They foraged mushrooms and nuts from the forests, cultivated grains and produce on small plots of ground and caught fish in shallow streams. More prosperous folk raised chickens, cattle and hogs on modest farms. Resourceful cooks relied on brining, pickling, smoking and fermentation to preserve this perishable bounty. Cabbage, for example, was eaten fresh in the summer and fermented into sauerkraut for the winter. Lehaim serves marinated cabbage with potatoes, carrots, pickles and lima beans in a classic Russian vinaigrette salad.
Cabbage is also a key ingredient in the restaurant's borscht , the ubiquitous Russian beet soup.
Dumplings are a comforting dish that allowed cooks to stretch a meager supply of meat by encasing it in dough. The recipes for these dishes were recorded in the Middle Ages by monks and were later collected in cookbooks. The servers seem genuinely curious about whether you enjoy the unfamiliar dishes that come from the kitchen. However, some of the items on the overly ambitious menu are not always available or are not prepared as described. The restaurant's unlovely decor, which is part discotheque and part shabby hotel lobby, requires that you suspend disbelief to pretend you're dining in the Russian countryside.