War and Peace-sized vodka menu makes this dark, propaganda-laden room chiller than the Cold War-era vibe it's channeling. Too bad the ice room in the back is MIA. If you buy into it, the brick walled exterior, black leather and red candles are very glasnost. Small rations of kasha fries, perogies and meat-filled appies are just what the doctor-Zhivago that is-ordered.

Long and narrow like Lake Baikal, this spot even had Soviet-style bureacratic headaches registering their first choice of name. Now known as Red Squared, there's nothing grim about the tapas menu, featuring nouveau perogies stuffed with duck confit or sweet potato, chorizo and sage, but vodka is the star, whether straight or martini-made. Sharing a back room (and owner) with G Sports Bar, the... more