The Village House Kalina , 8302 Parkway Drive, La Mesa, California 91942
By Sandi Masori
LA MESA, California — Sometimes you find those hidden gems that you may have passed for years without noticing. The Village House Kalina is one such gem. Sitting in a La Mesa strip mall, nestled between a 7-11 and a Mexican restaurant, it’s easy to overlook this little Ukrainian/ Russian restaurant. But once you walk in, it’s easy to feel like you’ve been transported to Mamochka’s dining room.
The decor features Russian and Ukrainian artwork on bread trays and oven mitts, as well as other such decor. It’s very quaint and charming and has a generally homey feel. The restaurant is small with only a half dozen tables of various sizes in it.
The lunch menu has a great special – you choose three items for $11. The three are comprised of an appetizer or soup, a traditional salad, and an entree. There are several different options for each course, including vegetarian options. My friend and I both ordered the special. For my appetizer I got the Ukrainian Red Borscht, which I’m happy to say is nothing like the mushy gross purple slop you might buy in a jar from a grocery store. Instead it’s a delicious red broth with beef, beets, cabbage, celery, carrots, bell pepper, onion, potatoes and herbs (or vegetarian if you order the vegan one). You can add sour cream to it, if you like.
My friend ordered the beet salad called kavkaz, which includes shredded beets, garlic, mayonnaise, and walnuts. I ordered the eggplant salad (eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro).
They also bring you a loaf of warm bread, as well as a couple slices of a dense brown bread and a garlic spread.
For the entree I tried the pelmeni (Russian dumplings w/ chicken and beef), and my friend had the vareniki (Ukrainian potato and onion pierogies). We were really hungry so we also ordered the samsa, which were little meat pies.
It turned out that we ordered way too much, and had to take some of it home.
The borscht and the samsa were amazing! The eggplant and beet salad were also incredible. I want to talk more about the borscht though, because it’s one of the best soups I’ve ever had. The beets were just the right amount of solid and squishy texture. Firm to the bite, but easily chewed and mashed in the mouth. The broth just the right amount of heat and flavor. The dumplings, on the other hand, didn’t have a lot of flavor, especially since I left the sour cream off them. The vareniki also was fairly bland. I haven’t tasted a wide variety of dumplings before, so I don’t know if it’s a bland dish in general, or if the way it’s made there is bland. Next time I go, I will probably order chicken stroganoff as an entrée instead.
I have to dock some points for the service though. I’ve been there before and had better service, but the waitress that was there on this particular occasion seemed very young and inexperienced. Though we were the only table for most of our meal, we had to seek her out each time we needed something, as she was in the back talking to the chef in Russian. It would have been nicer if she were a little more attentive. Luckily, as I said, I’ve been there before and know that others give better service, so I won’t write them off completely for it.
All in all, it was a satisfying and filling meal. I know that I’ll be back because every so often I’ll get a craving for their borscht that won’t go away until I fill it. Overall I’ll give The Village House Karina an 8 of 10, but will caution that some of those points are based on prior experience.
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Masori is the food and restaurant reviewer for San Diego Jewish World. If you would like her to review your favorite restaurant, please contact her at sandimasori@gmail.com and provide details.