Pearly Jacob

Sep 6, 2024 | culinarybackstreets.com | Pearly Jacob

Khinkali is king in Georgia, but another dumpling of foreign origins has also woven its way into the childhood flashbacks reminiscent of Proust’s madeleines (the French writer’s analogy that morphed into a famous metaphor for nostalgia) of many a Georgian. Pelmeni is presumably Russian in origin, but can be found across the Slavic world and Eastern Europe.

Aug 1, 2024 | culinarybackstreets.com | Paul Rimple |Pearly Jacob

Georgia’s astounding winemaking tradition traces back eight millennia, and is not to be missed. From the country’s different varieties, terroirs, and winemaking methods, there’s a lot to learn – and taste – when it comes to Georgian wine. As a starting point (or simply for those who don’t have time to venture out of the city), Tbilisi’s wine bars are a great place to have a glass or two and dig into Georgian viticulture.

Jul 19, 2024 | culinarybackstreets.com | Pearly Jacob

Sausages and beer might not sound much like a Tbilisi affair, but this most Bavarian of combinations is what has been served up steadily for more than five decades in one of the city’s oldest watering holes. Nodar Vardiashvili and his shop have survived the collapse of the Soviet Union as well as the tumultuous decade of civil war and economic devastation that followed.

Apr 4, 2024 | culinarybackstreets.com | Pearly Jacob

When Ethiopian national Mimi Alemu Desta was proposed Georgia as a temporary place of refuge to help her escape her war-torn country in 2021, she assumed it was the state in the U.S. Little did she imagine she would end up in the South Caucasus republic she didn’t even know existed till then, let alone that she’d be the first person to introduce the spice-and flavor-infused cuisine of her home country to residents of Tbilisi.

Jan 31, 2024 | culinarybackstreets.com | Pearly Jacob

For a dish so ubiquitous, one would be forgiven to think there’s little to debate about Georgia’s national dumpling, the khinkali. But just as tastes vary, every Georgian has their own khinkali preferences and opinions. That’s certainly the case for chef Gela Arabuli, who believes khinkali has been gentrified and mass produced to the point that most people have forgotten the dumplings’ origins in the mountains and how they should really taste. “Real khinkali is from the high mountains.