7/6/2019
If you are in Georgia but have no time to visit Samegrelo province, stop by Mapshalia, family style eatery in Tbilisi. The café, which is in the dark basem*nt of former ticket box (137 Aghmashenebeli avenue) was opened by the mother and her daughters from Samegrelo. There Georgians go to enjoy one of the tastiest and hottest provincial cuisines. You may sweat from chili, but it is well worth doing.
Samegrelo (or Megrelia) is famous for its fiery cuisine breathing with spices, chili and fresh herbs. Megrelians are virtuosos in making ajika chili paste, cheese dishes flavored with mint like gebjalia, gomi and elarji (cornmeal), khachapuri breads which have double cheese inside and outside, and famous Megrelian kharcho stew, dark with spices. If you are a chili lover (and I am) this is the food for you.
The rustic style Mapshalia café has only 8 tables but it is always packed with customers who come to enjoy simple home meals. Presentation here is not priority, but taste is. The smells permeate the air. We ordered kharcho chicken stew, elarji cornmeal with thick slices of sulguni cheese, large khachapuri topped and filled with cheese, delicious gebjalia and kupati made from pig’s innards. Kupati are typically made from ground pork or beef flavored with barberries and spices, but truly Megrelian kupati are made from pig organs, served sizzling in a skillet. They are so spicy and hot that you will have to wash them down with beer or good wine.
We cannot stop sighing “vakh, vakh” - that’s how Georgians express their appreciation of something truly good.
Next time I went to Megrelian Cuisine, the restaurant located right across Outdoor Art Market where Georgian artists and artisans sell their art and crafts. The interior was very sophisticated and the service excellent. We ordered all the same dishes as at Mapshalia plus eggplant rolls and fancy tomato and cucumber salad with walnuts.
Here clearly the presentation prevailed although the food was excellent too. Elarji was almost perfect, gebjalia tasted right and khachapuri overflowed with cheese. These were the chef’s masterpieces, and beautiful presentation was like a painting and made my mouth water. The refinement, polish and sophistication set this establishment apart from Mapshalia place. If good food but fastidious service and fancy presentation is important, you come here. But if you want to sample what Megrelians eat every day, go to Mapshalia place for wild, untamed, divine taste of food prepared by generations of Megrelian cooks.
