shain

I took a look at your posts about said restaurants, and the food seems pretty authentic (though one perhaps having more Russian influence), many of the dishes we saw or ate. After all, it's impossible to fully represent a cuisine within the menu of a single restaurant, surely outside of the country of origin.

Thanks It wasn't an issue other than having many delicious looking dishes that I couldn't have, and rarely, a limited selection of dishes. Most restaurants had a vast selection of vegetarian dishes, Georgian cuisine makes vast use of vegetables, nuts, cheese and mushrooms. There are many meat free lent dishes, and also an impressive awareness of vegetarianism (much more than in some other eastern European countries that I visited), though I've still been suggested chicken, as a non-meat dish once

An eventful day of sightseeing and travel up North. The road sides are scattered with stalls. At some sections, every hundred meters or so. They are selling honey, fruits, churchkhela, homemade wine, and in this case also brooms. We were surprised by the vast number of those stalls, it's hard to imagine the sellers making much profit with so much competition. We stopped for lunch based on online recommendations. Chveni Ezo. Lovely and specious outdoor sitting, we sat under a walnut tree. Some pleasant Georgian music was quietly playing in the background. The place was near empty from diners at the time, but well stuffed. We ordered two glasses of draft german wheat beer (the Georgian wine and beer will wait). A fresh, hot, crisp and tender tonis puri. Pillowy and fluffy like a good pita bread, crisp like a ciabatta. So very good. Lobio - a bean stew, traditionally served with mchadi - a corn bread, and pickles, served in a stoneware pot. I was impressed, this was a very good bean stew, rich and thick, boiling hot. Flavored with bay leaves and parsley. Maybe also celery. Just enough fat to give richness. I guessed the beans to be cranberry beans, or similar (later, we will visit the market and see that indeed, the beans sold are similar). The corn bread was dry, and lightly corny. I mostly skipped it in favor of the bread, but as you sure know, cornbread and beans are a great combination. Kharcho soup. Shkmeruli - fried chicken in garlic sauce. They didn't skimp the garlic. Mushroom khinkali. Everything was very good and we were stuffed.

Pronounce "green pepper"

Indian-thai fusion curry curry, with tomato base with ginger, thai red curry paste, cinnamon, garlic, cardamom, curry leaves, soft tofu, chickpeas, cashew and lime zest. Tamarind rice with lentils and noodles. Coleslaw with lentils, peas, fennel seeds, chili and black pepper.

Yogurt, bananas, fresh yellow dates, dried medjool dates, walnuts, tahini, carob molasses.

Thai noodles and peppers salad, with cucumbers, scallions, basil, chilies, peanut butter, and a few sauces.

After breakfast we went for a short stroll in the city before heading north towards Gudauri. The small hotel is located in a quite area of the city, a walking distance from the main Rustaveli street. Grape vines everywhere, both in the neighbourhoods of Tbilisi, and in the villages. And they are all heavy with fruit at this time of year. Very sweet, but most seem to be wine varieties. Grapes seem to be a very popular snack in georgia. We'll often see shopkeepers eating them while chatting with each other and find them complementary suggested at hotels Local bakery. The proximity and shape of the loafs on display makes me guess this is where our breakfast bread was bought earlier this morning. Bakeries are all using the cylindrical tone ovens (much like a tandoor), and sell nothing but tone bread (tonis puri) and, sometimes, a few types of khachapuri (though the bean filled lobiani is officially not a khachapuri). The bakers expertly shape the dough, stretching it into an elongated loaf over a dusted pillow called lapati (very much like is done with thinner saj breads). They then remove the baked breads with a pair of specialized long hooks. They are always very clean. A loaf is sold at 0.5 GEL / loaf (that's 20 US cents). This bakery sales elongated but thin breads. Other bakeries we'd see will sell the more common wider and larger shape (at a slightly higher, but still cheap, price). I'm not sure what are the sliced loaves in the bags are for. Maybe old bread or just a convenience product? Definitely not space-efficient. Apples, pears, pomegranates, grapes - sold at almost every street corner. And plums, such tasty plums. Roseheaps are also in season and are very pretty, but I don't like their flavour. Many mini markets as well, in the city and villages. There are so many markets and fruit vendors that one can believe Georgians spend all their time shopping for groceries. I sure would with such produce. Even the smaller markets have a large offering of beer and spirits. Often chilled and ready to drink. Including 2.5 liter bottles for sharing. Frozen dumping, including a few types of khinkali. As well as rolled dough. We went back to pack our bags and drove off north towards Gudauri. Link for the hotel we stayed at, in case someone will stumble on this page while planning a trip in the future - highly recommended.

For brunch. Fetteh - yogurt, mixed with hot and soft chickpeas, toasted pita pieces. Spiced with garlic, cumin, chili and sumac. Topped with tomato, mint, parsley, toasted nuts (cashew and almonds), a little peppery olive oil and more sumac. Some of the pita keep crispy and some gets soft, soaking in the juices.

Tarte tatin.

Our trip started with a 3 hours long flight delay 😪 We were therefore gifted with a coffee and pastry of our choice from one of the coffee shops in the airport. I opted for a cheese filled filo bourekas. The reason that I'm telling you this is because I later found it an interesting reference point for the Georgian khachapuri, which I couldn't help but compare to it. Also, this was the last decent cup of espresso I'd have until visiting Tbilisi for the last 2 days of the trip. We got some rest during the 3 hour flight, and after a short taxi ride, fall right into bed at the charming small hotel/guest house in Tbilisi. The patio and some morning view of the city. I forgot to photograph the tasty breakfast until it was half eaten... Imeruli cheese - firm, somewhat salty, and somewhat sour from lactic fermentation. Tasty tomatoes with sweet delicate parsley and minty purple basil. A khachapuri that probably had some time on the counter and slightly chilled and softened. Tender and rich, the cheese a little tart. But kachpuri has to be eaten fresh. Hot meat filled khinkali, reported to me to be delicious, filled with loose meat in broth, lightly spiced. The dough softer and thicker than ravioli or pelmani. Tonis bread (tonis puri) - a ciabatta like bread, chewy with a soft interior. Crunchy at the thinner edge. Well salted. Delicious eggplant slices, I assume steamed, meaty yet tender. Spread with a flavorful walnut paste with garlic and herbs. Homemade apple cake. Georgians seem to have a liking to instant coffee, often drunk sans milk. I packed with me some Turkish coffee for this reason, but this morning opted for tea.

Got gifted a pretty (and tasty) challah bread. I bought some overripe figs (I was surprised to find any at all). Broiled them and served with sour cream, basil and reduced Balsamic with anise, cinnamon and cardamom. A salad of peas with feta, mint, almonds and honey vinaigrette.

Mango with coconut rice and mint.

I'm just back from an 8 days long trip in Georgia. A beautiful land with kind people and a wonderful cuisine. I want to share with you what I've seen and ate. So until I get my photos sorted, this is a teazer:

Fatayer flat bread, laminated with olive oil and herbs (this was takeaway). Chopped vegetable salad, with olive oil, lemon juice and zest. Purslane and scallions salad, with silan and olive oil dressing. Labneh with zaatar.

Persian inspired pasta with yogurt turmeric sauce. With dill, coriander seeds and a few other spices. Lentils. Roasted eggplant. Pomegranate.

Roasted baby potatoes (the small vessel doesn't do them justice in the picture). With mustard, rosemary and lemon zest sauce. And a warm salad of roasted beets, sweet potato and mushrooms with arugula and a simple vinaigrette.

Hummus with roasted peppers, sumac and feta. Tomato and sirene salad, with fresh chili and zaatar, served over labneh. Served with pita breads.

Frittata with mozzarella and various vegetables.

Coconut rice with mango and mint.

Baos with soft tofu, eggplant, chili peppers. Flavored with ginger garlic, black bean paste, sesame oil and light soy sauce. Served with cucumber salad and sweet-tart sesame-scallion dipping soy.

Do you refer to Hayani dates? Those are more dark reddish in color and are also sold fresh.

Kaffir lime + cinnamon Kaffir lime + ginger + cardamon/cinnamon Kafir lime + rum + mace/nutmeg Lime pate + white chocolate, maybe + mint Lime pate + ginger + orange zest Lime pate + ginger + whiskey

@BonVivant I love frozen yellow dates! Hand cut fettuccine with herbed ricotta sauce (scallions, chives, rosemary, sage, basil, oregano, thyme, chili) - other than the scallions, all garden grown.