Originally Posted by mosburger
There are very interesting accounts on caviar in Russian literature. In Czarist times the Royals and wealthy businessmen used to order buckets of the precious fish eggs and later in the drab Soviet reality most train station restaurants still served caviar on traditional Russian "grey" bread with Vodka shots measured in grams. I remember reading about an eye-witness account of an Orthodox priest getting his fill of Vodka while wolfing down caviar sandwiches during the Stalin era.
I believe the Caviar House uses exclusively Iranian sources, which I hope are more aware of the need to preserve the sturgeon population than the Azeri and Russian black market fishermen.
Creme Fraiche is nice, but I prefer the orginal Russian Smetana which takes the sour taste up a notch. The red onion is also essential for my fish egg experience with it's mild taste that adds to the overall flavour.
For drinks, many Vodkas taste too "hard" for me and the only one I have liked so far is the Russian Cristal and some St.Petersburg local brand I cannot remember. Would actually opt for a Chablis if there is a decent one available.
Caviar House uses Iranian sources for sure. The tin on the Almas said "Iranian Almas Caviar". Iranian caviar is in my opinion, far superior to Russian, and I like the consistency of the product, since it is government controlled rather than individualized in Russia. Another reason Iranian is better, since the Caspian Sea is more polluted on the Russian side, and the Iranian side is cleaner, the roe is a direct reflection of what the sturgron eats, and the Iranian tastes cleaner, in my opinion.
A few kinds of caviar can be enhanced with a drop of lemon for me at most. I leave the onion off, since it distracts the flavour in my opinion.
Sevruga has a bit too strong of a taste for me, and I don't fancy it very much. Beluga is my favourite, but I try not to eat too much of it, since it is a endangered species, and I feel guilty sometimes opening that tin.
Also one thing, Iranian caviar I notice is a lot more expensive than Russian. 50gms of Beluga from Iran in the stores in Toronto is $275 CAD($230 US) while the Russian is around $175 CAD (US$145)
I tried vodka to go with caviar, it never works for me. I had a few shots of the basic liquor store stuff, and its awful, it burns when it goes down. I once had Krug to go with it, and it was great.