THE THINGS WE DO...: "Do Mykoly" - to Mykola's (11/08/98)

THE THINGS WE DO...

by Orysia Paszczak Tracz

"Do Mykoly" - to Mykola's

For the best Ukrainian food this side of baba's kitchen (or both sides, depending how well your babusia cooked), stop by the Ukrainskyi Krai Restaurant. However, if you happen to be on these shores of the Atlantic, it may not be as easy as you wish, because this out-of-this-world restaurant is located 7 kilometers east of Lviv, on the main Lviv-Kyiv highway (between Dubliany and Hamaliyivka).

But when you are in Ukraine, this is one place not to pass up. It is an ideal place to hold a reunion, or to take your family (instead of having them going all out for you at their home). The restaurant is open 24 hours, with a gasoline station alongside, and you will recognize it by the number of cars and trucks parked in front with foreign as well as Ukrainian license plates.

Ukrainskyi Krai (telephone: 0322-52-60-97) is the official name, but in the area people say they are going "Do Mykoly" (to Mykola's). Mykola is Mykola Hunko, one of the two partners of this new private enterprise. He is most enterprising, with a wealth of experience for his 30-some years. I met him in 1993, when I led my first tour from Canada to Ukraine.

Ihor Miklosh and Mr. Hunko, both of Lviv, were our Ukrainian leaders, guides, organizers, counselors, singers and friends. They accompanied us from the time they met us at Boryspil Airport until they left us at the airport two and a half weeks later. We traveled, ate, drank, sang, wept and danced together. They took care of the group completely, from arranging whatever was necessary to scolding someone who left his wallet visible in his back pocket after being warned not to.

Last year in August, and this past July, I was back again touring with Ihor and Mykola, and wouldn't have it any other way.

But back to the food. We had excellent meals throughout the tour - and then we hit Mykola's place ... with the zakusky (hors d'oeuvres), soups, breads, entrees and the pampushky (filled yeast-raised doughnuts) - especially the pampushky. In appearances, this is not a fancy multi-star restaurant. It would be closer to a large homey luncheonette-diner, with tables and chairs instead of stalls, and a large separate dining hall alongside. The night before, a gypsy wedding lasted there until early morning. As you walk in, Ukrainian music is playing on the speakers, and you can select exactly what you want to eat, because the entrees (chicken, pork, fish) are displayed on the counter. So are the desserts, including piles of freshly fried pampushky. Mykola says Ukrainians like to see exactly what they will be eating.

The kitchen staff is a group of down-home mamas and babas, who cook and bake up a storm - all fresh, fragrant and Ukrainian. You know the eggs are fresh - you can hear the rooster at the back, and if you take an extended tour of the grounds, you'll meet the chickens. A bakery is part of the enterprise, with breads, buns and pastries to make you forget there's a meal coming. Our lunch was so delicious that when we were asked the next day if we wanted to return, a cheer when up from the group. After the first lunch, our group was so impressed with the place, the food and the service, that we sang "Mnohaia Lita" for Mykola and the staff.

So how did a travel guide and former engineer, rally race car driver and musician become a businessman and free enterpriser in the new Ukraine?

He was asked to help out. Two years ago, under other owners, the restaurant was on the verge of bankruptcy. The staff feared for their jobs and turned to Mykola for help. Maria Silnyk, one of the supervisors of the restaurant, and Mykola became partners, found the funding and saved the restaurant two hours before the bank was to take it over.

What makes it such a success now is that, in addition to the excellent Ukrainian menu, the atmosphere among the staff is so special. Over the first year, after the building had stood empty and unheated over winter, everyone worked together to renovate it, doing the grungiest and most difficult reconstruction work under cold and miserable circumstance. There was no distinction among partner, cook or waiter - all contributed sweat equity.

Mykola believes that is what makes everyone care about the place so much. The old Soviet mentality of "it's not mine, I don't care" does not exist. The original staff of 18 has almost doubled. A gas station and bakery have already been added, and future plans include a motel and other services. These emerging entrepreneurs still have to deal with remnants of the old system in rebuilding, but they are not giving up.

The menu at Mykola's place is traditional Ukrainian, with mushrooms incorporated into as many dishes as possible. Mykola was born and raised in Polissia before moving to Lviv. He reminisced about how his whole family has lived and loved mushrooms. From childhood he has picked and eaten all sorts of "hryby," and knows them very well. He told me how careful you have to be in picking them and how, even in cleaning and cooking them, you can still detect a bad one that slipped by. Mykola said he can tell sometimes in cleaning even by feel or smell that a mushroom is not safe. When they cook, if the water turns a bright yellow - throw the whole pot out. Even one sliver of a poisonous mushroom can do that to a whole batch of good ones. Sprinkling salt on a cut mushroom will bring out the yellow if it is poisonous.

Mykola's mother passed away last year, at a fairly young age, from leukemia; the family believes she was another of the Polissia region's victims of Chornobyl. Mykola, his wife, Alla, and their two young daughters live in Lviv. (His 3-year-old daughter Solomiya had an observation after watching a commercial on television. "Tatu, there is Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and My-kola.") We were surprised and impressed to learn that in addition to being a partner and renovator behind the concern, and a good cook himself, Mykola is also a craftsman - he built the tile-topped tables at which we ate.

With industrious and energetic individuals like Mykola Hunko, there is hope for the future in Ukraine. And when you do stop in at Mykola's, try to meet him and the folks. Tell them Orysia sent you.

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