congested, but Dnipro is not. It's clean, organized and it's chock full of Russian, Polish and Ukrainian goodies. I surely wasn't expecting the large selection of kefir -- I didn't even that was a Russian thing.
The pickle selection is impressive, as is the selection of canned and jarred mushrooms. Call me crazy, but it never occurred to me that you could even get oyster mushrooms in a jar. And who knew there were so many different varieties of rye bread?
Amongst the fresh and canned cured meats and smoked fishes -- check out the whole smoked fish in the deli case -- you'll also find plenty of goodies with cool labels that seem totally Soviet-cool. The Russian root beer labels were especially cool as were the boxes of the aforementioned Czar Nicholas tea.
It's a great place to explore and try new things--there were definitely a lot of products I couldn't identify. But the instant borscht (who knew?) definitely stuck out. So did the massive collection of cabbage products -- frozen, canned and jarred, in more preparations than I knew were possible. Frozen stuffed cabbage? Oh yes. Cabbage soup? Yep, they've got that too. And jarred cabbage leaves for stuffing? Yeah, you'll find that at Dnipro as well.
While I couldn't resist making a few Yakov Smirnov-inspired jokes on my excursion, I definitely found some yummy things I'll be going back for soon. Alas, they don't sell the vodka to wash it all down.
Find It
Dnipro
192 Remsen St.
Cohoes, NY 12047
Hours: M - Th. 11-7, F : 11-8, S: 10:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Phone: 235-0854
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Comments
You had me at Kefir! I love it. I'm definitely going to this place.
... said chrisck on Jul 30, 2009 at 1:43 PM | link
There are quite a lot of delicious foods and some pretty bland ones.
You can't go wrong with any Russian or Ukrainian candy or cookies. Food industry in these countries still uses real food and very little chemicals in products. But steer clear from anything made in Turkey, Poland or in Brooklyn, New York.
The owners always offer samples of cheese or cold cuts you want to buy. Edam cheese and raw milk cheese are highly recommended. Canadian bacon and dry sausages are delicious too.
Not every canned product tastes good, but red pickled tomatoes are the best I've ever tried.
... said Lu on Jul 30, 2009 at 2:43 PM | link
Dude, this is awesome. I've been meaning to stop by after hearing about it last week!
... said Albany Jane on Jul 30, 2009 at 2:51 PM | link
I live around the corner from Dnipro and love it. Try the different flavors of cookies, cranberry, honey, mint, gingerbread, etc. I like the pierogies and blintzes, too.
If you like pickles, a must-buy is the Russian style gherkins. They are spicy! In fact, anything in their pickled product aisle is pretty much a guaranteed success.
... said Ryan on Jul 30, 2009 at 5:04 PM | link
I have been looking for Polish fruit teas and having no luck in the area... maybe I can find them in a place like this. Thanks for the article!
... said Turtleluna on Jul 31, 2009 at 11:33 AM | link
I live right down the street and buy all of my coldcuts there. The cheese, ham, turkey, etc. are delicious and the spicy mustard they sell is killer. Stop by right next door for some fresh bread from Harmony House Market and a goodie to finish off the meal.
... said Jeff on Aug 2, 2009 at 11:15 PM | link
This place is a blast. I went yesterday. (Thanks, AOA, for the tip.) I wanted to buy everything. The guy operating the shop, Igor, was really helpful answering my questions since most of the labels were in eastern European languages. Since I come from a central European background, some of the food seemed familiar (cabbagey things, lots of pickled products), but became more exotic (to me) the further east you went. I bought a bunch of stuff--good dark bread, a kind of kefir they call "baked" (or cooked to carmelize the milk), some pickled peppers stuffed with cabbage, and they have lots of sweets to choose from. If you like halvah, they have many kinds to choose from--including a Russian type made from sunflower seeds instead of sesame. (Igor gave me a sample.)
I can't wait to go back--but here a scoop: Igor said they are looking to move to Albany. (I didn't realize that Russian grocery on S. Lake closed.) Personally I would find that more convenient.
... said chrisck on Aug 7, 2009 at 9:09 AM | link
>(I didn't realize that Russian grocery on S. Lake closed.)
Bubushka? That's too bad. If anything, the name always made me smile.
... said Greg on Aug 7, 2009 at 10:18 AM | link
The Babushka deli is closed? It's still there, tea drinking mannequin in the window and all. Are you sure it's not just closed for vacation?
... said Amy on Aug 7, 2009 at 10:54 AM | link
Yes, Babishka must have closed. I asked Igor, wondering if the two stores would be in competition in Albany, and he said they closed.
... said chrisck on Aug 7, 2009 at 11:19 AM | link
I've tried going to Babushka on weekday mornings, on weekday afternoons and on weekends. It's always closed, so I've decided it's either shuttered for good or else they're only open from 2 a.m. - 4 a.m. on Sundays.
The listed telephone number doesn't work either.
... said jess on Aug 7, 2009 at 11:24 AM | link