One of the more famous Russian dishes is borshch, a beetroot soup served hot with sour cream, and the sister dish of akroshka, a kvas soup served cold. The local chicken kiev should not be confused with Western imitations. A vegetable variant of shashlik also exists. Stuffed cabbage leaves and sweet peppers are filled with boiled rice and minced meat. Mushrooms in sour cream are very popular.
Coffee is generally available with meals and in caf s, although standards vary.
Soft drinks, fruit juices and mineral waters are widely available. Posolskaya, Stolichnaya and Rossiskaya are popular brands. This delicious cocktail is traditionally served from a crystal bowl. White wine and cucumber are used to make a drier variant. Nastoika is a fortified wine made of herbs, leaves, flowers, fruit and roots of plants with medicinal properties.