Tbilisi

Black Dog: All Species Welcome

The dog is in the car whining with a lusty craze at every cat and dog she sees. It’s shedding season and tufts of her hair puff off at every lurch and bounce in the back seat, the window smeared with her nose art. We park at the top of the street and walk down to school to pick up her six-year-old master, who grumbles that she’s hungry, starving even, and asks if we can go to “that bar.” The fridge is empty at home and “that bar” – the Black Dog – stands between us and the car. It is an excellent suggestion. The Tbilisi bar scene is a recent phenomenon in the scope of what is by tradition an intense dining culture.

Tbilisi

Vino Underground: Wine Heaven

Ènek poured a rosy-colored splash of wine into our glasses, avidly explaining how this particular Aladasturi grape vine was meticulously cultivated in its native west Georgia. In a tasting ritual uncommon in Georgia, we swirled it, sniffed it and savored the flavor as it caressed our tongues. Here in the “cradle of wine,” the land where viticulture is believed to have originated 8,000 years ago, wine is customarily poured into a water glass and “tasted” in one long drag, until drained. But in this cozy cellar in the heart of Tbilisi’s historic Sololaki neighborhood, seven winemakers have come together to offer an alternative convention to winemaking and consumption. They call it Vino Underground, but we call it wine heaven.

Tbilisi

The Treasures of Tbilisi's Dezerter's Bazaar

We can't think of a better way to kick off the new year than with a jolting shot of chacha chased with a sharp wedge of sheep's cheese at Tbilisi's Dezerter's Bazaar. This market is the focal point of our culinary walk in the city and is jam-packed with treasures.

Tbilisi

Maspindzelo: Hangover Helper

We spent our first few years in Georgia in a whirlwind of overindulgence, hostages to the unforgiving hospitality of friends and acquaintances. Try as they might to convince us that their wine and chacha were so “clean” we would not get hangovers, there were plenty of mornings when the insides of our skulls felt like 60-grain sandpaper and our tongues like welcome mats for packs of wet street mongrels. We would hobble out of bed and stumble to the fridge and, if lucky, find two of Georgia’s most recognized hangover remedies: Borjomi mineral water and matzoni, Georgian yogurt.

Tbilisi

Season's Eating: Holidaze in Tbilisi

The godzilla-sized tree of lights is up on Freedom Square and a gazillion more streamers of lights twinkle for eight kilometers down Tbilisi’s main drag, a clear, impressive indication the holiday season is upon us once again. The best thing about celebrating Christmas here is that tradition does not require us to buy a bunch of stuff for people that they don’t need. In Georgia, the real meaning of Christmas is indulgence in the gastronomic sense. Birthdays notwithstanding, the first feast of the season is on December 17, Saint Barbara’s Day. Being an Orthodox Christian country, the December 25 is only celebrated by expats and those Georgians looking for an excuse to feast.

Tbilisi

Best Bites 2016: Tbilisi

Few things in life are more rewarding than eating in Georgia. However, a single night at a Georgian restaurant can also be a terribly mortifying experience. Georgians like to order big but the palate can only take so much. All the worse for guests, as they are routinely tortured into learning just how magnificent Georgian cuisine is in one sitting. This is the kind of gluttony meant to send you to hell, and it totally short-circuits your senses. You cannot contemplate the simple flavors in a piece of tender veal stewed in a tomato and pepper sauce when the table is covered with plates upon plates of pkhali, khachapuri, mtsvadi and so on while being obliged to raise one more glass of wine to wash down yet another toast.

Tbilisi

Gabriadze Café: Classic Revival

When we arrived in Tbilisi in 2001, there was one café/restaurant that was a beacon to those seeking an alternative to the traditional Georgian dining experience of stark rooms and banquet tables or greasy spoons with clunky tables and little stools. It was a funky little crooked house of pure originality that served the regular dishes, but with a personal homey touch that suited the place perfectly. Although it felt like a world apart, the art installation cafe was Georgian to the bone, being the creation of Rezo Gabriadze, the renowned artist, writer, sculptor and film and stage director.