Best Georgian Restaurant In Brighton Beach: Nota Bene
Georgian cuisine is starting to attract a lot of attention towards itself. People are beginning to love these hearty dishes known for stirring taste buds with enriching flavors. You can usually find them in areas on the ancient silk road trade route, which is currently a converging area between the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
Georgian cuisine has seen a lot of improvement over time due to the presence of different culinary cultures. It has developed to a stage where it has an existence of its own. Georgian dishes have warm bread, addicting cheese flavors, and delectable meat. You must try many dishes when you visit a Georgian restaurant, such as Khinkali, Ajika, Kubdari, Kharcho, and many more.
Evolution Of Georgian Cuisine
Before there was any diversity in Georgian food, the people in Georgia relied on grain products and wine as a significant part of their meals. In those times, meat was a luxury that high-ranked people could only afford. The royalty had even more luxury as they had hunting rights, allowing them access to more meat.
However, as the Silk Road developed, Georgian culture also started to change. The development of that trade route allowed the influence of other cultures to accumulate in Georgia. Over time, Georgian food developed its own regional cuisine with various elements from Armenia, Turkey, Russia, and Persia.
This evolution also became a sort of revolution for the common citizens of Georgia as meat dishes became more accessible and affordable. It was not much widespread before, but now it is starting to come due to its popularity on social media. Many are eager to try authentic Georgian dishes. If you haven’t had any dish before, you must try them now.
Let’s give you an overview of some must-try Georgian dishes, and then we will suggest the best restaurant where you can try them.
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Must Try Georgian Dishes
Georgian dishes have developed a lot over the years. If you explore Georgian dishes, you will find a lot of influence in their flavors from Greece, Turkey, Arab, and Persia. This influence has led to diversity in the Georgian food culture.
Here are some of the famous Georgian dishes that you must try at least once.
Mtsvadi
Mtsvadi is a meat dish and is similar to Shish Kebab. It has meat cubes grilled over an open fire after marination and skewering. You usually make them with mutton, pork, beef, or veal.
To make this dish, you must first marinate the meat cubes using a mixture containing coriander seeds, onion, ajika, spices, bay leaves, salt, and pomegranate juice. After it’s done, you must thread it onto a skewer and then grill it. You can also throw some dried vine clippings into the grill so that the coals become more fragrant.
These types of grilled meat dishes are also popular in Central Asia. Russians know it as Shaslik.
Kharcho
Kharcho, which is also pronounced as Harcho, is a Georgian soup. It consists of rice, cherry plum puree, khmeli-suneli, chopped walnuts, and fatty parts of beef.
It uses basil, dill, coriander seed, red pepper powder, marjoram, fenugreek, celery, bay leaf, saffron, mint, celery, and parsley. These are some of the traditional spices that add flavor to many sauces as well as Georgian dishes. When the cherry plum puree is added to it, it works to make it sour. It also gives a rich flavour to the soup, which you can enjoy wholeheartedly.
Kharcho usually uses crusty bread and fresh coriander. They are used a lot in the winter season. You can also enjoy it with Georgian wine for a perfect warm vibe.
Satsivi
Satsivi is a thick walnut paste that uses garlic vinegar, walnuts, dried herbs, salt, and pepper. The term ‘Tsivi’ means cold in the Georgian dialect, and you usually serve it cold. It also has a lot of use in meals, fish, and poultry.
Satsivi means sauce, but it can also be used contextually for dishes that are made with sauce. Sasivi dishes use chicken, usually. But, traditional Satsivi dishes use turkey and can be seen during Christmas as well as New Year.
Khachapuri
Khachapuri is one of the most famous Georgian dishes and is a comfort food for many in Georgia. It is also referred to as the national dish of Georgia.
It is a traditional Georgian dish that uses bread filled with cheese. You can shape the bread in various ways, and it usually has the cheese in its middle, and the surrounding crust can break off, and you can also dip it into the cheese. Apart from the cheese, it can also contain eggs.
This type of cheese bread is available in various parts of Georgia. You can also find it as street food. Imeretian Khachapuri is a form of Khachapuri which is also the most popular one. Yeast-infused pastry and white Imeretian salted cheese are the ingredients that make it stand out from the rest of its forms.
But, if we look from an international point of view, then Adjarian Khachapuri is the most popular one. It has the shape of a boat and uses cheese, raw egg yolk, and butter to cook it. There are beliefs that the Laz people of Georgia were the inventors of this form of Khachapuri. They are an ethnic group that you can find in the coastal regions of Georgia and Turkey. The reason for its international popularity might be its shape and what it represents, and being closer to the sea made it easier to spread across the world.
Chakhokhbili
Chakhokhbili is a Georgian stew that uses chicken, fresh herbs, and tomatoes. It is among those dishes that are fairly easy to prepare. Its modern version uses chicken to prepare the dish, which is different from the traditional way that used pheasant. It got the name Chakhokhbili from the word ‘khokhobi’; pheasants are known as khokhobi in Georgia.
The usual garnish of this dish is similar to Kharcho, which uses freshly chopped cilantro and rice or crusty bread.
Chicken Tabaka
Chicken Tabaka is a traditional Georgian dish made using pan-fried chicken. It got its name from ‘tapa,’ which is the term for the traditional frying pan in Georgia.
A whole chicken is buttered and then flattened to prepare this dish. It uses salt and red chili powder for the light seasoning of the chicken. Then fry the chicken on both sides using butter and serve it with the usual garnish of basil, cilantro, and sliced onions (white or green).
Best Georgian Restaurant In Brighton Beach
Georgian dishes are some of the most underrated ones despite their diverse recipes. Nota Bene understands that perfectly, which is why we introduced many Georgian dishes in NYC. On top of that, our chefs add their own touch to the dishes, making them unique to our restaurant. We have a wide variety of Georgian dishes for you to try. Here’s a list of them:
- Mtsvadi
- Assorted Mtsvadi
- Megruli Kharcho
- Guruli Satsivi with Hen
- Imeruli Khachapuri
- Adjaruli Khachapuri
- Chakhhokhbili
- Tabaka
Conclusion
Brighton Beach may have a lot of Georgian restaurants, but there aren’t many that serve authentic Georgian dishes. Nota Bene is among the best multi-cuisine restaurant where you can enjoy Georgian food in a royal ambiance. You can also try some of our special dishes, which are unique to our restaurant and made by our expert chefs.
You can book an appointment on our website and enjoy the fragrant Georgian cuisine. In case of any queries or concerns, you can reach out to us by sending a mail to info@notabene-restaurant.com or calling us at 1-718-676-0927.