We took a walk in some largely Russophone neighborhoods in South Brooklyn on a beautiful afternoon.
I hadn’t walked around Manhattan Beach in maybe ten years. I was struck by how many new houses looked like the small-lot mansions you see in Mill Basin, the neighborhood apotheosized in the great movie _Anora_.
It is an undisputed fact that NYC Russians are crazy for sushi; I’m sure the density of sushi restaurants is highest in Russian neighborhoods.
There’s an old-line bar on Sheepshead Bay Road (Irish, maybe?) with a sign in the window that seems to express a frosty attitude toward some of its neighbors.
We browsed inside a big Sheepshead Bay gourmet-ish grocery store that stocks lots of foods appealing to former-USSR tastes.
I worked my way across two walls of teas, getting more and more gloomy at the hundreds of varieties of teabags.
Until! They have sooo many varieties of Turkish loose leaf teas, even some Azeri teas. I wish I could tell which, if any, are actually good. Anyone know?
@babelcarp Well, these are all black teas that differ in "quality". I'd personally brew these with some Earl Grey and maybe cloves, but I guess people also just brew them alone.
Altınbaş might be the highest grade here, though I don't remember if I tried it. I think Filiz is a safe choice, that's what I remember us getting most. I got Rize not too long ago and wasn't impressed.
@lambdazai Given its name, I would assume Rize is actually grown in Turkey, right?
But the other two? I understand tea companies in Turkey often sell tea leaves harvested in Sri Lanka, right?
Lew Perin
Deniz Alp