Lunch at Aragvi/ Photo: Cynthia Clampitt
If you look at a map and note the position of Georgia, you’d be able to make at least a few guesses about the cuisine. To the north and east, there is Russia, to the west, the Black Sea, and to the south, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Part of the region known as Transcaucasia, Georgia is definitely a crossroads. However, while Georgian cuisine reflects the influences of the bordering countries, as well as of the empires that have swept through over millennia, it has also been shaped by geography, from rugged mountains to lush valleys to subtropical areas by the Black Sea. As a result, the food is quite distinct—and is definitely worth trying out. Thanks to a recent flourishing of Georgian restaurants in the area, trying it is suddenly very easy.
When Diplomat Café opened in Lakeview a few years ago, a review in the Chicago Reader celebrated “the city’s—and perhaps the state’s—only restaurant devoted to the feasting foods of the Republic of Georgia.” Well, it appears that it may still be the only one in the city, but if you find yourself in the northwest suburbs, there are several additional options—three restaurants, a bakery, and a deli. Kitchen House Café in Wheeling (341 East Dundee Road) is the smallest of the three restaurants and has a nice rustic look. Stumara, also in Wheeling (847 West Dundee Road), is narrow and handsome, and is next door to Pirosmani Georgian deli and bakery, with which it shares a kitchen. Aragvi in Palatine (1280 East Dundee Road) is sprawling and upscale, with a large bar area separate from the dining area and an attached bakery/deli (live Georgian music on Friday and Saturday nights!). And, of course, if you’re in the city, there is Diplomat Café (3134 North Lincoln).
Adjaruli Khachapuri/Photo: Cynthia Clampitt
Variations exist among these restaurants, but there are enough similarities to be able to offer guidance across the category. While a few dishes reflect the general history of the entire region, there are numerous items specific to Georgia. Chief among these are wonderful baked goods, most recognizably the boat-shaped cheese bread served with an egg: adjaruli khachapuri (also sometimes listed as adjarian khachapuri, because it comes from the region of Adjara). If ordering this, be prepared to say whether you want the included egg to be cooked or raw (it will actually be semi-cooked by the heat of the cheese). However, while adjaruli is iconic, there are other types of khachapuri/cheese bread, one representing each of the forty-seven different Georgian provinces, with different types and amounts of cheese. One generally encounters only three or four varieties on a menu, but most menus have a separate section for khachapuri. These cheese breads are also popular street foods, and that is how I first encountered khachapuri—at the late, lamented Argo Georgian Bakery on Devon Avenue. Because of their popularity, and portability, various types of khachapuri can be bought as carry-out items in the Georgian bakeries and delis, not just in the restaurants. I have so far sampled only a few of the varieties of khachapuri, but I’ve never had one I didn’t like.
One Georgian dish that appears regularly, even on menus that are more generally focused on Russian or Eastern European foods, is chicken tabaka. It often involves chicken but may also be made with a Cornish game hen. While cooking, the spatchcocked bird is pressed down with a heavy weight, rendering a crispy skin and tender interior.
Garlic is a common seasoning and shines in chkmeruli (sometimes rendered shkmeruli). This dish offers chicken that is baked and then simmered in a glorious garlic sauce. There is a wide variety of kebabs and grilled meats, and the country’s position on the Black Sea means grilled or smoked fish often appears on the menu. For a vegetarian option, try lobio. Lobio means “beans,” but while the beans to which the word refers (usually pinto or kidney beans) appear in a few dishes, the classic preparation is a stew of beans, walnuts and herbs served in a clay pot, traditionally with a side of pickles. (When I had this at Aragvi, I learned that the pickles there are house-made.) This was served with a basket of warm, chewy, flavorful bread fresh from the oven, wonderful even without butter. If you like beans, know that lobio is also often featured in a salad or mashed and stuffed in bread. But the stew is more traditional—and wonderful.
Khinkali at Aragvi/Photo: Cynthia Clampitt
Dumplings appear on all menus. As with khachapuri, shapes and preparations vary by region, but the most common and iconic dumplings are khinkali. These may be filled with beef, pork, lamb, mushrooms and/or cheese and potato. But the trick with khinkali is eating them properly. Fortunately, at Aragvi, my waiter was delighted to be introducing someone to Georgian food. When the khinkali are presented, you’ll want to give them a second to cool, and then you pick them up by the “knob” where the dough is gathered together. Yes, you must eat them with your hands. To be traditional, sprinkle them with black pepper. Turn them upside down, take a little bite out of the dough “pouch,” and then drink the lush, fragrant broth with which they are filled. Once the broth is gone, eat the filling and wrapper. Splendid.
Beets in tkemali was a surprise. Tkemali is described as a plum sauce, which might suggest something sweet, but tkemali is the name of a Georgian sour plum. It is quite tart, the flavor enhanced by garlic (of course), and the equally common coriander and cumin.
In addition to garlic, coriander and cumin, among the most common ingredients added to Georgian dishes—for flavor or as a thickener—is walnuts. So, something to keep in mind if you have a tree nut allergy.
Pkhali at Pirosmani/Photo: Cynthia Clampitt
Among my favorite examples of things that contain walnuts is pkhali. Sometimes listed as a starter, but also sometimes identified as a “salad ball,” this combines finely chopped vegetables (spinach, beets or leeks are common choices) with ground walnuts and garlic, pounded until it is of a consistency that can be formed into a ball. This is then topped with pomegranate seeds. (Pomegranates originated in nearby Iran and are popular throughout this region—and the seeds or juice appear in several recipes.) Serving sizes may vary, but pkhali (sometimes spelled phali) is commonly about the size of a golf ball. I often visit Pirosmani deli to pick up a few for snacking.
Pirosmani also offers Georgian wines, preserves and baked goods (including khachapuri). And lest you think the wines might have been adopted from elsewhere, you should know that Georgia has an 8,000-year history of wine making and is considered by some to be the place wine originated. (A reverence for Georgian wine is also reflected in a wall of wine at Aragvi.) Even if you don’t get to Pirosmani to shop, the store also has a useful website, where a fair range of Georgian dishes are both pictured and explained. (This can be helpful if you’re dining in one of the venues where the waitstaff, expecting a Georgian clientele, is not experienced at explaining the food in English.) Pirosmani has a sub-title of “Georgian Food Art,” which led me to look up the word, and it turns out that the name honors Niko Pirosmani, a prominent Georgian artist.
My waiter at Aragvi told me that Georgians love to talk while eating—and he pointed out the shot glasses on every table, because talking means toasting the ideas or things being discussed. So much more I could say, but I’ll leave something for you to discover. The menus at all these places offer far more than I’ve mentioned—more than I’ve had the chance to try (so far). But the evidence has led to a verdict: “Georgian food is splendid.”