Журналист рекомендует попробовать грузинский хачапури в ресторане Metekhi в Чикаго

I've written a lot about food, ate my fair share of it, lived in the world of kitchens and chefs for years. Still, I have my blind spots. One such space is Georgian cuisine (I'm obligated to say not the American state, but the country in the Caucasus). Stream NBC 5 for free, 24/7, wherever you are. Years ago, there was a terrific shop on Devon Avenue called Argo Georgian Bakery. The shop sold khachapuri, a warm bread stuffed with cheese baked fresh inside a clay oven. It has since close. There are also a couple of Georgian restaurants in Wheeling; but in an area with 6,000-plus restaurants, I never got around to visiting those. A few weeks ago, several friends who lived in Evanston and Skokie told me about Metekhi. I trusted their palates; they told me I ought to visit the spot at 3341 Dempster St. I was glad I did. I'm not going to regurgitate facts you can easily Google about Georgian cooking. I will say this: You can see shades of Eastern Europe cookery, the prevalence of pomegranate, spices, and nuts (especially walnuts) from the Middle East, its love of grilled meats (likely from neighboring Turkey), Russian flavor for sure, plus a culture of breads, cheeses, and wines all of Georgia's own. If there's one dish to try, go for the khachapuri. The variant of khachapuri most familiar to non-Georgians is called Adjaruli—from the region of Adjara, which sits on the Black Sea, and explains why it's shaped like a boat. The sulguni cheese is mozzarella-like in meltiness with a pleasing tang, and it's crowned with an egg yolk that's broken tableside and mixed into the hot cheese.