Michele D.
Yelp
If you've never had Georgian food, I would encourage you to try it. The country of Georgia excells in anything bread and cheese based, and sweet desserts.
I had some kharcho, a meat soup with spices and additions that are uniquely Georgian: sour plum puree, blue fenugreek, and more. I loved how the beef was tender but still a little chewy, just like my mother's daube/beef stew. They timed it just right, so the beef hadn't completely fallen apart into strands. The spices added a lot of depth to the soup, a symphony of flavors topped by fresh coriander.
The soup came with a piece of freshly baked shoti (Georgian bread): a white flour based bread that is crisp on outside, soft inside.
I made the mistake (a happy accident) of not realizing the scale on the picture menu. What I thought was a small penovani khachaputi, a cheese filled pastry, was enough for 4 people! It had a blend of unknown cheeses tucked into filo pastry, the mozz came through, so some good mozz was holding it down in the mix.
Ok, leave room for dessert. There were many things to try: a fruiter, chunkier version of baklava, the honey cake familiar to Russian cuisine, eclairs, cream filled tarts, and more. My cake was a cream filled layer cake that I think they call coffee cake or Ideali. It was layered with a thicker cream with some cheese whipped in, similar to mascarpone. The cake was unique in that ground walnuts had been mixed in, giving it a crumbly texture. Absolutely delicious!
The area for seating is a bit small, there is a cooler of regular and Georgian sodas (pear, tarragon). The corner houses many Georgian condiments and spices. I found Khmeli suneli to be a life changing addition to eggplant and other veg. I dump olive oil and khmeli suneli over slices of eggplant and bake til carmelized. So good!
Now, sit yourself down and get ready for my Georgian wine rant. Years ago, I had a gorgeous laundry deliverer who was Georgian, and he mentioned while chatting that he was waiting for a shipment of wine directly from home. Why? I asked. Well apparently some wine that is being sold as Georgian here in the US is from Russia, or from vineyards that were taken over by Russia and ruined (no hate here, just relaying history). So he was waiting for some wine taken directly from clay pots underground, from a specific vineyard. This is how they made the wine when they started, my visitor telling me that Georgia was the first to make wine, and to forget about French wine forever. Sacre Bleu! My ancestors are ready to rise up and fight for this statement! But I have tried some real Georgian wine and must say perhaps he had a reason other than national pride to make this statement. I would encourage stopping by the liquor store and putting it to the test yourself. To me, there is no wine but red wine. I can say that Ojaleshi is my favorite so far.
So if you're feeling hungry, this place is a short walk from the Sheepshead Bay Q stop. I feel that this is one of the better sources for Georgian food in South Brooklyn.