POLINA KAVARDAK
Suburban restaurants
My neighborhood was littered with suburban restaurants: independently-owned eateries, lavishly decorated in the height of kitsch. I walked past them every day and did not pay attention. It was not until a friend from France came to visit me and was delighted by the architecture of these places. It’s like she opened my eyes and showed me the extraordinary in the ordinary.
I traveled to other neighborhoods to photograph their suburban culinary hotspots, often asking friends for their recommendations.
Each of these restaurants often has strange plastic figures that draw attention to the bright facades. The entrances to these restaurants resemble caves, others resemble castles with cozy courtyards entwined with grapes and greenery. Passing through the massive doors, you find yourself in the magical world of an oriental fairy tale or an old Russian palace. The interior decor is not inferior and sometimes surpasses the facade.
When you're in there is nowhere to rush: here you can hide from the routine. The atmosphere gives a feeling of security, distracts from the gray-colored ordinary life full of problems. Here you can find everything you could possibly desire.
When one is wandering Moscow's and Moscow region's streets one's gaze sinks into a sea of lights, then stops for a bit on bright facades, and finally ties to strange plastic figures that are like entrances to restaurants on the metropolis's outskirts. Some of the entrances resemble caves and others remind you of castles with cozy courtyards braided with grapes and greenery. Passing through massive doors, you find yourself in the magical world of an oriental fairy tale or an ancient Russian palace. The interior decor doesn't defer to, and sometimes even surpasses, the facade.
These restaurants are unlikely to make it into travel guides or receive Michelin stars. Often the fame of such establishments is doubtful, but they always favorably attract residents of the outskirts of Moscow and the Moscow region.
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