Hi! I’m your blogger, Em. For a bit of background: I grew up in a small Midwestern town, and ventured to a Small Liberal Arts College on the East Coast for undergrad where I started studying Russian because the alphabet was pretty. I majored in Political Science and Russian, and had the opportunity to travel to Russia twice–once to Siberia, and once to Moscow. I spent my junior year abroad in London studying politics and history and enjoying life in London–shows! museums! fun restaurants! I was working in DC when the August 2008 War broke out, and I started to become interested in Georgia; another seed of interest was dropped in my anthropology class when I heard about the archeological site at Dmanisi. I was sold on Georgia when I saw how pretty the Georgian alphabet is (do you see a trend here?). I decided to go to grad school back in the Midwest at a gigantic state school, where I focused on post-Communist politics and learned Georgian and Russian. During grad school, I had a fantastic summer working in Tbilisi. After graduation I moved down to the Southwest, where I complained about the weather, read lots of YA novels, taught Russian lessons, and worked retail until I could return to Georgia. My first semester as an English teacher was spent in a town in the Kakheti region. Now I work in the non-tourist part of Tbilisi, and enjoy the luxuries and quirks of the city in my time off.
This is so exciting! Congratulations on your new adventure!
I’d like to follow your blog – are you allowing that? If so, I’m missing where the option is…if you could point the way, that would be great.
Scratch that – I guess I wasn’t awake…found it!
Thanks for the good wishes, and glad you found how to follow!
Dear Em, Welcome back to Tbilisi. If you have gotten settled yet, I would like the chance to meet you in person. I have lived in Georgia for seven years and am finally trying to master some Georgian cooking. Would be interested in your experiences! Thanks, Molly
Thanks Molly! I’m still settling in, but I’ll e-mail you when I’m around. (According to Facebook, we have some mutual acquaintances…)
it’s very nice to hear about georgia such wonderful things, especially from our guests. many thanks
Em, would love to talk to you about Georgia – planning a trip there this fall and possible move with family…
I’m happy to chat! If you aren’t comfortable using the Comments section to ask questions, you’re welcome to shoot me an e-mail at cookiesandthecaucasus@gmail.com No guarantees I’ll have the type of information you’re looking for, but I’ll be happy to help where I can.
Hi Em
I’m going to Georgia next month and I came across your blog while doing research into the trip… thank you for informative and interesting posts, I’ve learnt many things and now I’m feeling really excited. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!
Alex
Thanks so much, Alex! It’s nice to hear that I’m not just writing into a void!
Interesting to read tour experiences!
Hello dear Em. I am so happy for you in Georgia! You are fortunate to be able to live and travel freely at this time in your life. Be safe, enjoy life, and blog, would very much like to read! 😉
–Call your Mom, she loves you.
God Bless!
-Julie in Oregon
(I have a son teaching ESL in Medellin, Colombia;-)
I visited Georgia a few months ago, traveling around. What a lovely country! Its challenges are not trivial with Russia breathing down their necks and maneuvering to extract more of Georgia [South Ossetia] & more! The people are so courteous and tolerant of others. The country as a whole is poor, yet there are wonderful natural resources to create the possibilities of reducing poverty there.
Are you planning on staying long term in Georgia?
Glad you enjoyed Georgia, Rochelle!
I don’t really know how long I’m planning to stay. Until December, at least. After that we’ll see–it depends how this fall goes both politically and personally.
I really like your blog, which I found by googling “georgian word for persimmon.” It’s persimmon season now in the US, but even in Chicago I’m having a hard time finding them this year for this recipe (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/prosciutto-wrapped-persimmons you should try it – any kind of thin, smoked ham works. I use black forest – much more affordable than prosciutto, and I skip the rosemary for convenience), and I was remembering how there seemed to be a persimmon tree in every yard in Georgia.
I visited for a few weeks last fall, and like you, love the food. I have a vague plan of possibly returning in a few years to teach or something, but until then, I’ll have to settle for reading blogs like yours and researching recipes!
Persimmons in ham sounds fantastic–back in the US I often did bacon-wrapped dates, and dried persimmon tastes very similar to dates, so I can see how that would taste good together.
I’ve heard that Asian grocery stores in the US often have persimmons, so maybe that’s a place to try? Personally, though, I’ve never looked–I don’t think I’d ever even seen one before I came to Georgia.
Dear Em,
I ran across your blog while looking for, of all things, a review of Pueblo. I am trying to find a restaurant all 6 of us can agree on for lunch tomorrow (Friday, January 3rd). That means children aged 7, 10, 13, and 16 plus the parents. No easy feat. We usually end up sacrificing my gourmet tastes for Pita+ or Ronny’s (which I consider one of the cheapest options for our family. Where else can you feed a family of six for under 50 lari? – OK, Pita+, too) If you are still up or get up before 9:30AM on Friday when we plan to leave for Carrefour, I would be interested in any advice you might have for pleasing my kids with narrow taste range and me, a gourmet healthy eater. We were thinking about Pueblo, but we were looking for something in the range of fajita and tacos (kids), Always someone who doesn’t want Asian. Book Corner Cafe? Cecilia (on Abashidze)?
Thanks,
A teacher and someone who cooks just about every night.
Nancy
Hmmm…your options do sound limited. I definitely wouldn’t qualify Pueblo as gourmet, but it would be a change of pace from Pita+ and Ronny’s… I assume you are looking for something non-Georgian? Entree might be a bit expensive, but it might fit the bill. Le Gateau on Abashidze might work as well–I haven’t had much there, but everything I’ve had was good, and as I recall they had a rather wide-ranging menu; I had a pita, and they have sandwiches and salads and such. Lovely baked goods.
Dear Em,
Thanks for the reply. Here’s a new restaurant to add to your page: Cecelia;s on Abashidze. It’s on the right side heading toward the U.N. Circle from Vake Park. We decided to go there for lunch because the kids wanted Italian (translate: spaghetti bolognese) It was VERY good. Authentic Italian ingredients, excellent thin-crust pizza, also soups, salads and pasta dishes. We all ate there for under $50. I;m sure it would be a great place to go with your friends. We were all able to get something we liked.
By the way, Baan Thai is also very good.
Thanks again.
Nancy
Yes, I love Baan Thai! I’ll have to check out Cecilia’s sometime; thanks for the recommendation.
Persimmons : Khurma vs. Karalioki.
Your working hypothesis on persimmons is quite correct. They’re different varieties of the same species. And yes – they can mingle. When khurma and karalioki trees are close enough to cross pollinate they tend to “spoil” each other. As a result a single fruit can bear qualities of both species. I mean while half of it can taste like karalioki, the other half can present itself as an unripe and astringent khurma.
Khurma (Diospyros lotus) – are cone shaped persimmons. Sort of Caucasian persimmon, and should never be eaten raw. You should let them sit in a warm place for a while until they get completely soft all over. To be deemed “ripe” this sort of persimmon must be very soft on the outside and pretty liquidy on the inside. Once the fruit has ripened you could then bite the tip off and suck the delicious, gooey brownish pulp out . It’s quite delicious… All it needs is a bit of patience.
Karalioki (Diospyros kaki) – on the other hand are of East Asian (Japanese) origin, and are sometimes called Japanese persimmon. There’s no need to wait until they soften in order to be palatable. There’s however another way to eat them. My aunt has several karalioki trees in her backyard in Tbilisi. She usually harvests only half of the fruit leaving another half hanging out there throughout the first couple of weeks in winter. First frost caramelizes fruit and makes them a sheer delight to eat.
By the way – “khurmis chiri” is made primarily out of khurma (not karalioki).
HTH
THANK YOU! This is EXACTLY the sort of answer I was looking for.
You’re very welcome 🙂
Loving reading your how-to’s… helped me brave the metro and buses a few weeks back! 🙂
Glad they’re helpful! The lack of easily accessible information about that sort of stuff really surprised me when I got here. Fortunately I haven’t been the only one filling the gap 🙂
Hi Em,
Great blog! Heading to Georgia in May to celebrate my 40th and wondered if you might be able to recommend a great venue for a birthday supra with a small group of friends? I realize the ultimate experience would be in a Georgian persons home, but since I don’t know anyone trying to find a place in Tbilisi with great food, nice ambience, possibly some music or dance and that isn’t touristy? Any thoughts? Oh, bye the bye there are some fantastic Georgian restaurants in Brooklyn – Pirosmani is one of them – and that is how I was introduce to this amazing cuisine. Thanks for your help. Ryan
Georgians will often have a supra in a restaurant for big celebrations to ease the cooking burden, so doing so wouldn’t be too unauthentic.
The coolest place I’ve had a supra was without a doubt Chateau Mukhrani: http://chateaumukhrani.com/en/home Though it may not be a practical choice.
I’ve also had nice supras at Babilo (at their Riverside branch, though I assume the menu is the same): https://www.facebook.com/pages/Babilo-Restaurant/100861556621607 and Georgian House (Kartuli Sakhli) http://www.info-tbilisi.com/kartulisakhli/ Maspindzelo is also nice (http://www.maspindzelo.mgroup.ge/?L=eng)
The chain Machakheli/Taghlauri is also a popular place both with Georgians and with tourists, and their bigger restaurant have live music and some dancing.https://www.facebook.com/pages/TAGLAURA/314572394264
Great, thank you very much for these suggestions – will check them out!
If you know of any Georgians living in the Colorado Springs area our surrounding States I am hiring for some Translation work and a trip to Tbilisi in September for 13 days as Interpreters.
I don’t know anyone off the top of my head, but I’ll ask around..
Mr. Flaherty, what are you translating?
Craig Brown
Wow, I love your blog! It’s so refreshing to see someone else write about Georgia from a foreign perspective too. Your posts seem much more constructive than mine, I’m quite rambly about it all… Nice to meet you and I can’t wait to see more!
Loved your blog, too! Some of your posts I was nodding along…I think part of the difference in material is time in Georgia; if you see my early posts, there’s more rambling/processing 🙂
I’m definitely gonna dedicate a day to scroll through (:
Hi Em,
I love your blog and all the fascinating insights into Georgia. I wandered over here thanks to your Goodreads review of The Ghost of Freedom, which I’ve just added it to my TBR list. I’m reading another Charles King book, The Black Sea: A History–it’s simply amazing!
I am glad I found your blog. I’m happy someone completely foreign fell in love with my motherland this much. I am a Georgian, living in New york. My favorite thing to do in summer is to come back here in Georgia and eat and drink the goodies this place has to offer.
Hi Em,
Respect from Canada.
Are you still in Georgia?
Yes, I’m still in Georgia!
Love your blog! It’s been so many years already that you are in Tbilisi, amazing. Are you still working as a teacher?
Yes, I’m still an English teacher here, though I’ve changed jobs a few times.
Was just going to ask you the same question… Nice to know you’re still in Georgia.
BTW was wondering how your Georgian’s coming along 🙂 Any progress ?
Well, I’ve stalled a bit in terms of being able to find time for lessons and good teachers for a reasonable price, but I’m told I speak very well. Still seriously lacking in non-everyday vocabulary, but I’m pretty fluent at grocery shopping.
Hi Em,
Thanks for your blog; I just happened across it and found some pretty useful tidbits in it. I’m another Midwesterner named Andrew who has now lived in Tbilisi for five months. I actually came because one of my dreams is to be a journalist/freelance writer in the Caucasus, and now that my other online job has gone kaput, I figure it’s time to test that dream out. I was wondering if you are into meeting random people for coffee; I’m interested to learn more about your experience here, as well as generate insight and ideas going forward. Plus, I need to make all the connections that I can.
Sure! I’ve got a busy week this week and next, but I’d be happy to meet for a coffee after that, pending regulations at the time. My email is cookiesandthecaucasus@gmail.com; we can work out details there