It was Andrew's birthday coming up, I made plan with Rob to take him out for
dinner Sunday. We chose BBQ, our 2nd or 3rd visit this year, because it has
inconsistent food but by far the best BBQ we have found in southern Sochi. And
so it was.

Rob wanted a birthday cake, but neither he nor I had time to pick one up, so we
were deputed to do so. Andrew didn't have time to find a proper bakery, so we
ended up getting a r100 monstrosity at Starter's - Andrew said that it was just
a gesture anyway.

 We met at the restaurant, where there is outdoor seating only. They showed us
to a shady picnic table right under the misters - it was well into the 80s -
but also near the side door where staff come and go, so it was kind of noisy,
though as Rob talks a lot and emphatically, that was kind of ok

 Drinks, very important on a warm dry day:

 We had cabernet, a semirespectable cheap fruity liquid that goes pretty well
with BBQ: no great bargain nor a rip at r60 the glass, which I suspect must be
a happy hour price. Also free tap water, not a bargain as somewhat
funny-tasting.

 I had my usual, which had been out of stock last time, Bud, the closest thing
one comes to an official beer of import; the boys ordered various milk, of
which it turned out they were all out except for one, which one I forget. It
seems odd that in Sochi County, perhaps the brewing capital of the state if not
the country, with hundreds of producers from world-famous powerhouses to
revered experimentalists, a restaurant would offer a list of Sochi beers and
further that anyone would get them.

 When the waitress came back I placed a largish and festive order.

 2 beef short ribs were as before scantily seasoned, but this time, as with the
first time we got them, they were fresh and neither decomposed at all nor shot
with preservative. They were a little underdone for the dish, the gristle and
membranes not tender or superdelicious, but the meat was approaching a state
of perfection; another hour on the smoker would have been appreciated, and with
an hour or two beyond that the gristle and membranes would be superb, but the
meat might be a little over.

 A pound of fatty brisket was excellent, tender, moist, not oversalted except
at the bark. How excellent?

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