Vodka & Food

Cepelinai arrive at the table steaming and hefty. These are large, zeppelin-shaped dumplings made from grated and cooked potatoes, filled with minced meat, curd cheese, or mushrooms. On top go sour cream and crispy bacon bits, called spirgučiai in Lithuanian, and many consider this Lithuania's national dish.

The dish is hearty, the opposite of light. An ice-cold glass of vodka alongside cuts through the fat of the cream and bacon. It makes the next bite possible again without overpowering the flavor of the dumplings, since here the vodka remains a side note, not the main event.

Šaltibarščiai is the other extreme. The soup is cold and bright pink, made from beetroot, kefir, cucumber, and dill, served with hot boiled potatoes on the side. It tastes sour and fresh and is eaten mainly in summer, when heavy dumplings would be too much in the heat.

Vodka pairs more sparingly with this soup, a small glass rather than a large one. The soup thrives on its own freshness rather than needing a heavy counterpart on the plate.

In restaurants like Bernelių užeiga in Kaunas, both dishes often appear on the same menu. Side by side, they seem to come from two completely different seasons of the same country.

Krupnikas, by contrast, belongs at the end of the meal, not alongside it. A small glass of the honey-sweet liqueur suits the moment after eating, once the table has been cleared and only conversation remains. It's then sipped slowly, without hurry.