Oct 25 and Nov 29

One night only. Our Italian kitchen goes Russian. For one evening we push the tables together into long communal ones and set them the way a Russian table has always been set — a zastolye. You won't get a table for two. You'll get a seat at a long one, beside people you haven't met, with everything laid down the middle for everybody to reach. That is the whole point of the evening, and by the second course it stops feeling strange. It starts with zakuski — cold starters on dark rye that arrive all at once and stay put: roasted eggplant "caviar," salo with sharp mustard, Olivier, spicy morkovcha carrots, and cucumbers and green tomatoes pickled in our own kitchen. Nothing is portioned. You reach, you pass, you argue about which is best. Then borscht. Beets and beef simmered slow, finished with smetana and fresh dill. And if you want to do it properly — a shot of vodka straight from the freezer, before the first spoon. The main event comes out of a kazan: plov, rice cooked with beef, sweet carrot and toasted cumin, served from the cauldron at the table. Or beef stroganoff, seared in a cream and mushroom sauce over toasted buckwheat. We finish the way the evening should end. The samovar comes out and the tea keeps coming for as long as you care to sit — with Ptichye Moloko, the cloud-soft soufflé cake, spiced honey pryaniki, crisp sushki, and cherry preserves taken by the spoon. FOUR COURSES — $59 PER GUEST At the table, if you'd like: · A shot of ice-cold vodka with your borscht — $7 · House infusion flight: horseradish, cranberry, honey-pepper — $25 Seats are limited and this one is ticketed. Come hungry, come curious about your neighbours, and plan to stay a while. Vegetarian and other dietary needs are handled with advance notice — tell us when you book.