It’s impossible not to love a restaurant that’s so defiantly a throwback to an era when baked alaska, tournedo Rossini, paper-crowned chicken kiev and crinkle-cut chips were the height of haute cuisine. And it’s all still on the menu. For sheer nostalgia, insist on the assistance of 77-year-old Uncle Tan, who’s been waiting on tables for 44 years. The famed borscht – thick and oniony – is a must, but skip the mushrooms stuffed with chicken. The theatrics are highlighted by table-side preparations of the eponymous shashliks (a kind of Russian kebab) and the entertaining flambéed pancakes. It’s value for money too, with a carpet-bag steak (feeds two) going for $52.