A Slice Of St. Petersburg On Santa Monica Boulevard
VIDEO: Walking around Santa Monica boulevard in West Hollywood, you'd think you were on Nevsky Prospekt if not for all the sunshine. Storefronts with Cyrillic names line the street. Old ladies in headscarves peruse discounted jewelry, and men in leather jackets smoke cigarettes on the street corners. The countless Russian expats seek out the comforts of home in markets like the New York Deli, which is owned by Moscow native and West Hollywood resident Svetlana Mogdilevitch. New York Deli sells traditional Russian imports, like buckwheat and farmer's cheese, and Mogdilevitch cooks fresh Russian soups, salads and meat dishes from scratch every day. But beyond the Russian community, her Slavic cuisine has grown a multicultural following, as Mogdilevitch explains.