By Abigael T. Sidi
In my family lore, beef stroganoff is known as the one and only dish my great-great-grandmother Bogdana executed to perfection. “You wanted to cry, that’s how good it was,” my dad said, sharing childhood memories of Wednesday lunches at Bogdana’s, where she’d often dish out her specialty. “But these lunches were always a risky proposition – everything else she made was to be avoided at all costs, especially her cakes.”
A Muscovite Jew – and, according to Dad, the first female dentist ever in Russia, who treated the likes of Rasputin – Bogdana fled the Russian Revolution and “walked with her son under her arm all the way to Paris, arriving there around 1920,” Dad recalled. The first evidence of beef stroganoff being served in Parisian restaurants was right about that time. Coincidence?
“Tender meat cubes blended in a mustardy sour cream sauce, it’s the ultimate Slavic comfort food,” Dad added. “The combo is as miraculous as it’s the opposite of kosher; it must be hitting a specific pleasure receptor in your brain or something.” A little research revealed that the dish was likely created by a French chef to the noble Stroganov family in the late 19th century; the chef, Charles Brière, presumably utilized Russian sour cream as a substitute for the butter and stocks more common in French sauces.
I had personally never tried the dish, so when I discovered it on the menu at Sipsteria, whose Upper West Side location opened last year at the corner of Amsterdam and West 98th, I was intrigued. (More than just intrigued, in fact, given that that my friends and I had initially thought of getting coffee there; the place was advertised as such.)
The original Sipsteria location, in Morningside Heights, “was founded in 2024 by two friends, Sopio Marcellus and Giorgi Papiashvili [both of Georgian descent], with a shared vision of creating a cozy coffee shop and wine bar, offering specialty coffee from Colombia and Ethiopia alongside fresh pastries,” Sipsteria general manager Raymond Mara told me. “In the evening, the space transforms into a wine bar, featuring a selection of organic and natural wines and small plates, which soon began to include Georgian dishes as well. The Georgian offerings quickly became so popular that expanding felt like a natural next step. This led to the opening of this Sipsteria, a larger venue that offers a full dining experience, including lunch and brunch, along with a full bar program.”
After a quick wait, the beef stroganoff arrived. A beauty to look at, the bite was rich, creamy and deeply savory, whereby the tangy (but not mustardy) sour cream blended with the hearty beef in perfect harmony. Luscious would probably be the best descriptor, and the puree it was served on was a perfect, velvety complement (Bogdana’s version reportedly used noodles, the traditional side, or rice; also, no mushrooms in Sipsteria’s version). The dish was an wonderful marriage of homeyness and refinement, with an ingredient combination that just clicks. Lastly, a few pomegranate seeds and raw green onions stems, added as garnish, provided a pleasant little crunch as I went.
I asked Mara for specifics on their recipe. “Our beef stroganoff begins with marinated strips of beef that are seared with onions to develop a rich, savory base,” he shared. “The meat is then folded into a creamy sour cream sauce, seasoned with garlic and fresh cilantro [and tarragon], which gives the dish a subtle herbal brightness.” Tarragon, that was the ingredient that eluded me, which provided that beautiful sense of freshness on top the richness of the dish.
“The puree is made of potatoes, apples and pumpkin,” Mara continued. “The potato provides structure, the pumpkin adds warmth and depth, and the apple brings a gentle acidity that lifts the whole dish. And there is a little tweak: To finish, we season it with Svanetian salt, a traditional Georgian spice blend, and a touch of butter, which adds another layer of aroma and complexity.”
Back home from my revelatory experience, Dad was particularly intrigued by the addition of tarragon to the sauce. I shared that several other dishes on the menu featured the herb as a star ingredient, and we’d go on to try them all, all well executed and refreshingly delicious.
“Tarragon is actually very common in Georgian cuisine and plays a central role in many traditional dishes,” Mara said. “There are recipes built almost entirely around it – one well-known example is chakapuli [$24], a spring stew of lamb, herbs, and white wine where tarragon is the dominant flavor. Incorporating the herb into shakshuka [in their fantastic tarragon shakshuka ($18)] was a deliberate way to introduce a Georgian twist to a familiar dish. The herb [which is both used to infuse the sauce and as a topping] adds a fresh aroma and character that works beautifully with tomatoes and peppers. Georgia also has a popular bright green tarragon lemonade, known as Tarkhuna, which shows how beloved this herb is in everyday cooking.”
The breadth, complexity and character of Georgian cuisine, which I first discovered last year at Chama Mama, have continued to amaze me since. Like this and other Georgian restaurants in the city, Sipsteria strikes by its warm, gregarious vibe. The setting is open, bright, a little retro and modern at the same time, very convivial. Patrons comprise coffee and wine sippers, croissant/pastry lovers, and trendy foodies alike. It is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day, except on weekends, when it opens at 8:30 a.m., with pickup and delivery available at these times. Vegetarian and vegan options available and clearly marked.
The Dish: Beef Stroganoff ($26)
The Restaurant: Sipsteria, 774 Amsterdam Avenue (corner of West 98th Street)
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The photo emphasises why food photogs are highly paid.