"The Russian & Turkish Baths have kept East Villagers well-scrubbed since 1892. Today, anyone emerging from its various heated rooms—glowing, hungry, and possibly smarting from a platza treatment (a thorough spanking with oak leaves)—is surrounded by many great food options. But a bowl of their restorative borscht or comforting pierogies just feels right, especially between sessions in the steam room, or the notoriously hot Russian room. The baths downstairs are like a very social but somewhat dilapidated gym, and that atmosphere extends to the haphazardly cleared tables of the upstairs cafe area too. People in various states of undress eat blintzes and drink cranberry kompot, or sip 10th Street Lager, brewed specially for the place. Past visitors like John Belushi and Frank Sinatra look on from framed articles on the wall. If you’d just like to dip your toes into the colorful history of this place, you can drop in for a meal without buying a pass. Food Rundown photo credit: Sonal Shah Anna’s Borscht The most popular dish, this is a great bowl of vegetarian borscht: a deep red, more opaque than the aromatherapy room downstairs, and full of little strips of beet. It comes with toast and some sour cream. photo credit: Sonal Shah Pierogi Available stuffed with potato or slightly sweet, mashed cabbage, the dumplings come sweating and nestled in their own little ceramic pot sauna. We love their wrinkled skin and two-bite size. photo credit: Sonal Shah Beef Stroganoff This is a big plate of comfort: fluffy mashed potatoes, tender strips of beef (which taste good even if unevenly reheated), and squeaky, quartered button mushrooms." - Sonal Shah
