Being a single guy, busy and, admittedly, a bit lazy, I don't cook for myself much. I like to cook for others; in fact, one of my favorite things to do is to invite a good friend over for Sunday brunch with my special omelettes.
But cooking just for myself is too much trouble. These days, the extent of my "cooking" is to make instant oatmeal for breakfast. For dinner I usually buy prepared food at the local store, stuff that I can eat cold or just heat up in the microwave. It's not the best, but it's easy.
Another thing I do more often than most people is eat out. On average, I visit restaurants or cafes several times every week. It's best when I have someone to join me, but sometimes I just want a nice prepared meal and can't find a partner, so I have to sit alone to enjoy it.
As a result, I've gotten to know a lot of places to eat in Kharkiv, from coffee shops and cafes to the most elegant and expensive dining establishments in town. In fact, as I begin this post, I am sitting in a sort of mid-level restaurant now, a place called Paprika. And it is this meal that has prompted me to stop work on my "guilt" story and write about restaurants.
I thought I would write my impressions about some of the places I like or don't like in Kharkiv. Let's start with where I am now - Paprika - and why I will never come back.
Paprika - We're Done!
Paprika is a relatively inexpensive place that serves pizza, pasta and various other dishes. I've often liked to come here for salad, grilled salmon and a glass or two of red wine. It's one place where I don't feel strange sitting alone with my meal. Usually, I sit at a corner table and write on my computer during my meal - sort of like I am doing now.Paprika is near my office, and I've been coming here for several years. Sometimes I come with a friend, but more often I am solo. I've generally liked the food, and the service has been good. For a long time, the wait staff consisted of the same friendly and quite efficient waitresses. Cute too!
But things have changed recently. The previous two times I had been here, I was served by a guy - a dour and not especially friendly guy. Last time, there were no waitresses at all. And it's the same today. Very disappointing.
But that's not the worst. Today, the meal was an even bigger downer than the waiter. The salad was about a third smaller than in the past (for the same price, of course). And the salmon fillet was also smaller than in the past, and it was not particularly tasty. In fact, it was pretty bad. They served it with some kind of bland white sauce, which made it even worse.
And instead of being served with some green beans in a very appetizing sauce like in the past, the salmon was served with bad spinach. Now, I love spinach, and at another nearby restaurant, they serve a great salmon dish with delicious spinach. But "delicious" is the last word I would use for the green garbage I got today. It had sort of a burned taste, and it was very gritty, as though there were fine bits of sand in it.
And to make matters still worse, I was swarmed by fruit flies (gnats) this evening. These annoying little varmints have irritated me at Paprika in the past, but this time they were even more evident than usual. I really don't know of another place that regularly hosts so many of these miserable flying mites.
Yuck!
Only the wine was good - and the music. But that wasn't enough to offset the rest of that depressing meal. Now that I think about it, even the music wasn't as good as usual. On my way out, I made a quick pit stop in the men's room, which smelled like it hadn't been cleaned since the last time I was in the restaurant. Breathe through your mouth, breathe through your mouth!
Coming here today was a bad choice, but it's a choice I won't make again. Paprika and I are done! I am "breaking up" with this place. I will leave in a few minutes, and I won't be back. It has become way overpriced for the bad food and poor service they offer. There are too many good places in Kharkiv to waste my time and money on a place that has fallen downhill so badly.
My Opinion
So, to any of my Kharkiv friends who read this - or anyone in town, for that matter - I highly suggest that you cross Paprika off your list of places to satisfy your hunger. It pretty much sucks.Paprika gets no stars, just two slow-flying, bacteria-ridden gnats.
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Next time I write about restaurants, I'll discuss my favorites (much more positive). And in a few weeks, you can look forward to some reviews of places in Portugal.
