NYC Dopers: FSU restaurant recommendations?

[Eva Luna]

I’ll be in your lovely neck of the woods in a couple of weeks, and am looking forward to taking my dad, little brother, and/or a couple of friends to sample some wacky former Soviet cuisine. I’m a huge Slavophile, but in spite of having graduated from NYU, I never had the time or money while I was in school to go to Brighton Beach or to try many restaurants (although I do miss the Kiev in the Village, the way it was before it changed hands. What could be better than blueberry blintzes at 4 a.m.?). Dad and bro live in Queens, and the friends live in Manhattan; all are relatively adventurous eaters, but this stuff will probably be new to them.

So I’ve gotten a couple of recommendations for some kosher Uzbek places in Rego Park, which is a short hop from Dad’s house; have any of you tried these places, and/or can you recommend others?

http://www.chowhound.com/writing/t-o...les/uzbek.html

http://www.nypress.com/14/43/food/food.cfm

Also, does anyone have favorite Russian places, preferably of the casual, mom-and-pop variety rather than the $75-a-person-with-cheesy-band-and-floor-show variety? Other representatives of the FSU (Armenian, anyone?) will also be taken into consideration, and thanks in advance!

[Jerrybear]

OK, so "FSU" must refer to "Former Soviet Union" in this thread. Before I clicked on it, I was trying to figure out why Florida State University would have a restaurant in New York City...