Chelyabinsk has several stolovayas — Soviet-style self-service canteens that have survived and thrived as an affordable, unpretentious dining format. You take a tray, slide along a counter, and select from borscht, pelmeni, kotlety (fried meat patties), herring under a fur coat, and a rotating selection of hot mains and salads. The food is filling, the prices are minimal, and the atmosphere is purely local. Look for them in the streets near Kirovka and around the university districts. A full lunch typically costs no more than a few hundred roubles.