A great way to get warm and cure your latest cold -- other than traditional Russian "vodka therapy" -- is to scoff down some Mexican food at Daddy's Music Bar.
Once you've tried it, you crave it -- the taste of Mexican cuisine is unforgettable. And so is the ceremony of taking that food, the whole atmosphere redolent with Latin-American attributes -- sombreros, cacti, tequila-with-a-worm and mariachi bands. All the elements (except for the music) are present at Daddy's. Instead of a buoyant "La Bamba" or two, you get very ordinary Western pop.
Entering the place -- decorated like a peasant's hut, colorfully cluttered and brightly lit but with interesting shadowy corners -- begins the experience. It feels like you're going to a country fair, like you're about to try something extraordinary.
Inside, it seems there isn't a single piece of horse tack that someone hasn't hung up somewhere. Cowboy boots, too, are about to fall on the table, which is long and surrounded by eight straw chairs.
Unexpectedly, there are no menus on the table. Instead they are hanging above -- brown lunchbags (with spelling mistakes in the text) hanging over ropes with clothespins.
Everything looks old and homey, which suits the restaurant's theme. The luxury and luster of most Russian restaurants makes one feel obliged to wear black tie, but here people are comfortable in jeans and sweaters.
A straw basket on the table is full of bottles ready to inflame your food with additional Tabasco and hot ketchup. Those and the fresh rolls are the only complementary parts of the meal -- which needs mucho dinero. A dinner for two (two entrees, two desserts and two alcoholic drinks) set us back 181,700 roubles.
Prices are in Finnish marks (there are approximately five Finn Marks to the dollar), and are not low for Russia. For example, the beef-filled Tortilla Pancho Villa costs 41FM -- although it could be a bargain since its size makes you think of a doggy bag.
Chilistew Hot Papas (40FM) is served in a cute tin bucket and is delicious. Little things like that -- as well as garlic garlands, old coffeemakers and the cocktail waitress who joyfully suggests "a happy cocktail" -- create an atmosphere one does not want to leave.
The food overall was good and freshly made. Mexico's world-famous margaritas and nachos were available in variety. Daddy's Frozen Margarita (27FM) tastes great after hot chili peppers.
To kill the thirst and the heat after a spicy meal one also expects to drink water. But don't get your hopes up here. If you want water, you'll pay 8 marks for a glass -- as if the restaurant were in the middle of the desert with water brought in from thousands of miles away on mules.
The service was quite ordinary, except for the cocktail waitress, but efficient. No advice on the menu was offered -- something you would expect in a place like this in Russia, where people are unfamiliar with the contents of tacos and burritos (and for that matter may have only seen them on the soap opera "Rosa Salvaje," which is popular now).
Sitting at Daddy's felt like being abroad -- even the smells were different. For a while we were the only Russians there, until the end of our meal when a group of four joined our minority at the same table -- looking lost and uncertain about what to order.
The bar seems to be an expat hangout, taking the prices into consideration. The Finnish language prevails, as does beer drinking over tequila. No Mexicans were to be seen anywhere.
To hang your coats at the front you need to pay 1,500 roubles per person, and right then and there make a crucial decision. If you want to eat Mexican, do NOT turn to the left, because in that direction lies Daddy's Steak House -- more formal-looking than its papier-mache-cactus-decorated cousin on the right, and definitely not Mexican.
Mexican-food lovers, now you know of a place where you can clear your sinuses when you get tired of freezing in the snow, but don't forget to bring the dinero.