Meal #40 – Georgia

It’s always fun to get into something when it first gets started, whether it’s a new fashion fad, or a great new band, or even a brand new restaurant. Taste of Georgia has only opened recently, about six months ago, and focuses mainly on take-away meals. In fact, the awning still has the word “Seafood” painted across it, an indication of the buildings previous ‘life’. They have plans to expand to a dine-in restaurant; according to the owner the dine-in menus will be arriving in a couple of weeks (we were given take-away menus with the prices adjusted in pen), and we assume that by then there will be more tables and chairs brought in too!

Taste of Georgia
365 North Rd, South Caulfield
9578 8350
Open 7 Days a Week
Mon to Thurs from 4pm – 8:30pm
Fri to Sun from 12pm – 8:30pm

When we first walked into Taste of Georgia we were shocked – it was empty! Not empty as in there were no people (there were several ethnic Georgians waiting for take-away); but empty as in no tables and chairs. There were three small tables, with a couple of chairs each, at the back of the restaurant – but these appeared to be aimed at giving take-away orderers a place to sit, rather than for dining. The rest of the restaurant was empty, except for a couple of benches covered in large jars of pickles, and a single table near the window that was reserved for us (to give them credit, it was laid out nicely). On seeing this, our expectations dropped…on seeing the bain-marie our expectations plummeted!

Our worries were quickly put aside as all our food was prepared for us as we waited, and once we tasted the dishes, we knew we were on a winner. This weeks gorgeous group of Georgian gastronomic geniuses were Caroline, Rami, Nick Deb, Paul and Sai.

Dishes:

Hinkali – Georgian dumplings stuffed with meat
Chebureki – Fried Crimean meat pie
Crepes with meat filling
Lamb Cupati – sausages
Satsivi – Roast chicken in garlic walnut sauce
Pork Shashlick – Pork fillet marinated for 24 hours
Marinated Carrots
Marinated Eggplant
Red Cabbage Salad
White Cabbage Salad
Roast Potatoes

The Meal:

Of the vegetarian dishes, the marinated carrots were the best, followed closely by the marinated eggplants. The roast potatoes were brilliantly done, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside; a complimentary, spicy chutney perfectly complemented the potatoes.

This chutney also complemented the meat dishes magnificently. The ‘meat’ in these dishes was a mixture of beef and chicken, and the overwhelming differences between the dishes was the carbohydrate it was served in – the juicy dumplings, the soft crepes, and the crunchy pastry of the Chebureki. That being said, the Hinkali were spicier than the other dishes. The Cupati sausages were favourably received, with a hint of coriander highlighting the natural flavours of the lamb.

The roast chicken of the Satsivi was served cold, which, although unexpected, worked nicely with the garlic walnut sauce. The pork shashlick was also well received, as were the chips it was served with (although these were well received by everyone stealing them off the plate).

Overall:

The menu states that the Taste of Georgia serves “Exotic, Mysterious and Unique food from Georgia.” Although not necessarily living up to these very lofty claims, Taste of Georgia still serves very delicious meals that are well priced (for a real bargain check out their take-away only banquets!). Once this eatery fully develops into a dine-in restaurant we expect to see it reported in Cheap Eats.