Sasha Shor and her Mom Marina's Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Today's guest, Sasha Shor, moonlights as Russian-Jewish culinary ambassador when she's not working at her day job as a celebrity entertainment marketing maven. We met a couple months ago to have some ramen and talk about our shared history and after 2 hours of messily slurping, laughing, and bonding over smoked fish, our fate as friends was sealed.

Sasha has hosted slews of Russian-focused dinners at places like the James Beard House + Jewish Food Society and via Lavka: a supper club she founded where things like Mexican Borsch and chorizo pelmeni are on the menu. She’s also written some beautiful pieces about her childhood in the Soviet Union and as a recent immigrant in Nashville, Tennessee.

Today we chat about what it was like growing up in one of the very few Russian families in Nashville, her obsession with all things pickled, why chicken-fried steak is a perfect food, Russian feasting in epic proportions, and her mom Marina's Sweet & Sour Meatballs. It's a beautiful trip down memory lane with many laughs and a couple cries.

Get the recipe for Marina's Sweet & Sour Meatballs here!

Stalk Sasha on Instagram: @sashashor212