Friendly Food — Local services in Beaverton

After my coworker made me try a delicious Napoleon Russian cake, I was eager to get one to enjoy with my husband and daughter. So I googled the nearest Russian store near me, and I found "friendly food" store. I always read reviews, so with 4.7 stars, I felt like I was going to be just as satisfied as the rest of the customers that took their time to write these reviews.

I went in and quickly noticed that the store was smaller than I expected, almost like a mom and pop store, but that was not the problem. We were in the store for a few minutes and no one was there to assist us. My daughter said, "Hello", and still no one came out. Then I saw a little bell on the corner, so I rang it. Finally, a man walked out and he was friendly. I started asking him about the cakes they had on display and he couldn't even readily identify them, so he told me that he would get the "chef"- who turns out to be his wife. So I figured she was probably the one baking all the cakes and pastries in the store. I asked her if she had the Napoleon cake and she looked confused. She even repeated the name of the cake back to me, and after I confirmed that I named the cake correctly, she still looked confused. And then she started talking to her husband in Russian and then he steps in and says, "we have the last piece of Napoleon cake, do you want it?". I looked at the cake and it didn't even look close to the cake I had tried prior AND I really doubt that it was even Napoleon cake to begin with. I think they were just trying to sell it to me, since I walked in completely lacking the knowledge of Russian cakes. So I settled for 2 different cakes that "did not look too bad". I paid $19.18 for these 2 medium size pieces of cakes. Not a problem! As I was told by my coworker that their cakes can be costly, so I was ready to spend some money to get some delicious desserts. I live 12 minutes from this store, so I was home in no time. I grabbed my fork, opened the boxes of cakes and as I stabbed my fork in the cake to grab a piece- IT WAS ALMOST ROCK HARD SOLID!!!!! Not only was it hard, but it wasn't even cold. Any normal minded person, let alone a woman that runs her own bakery in the back, would know that cakes are stored in refrigeration to preserve it. These cakes were room temperature! I was so disappointed. I closed the boxes, bagged them back up and headed straight back to the store.

I arrived at the store, no one was there again to help their customers. I rang the bell again and here comes the same lady that sold me these ridiculous awful cakes. I opened the boxes of cakes, took my plastic fork and started tapping on the frosting of the cakes and told her these were not fresh and that they were really hard. She looked at me and started to tell me that that was how Russian cakes were made, like "hard marshmallow". WHATTTTTTT!!!!?? So Russians like to eat sweet rocks for dessert?? I don't think so lady. No one eats desserts like this!!!! And then I began to tell her that the temperature for her cakes were completely off from what they should be, and then she proceeded to return my money! RED FLAGGGGGG!!! Im sure she didn't want to have health inspectors at her store, shutting her down and citing her for a health violation. Because those were exactly the people I was ready to call.

I am sure that there are other products in her store that are fine, but I would strongly advise you not to buy her cakes and pastries if you don't want to become strongly ill from eating them! They have no date as to when they were made and they certainly do not have expiration dates. That, in itself, is a health code violation!

I will never return...

I bought some candy on the suggestion of the clerk. It was a huge hit with my friends. Thank you so much. They will never forget the candy you sold me.

Before I left town for my vacation back to Kansas City I stopped by and picked up some candy the clerk suggested. It was the best $30 I ever spent on candy. 🌸My friends in Kansas City ate it all. 🌸 My adopted mom, minister is from Russia. She took some to give to her. 🌸They wanted to know how I found Russian candy in Portland, Oregon. I was exploring the area on foot one day after going to the grocery store nearby, saw it, stopped and tried to get coffee to take home. They didn’t have any. And this was suggested. Thank you so much for that recommendation. 🌸 I flew home and had the candy in my carry on bag. It did great. The shape held together. The humidity in Missouri is bad. The candy never melted. Not a great gift to present if the chocolate candy is melted. 🌸 No one knows Russian so it was fun to watch people ask me what kind of candy they were holding. I did not know. So the adventure began. Unwrap candy, examine and then taste. Everyone was laughing.

🌸Who knew eating something you couldn’t read the label on, would be such a fun experience?

🌸Hazelnut was in some of the candy. I remember that being said a lot. The labels would be remembered then.

I would spend $30 on candy here again. It wasn’t just the people enjoying the candy, it was me watching how they reacted. And then it’s a unique memory, I don’t think anyone will regret.

ALSO: I love that there is plenty of free parking here. I feel safe in the area. There are other things to do in the area- the zoo and Washington Park is only 15 minutes away.

The people that I have met going into the store are helpful. I don’t feel pressured to buy anything. And they don’t laugh when I ask questions I feel are silly. I...

This little store is great! They don’t have a great variety but what they have especially their deli section is amazing. Come here for ready to eat golubcy (cabbage leaves stuffed with mixture of rice, ground meat (they have beef) and spices and the slowly cooked in the sauce made from tomatoes, onions, carrots and spices), vinegret (cooked beats, carrots, beans, and other veggies with a bit of oil for dressing is great for vegetarians and vegans), kotlets, pastries and much more. In my opinion, their deli items taste better than those at Tanya’s store. They also have a great variety of Easter European sausages and everything can be sampled.

The owner and his employees are friendly, helpful and always happy to see their customers. They told me that a lot of their deli foods can be cooked with special dietary requests and can be purchased in bulk for home...