No, you are not experiencing deja vu. This is another restaurant, of the same name, in another location in New York. I ventured out here after hearing this is the better restaurant of the two Georgian restaurants of the same name. Only this one is open for dinner, so time it accordingly if you want to eat some of the most authentic food of this cuisine.
The inside of the restaurant is incredibly inviting with the soft jazz music, the vintage lighting, and the smells that welcome you into somebody's home, to be ready for a meal that you will not be forgetting for quite some time. That is how I felt. For anybody who has been to Tbilisi, I am sure you feel the same way. I have not been, but can only surmise this is how it must feel.
From the moment you sit down, you are immediately welcomed and valued, if not loved, as a customer. My server (I think her name was Karine) was an absolute doll from start to finish. She was understanding that I am a novice to the cuisine, and ensured that every dish I got was genuine and going to live up the hype. It is funny, because I ordered just about the same things here as I did at the location in Sheepshead Bay that bears the same name.
The Kharcho soup is fabulous. It tastes and feels like a beef vegetable soup, but is heartier and has a better taste. The piece of bread on the side only made it better as the bread is chewy with lots of flavor, a great yeasty flavor. The vessel it is served in keeps the flavors happy, as everything tasted fresh and proper from first bite to last.
Of course, as this is a Georgian restaurant, one cannot come and not order Khachapuri. Khachapuri is Georgian cheese bread, infused with an egg and a stick of butter. Since I heard about this famous dish I have wanted to try it, and since I have moved to New York City, I have now tried it three times to varying degrees of success. This restaurant makes it the best of all three times. Karine mixed everything up to make it more appealing, the cheese is perfectly layered, and the bread itself has a nice lightness to it so you do not feel so full afterwards. It really is fantastic how they do it here. There was another party at the restaurant and I knew I had done it right when they had ordered a plate of Khachapuri as well. I do believe any customer who comes here has to order one. It is a must.
For my main course I stuck with what I knew best, the Chanakhi. That is what I ordered last time and figured I have to go about it because it is an easy dish to welcome anybody into the cuisine. It comes in a beautiful clay pot and what else? Some Georgian bread. Unlike last time, every flavor comes through beautifully. The starchy potato, the aromatic peppers, the gamey lamb (which has plenty of bark and texture), all served in a hearty stew. This is the perfect dish when it is freezing cold, or that rainy day where you need something to keep you going for several hours. It hit the spot in all the right areas.
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Considering I do not live in the area, it would be hard pressed to come back here again, but I want to thank Karine for making it a terrific meal. She exemplifies everything you want in a server - attractive, attentive, and intelligent. Unlike other restaurants that make outsiders feel like outsiders, she accepted me like a relative and was excited to teach me more about this relatively obscure cuisine. I hope someone sees this review and gives her the accolades she deserves. It is the reason I gave her a little extra when it came time to pay the bill.
All the more reasons this restaurant gets a five star review. read more