Grand Cafe Dr. Zhivago gets listed in the high-end range, thanks to its wines and spirits menu which can literally triple or even quadruple your bill but the food is surprisingly affordable, given its peerless location just opposite Red Square. I often keep Dr. Zhivago as an ace up my sleeve on cold days when I’m showing out-of-town visitors around Moscow’s sites. On the ground floor of the historic Hotel National (VIP guests include Sophia Loren and Vladimir Lenin), Dr. Zhivago is an homage to Russia’s rich fin de siècle culinary and cultural history. Alexander Rappoport’s carefully constructed menu of classic Russian fare leaves nothing out: pickles and salted vegetables to whet the appetite and help the vodka go down, all of Russia’s signature soups, elegant game and meat pelemeni, bliny, caviar, creamy juliennes, and classic signature dishes such as Salmon Coulibiac and Pozharsky Cutlets.