It's been a while since my last post, but Melissa and I just got back from our vacation in Kharkov a little while ago (which will be the subject of my next post!) and I've been teaching long hours ever since. Now that it's Sunday and I can finally relax a bit, I thought I'd post on one of my favorite vegan stand-by options in Odessa (and all over Ukraine, for that matter): Georgian food!
No, I do not mean fried chicken a la Paula Dean. I mean the cuisine of Georgia, that mountainous country on the Black Sea between Russia and Turkey, where they speak საქართველო.
I had never seen a Georgian restaurant in the United States (and am pretty sure there are none in Florida), but here in Ukraine, there are many places which feature Georgian cuisine. Think of it as their version of Chinese or Italian food. Although Georgian food is best known for its "exotic" choices of meat (including horse), and "hatchipuri" (bread covered in cheese with a fried egg in the center), there are plenty of delicious vegan appetizers available at every Georgian restaurant in Odessa.
One of my favorite Georgian places is "Chito-Grito" which gets its name from a famous Georgian song. It's located less than five minutes from our apartment, on the corner of Daribosovskaya and Preobrajenskaya in "Passage," a pre-USSR hotel/shopping plaza.
Here's a picture of Passage and Melissa sitting in the "outdoor" seating area of Chito-Grito.
There I am sitting at a table made to look like a carriage. And, yes, there's a painting of hatchipuri behind me. And a wooden bird. But check out those tulips! Spring!
So here's the spread: ispanakhi, krasnoye lobio, adjabsandali, two loaves of warm lavash (Georgian bread) and black tea with bergamot.
Here's a closeup of the ispanakhi. It's basically a spinach puree made with onions and walnuts, topped with pomegranate seeds. 
Krasnoye lobio, or "red bean" in Russian, is a dish made with stewed red beans, onions, walnuts, and various Georgian spices, also topped with pomegranate seeds.
One of my favorite dishes is adjabsandali, a cold appetizer of eggplant, sweet pepper, mushroom, and onion. It tastes amazing inside a piece of warm lavash.
Although I could easily eat this delicious food every day, it is a bit pricey and is best enjoyed on special occasions.
Tonight we're defrosting the fridge because a MONSTER ice block has formed over the freezer and it won't close. As a result, we have to eat what was in the fridge so it won't spoil. On tonight's menu: Vereniki (dumplings) filled with cabbage and potatoes, chickpeas, and oven fries with ketchup. It's like being in college all over again.
SaM.
