To conclude this Georgian Adventure series, here’s a look at the stores and markets of the capital city, Tbilisi.
Soviet mosaics are an endangered species in Tbilisi. Here is a rare specimen from the Lagidze Café on Rustaveli Avenue. Lagidze is a popular brand of sodas and syrups created at the turn of the 20th century, here is an interesting article about them. When I got there in 2008, the café was already closed, and the mosaic must certainly be gone by now.
![Tbilisi - Rustaveli Avenue - Lagidze Café](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tbilisi1and2-small2.jpg)
Bread occupies a very important place in Georgian cuisine, whether it’s a cheese-filled khachapuri or a long flat loaf cooked in the toné, a tandoor-like clay oven. Here is a small booth selling bread in the city center:
![Tbilisi - Gonashvili St. - Bread](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tbilisi3-small2.jpg)
In my opinion though, the kind of flat bread displayed in the window above is much better when consumed fresh from the oven. I captured the bread making process in the kitchen of a small bakery, the traditional toné replaced with an electric bread oven:
![Tbilisi - Vertskhli Street](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tbilisi4-small2.jpg)
Below is a storefront on Leselitze Street, the main artery of the old town. You can see breads and pastries of all sizes and shapes, sweet or savory, filled with cheese or meat.
![Tbilisi - Leselidze St. - Bread](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tbilisi5-small2.jpg)
Of course all this bread requires heaps of flour, and this is literally what you’ll find at the central market. There’s a whole room dedicated to flour:
![Tbilisi - Central Market - Flour](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tbilisi6-small2.jpg)
I will go quickly over the produce department, since I’ve already shown you so many road-side vendors in other parts of my trip. On display: tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beets, radishes, eggplants, zucchini, green hot peppers, potatoes, cauliflowers, green cabbage heads, and garlic.
![Tbilisi - Central Market - Produce](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Tbilisi9-small2.jpg)
Here is the meat section. As you can see, offals are well-represented.
We’ll leave Georgia with my own recipe for a “Lagidze” chocolate cream soda. My version is low in sugar and high in cacao powder — feel free to adjust the proportions to your liking!
![Geogian Food - Chocolate Cream Soda](https://foodperestroika.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/ChocolateCreamSoda-small2.jpg)
Chocolate syrup
Yields 5 servings
6 oz sugar
5 oz water
1 1/2 oz unsweetened cacao powder
1/4 tsp citric acid
- Place the sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and mix in the cacao powder and the citric acid. Let cool, transfer to a plastic container and reserve.
Chocolate cream soda
Yields 5 glasses
chocolate syrup
35 oz seltzer water
10 ice cubes
heavy cream, to taste
- In 12 oz soda glasses, gently stir 4 tbsp chocolate syrup with 7 oz seltzer. Add 2 ice cubes and a dash of heavy cream. Enjoy!
3 comments
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