Lithuanian Food - courtesy of CM
4th Journal Post

Ok, here's your menus... Lithuanian food is heavily influenced by neighbouring Russia and Poland, so cabbages, potato and beetroot are abundant, usually served up with pork. Try the cold, creamy beetroot soup, very refreshing and usually served with boiled potatoes or eggs. If Lithuania has a national dish it is "Zeppelins", large, air-balloon shaped (hence the name) parcels of potato dough, stuffed with either meat or cheese, and covered with either bacon and/or a sauce. They're certainly unique in world cuisine, but are fairly tasty if extremely filling. There are a few restaurants that serve exclusively Lithuanian food, but most places will have a few Lithuanian dishes as well as more standard food; steak, pasta, pizza, etc. Pizza seems to be very popular in Lithuania and there are many dedicated pizza restaurants (try Bambolo in Klaipeda for combinations of toppings you couldn't even begin to imagine). If you're after more "exotic" stuff most of the big cities will have the standard ranges of world cuisines, Indian, Chinese and the like, as well as some more unusual ones like Polish or Armenian. Lithuanian restaurants are good value for money; if you avoid the tourist traps you should never have to pay more than £5 for a good meal. McDonalds have now spread their insidious influence to Lithuania. They aren't widespread yet, but you should be warned that they are there! Lithuanian beer is pretty good stuff; Czech-style lagers are most common, but some breweries do dark beers as well. The lager is stronger than those you'll find in the UK, but happily you seem to be able to drink as much as you like and not suffer from a hangover (probably because the beer is fairly pure, and not pumped full of chemicals). All bars served beer on draught. Depending on where you drink half a litre will cost between 40 and 80p. Imported beers are available in touristy bars, but are more expensive than the local stuff, and is usually not on draught so you may as well stick to the local brew. Spirits are popular in Lithuania, vodka especially so, and there are some reasonable vodkas distilled in Lithuania. Another drink that you may encounter is Lithuanian mead, made from honey and which only recently begun to made again, based on traditional recipes. It comes in a wide variety of colours and flavours, and as it comes in small bottles with pretty pictures of Lithuania on them it makes a popular present to bring back. Having had a couple of the stuff I can confirm that it is drinkable, although its sweet flavour means that I doubt you could drink too much of the stuff before throwing up. It warms you up nicely in cold weather though, and does a respectable job of clearing blocked sinuses.