Nursel Central Asian & Russian Cuisine

Meet the Kyrgyzstani Chef Plating the Overlooked Cuisine in San Carlos on the Peninsula | Eater SF

"A singular menu blends Eastern European and Central Asian comfort foods at this small downtown San Carlos restaurant, where borscht — a hearty ruby-pink soup with beef, cabbage, and potatoes — sits alongside vareniki, dense dumplings filled with mashed potatoes and onions usually served with butter, and Asian-inspired plates like ganfan (steamed white rice with marinated beef, bell peppers, and tomatoes) and lagman, hand-pulled noodles simmered in a saucy, spicy medley. Open since 2021 across from the downtown San Carlos Caltrain Station, the place offers eat-in meals, a display case of Kyrgyz pastries with staples like deep-fried cheburek stuffed with beef and onion, plus catering, and even runs a ghost kitchen along 1200 Market Street in San Francisco. As one of the Bay Area’s few Kyrgyz restaurants, it’s a way for owner-chef Nursel Koigeldieva to share the authentic dishes she grew up eating — including kuurdak, a plate of fried lamb and potatoes — and she personally moves between kitchens to make sure “everyday, it’s the same taste as from the beginning,” saying of her Old Country Road restaurant, “Here, I feel like I’m home.” It’s safe to say the menu contains dishes unexplored by many Bay Area diners." - Stephanie Lam