Sometimes a great time happens when you least expect it. Rohatyn is a small town about five miles away from Cherche, the tiny village where my ancestors are from. There are two hotels in town, about ten rooms each, inexpensive, and nice enough. I splurged and stayed at the fancier place, about twenty five dollars a night. It had a very small bar and restaurant and a larger room that was used mostly for weddings. The restaurant had a pretty large menu. I forget what I ordered, but a few minutes after ordering, the waitress returns from the kitchen and says “tonight we can make borscht for you”. So borscht is was and I was also able to get a heavy mayonnaise based salad, and some bread. It was pretty good. Wanting another beer, I wandered back into the kitchen looking for some help. Greeted with smiles, I sat down and spent the rest of the evening in the kitchen with my new friends, a new beer, toasting Ukrainian vodka, enjoying salo (cured pork belly), and more bread with butter. I learned that Salo and vodka go surprisingly well together.
