Khachapuri, Georgian Cheese Bread: From Flaming Pit To Jana Grill

"In October ‘95, authorities in Tbilisi in the former Soviet republic of Georgia closed down an illegal bakery whose specialty was khachapuri, the traditional Georgian cheese pies. It was illegal because the pies were being baked at an unauthorized location: a room at the Tbilisi morgue."
--Daily Kent Stater, March 7, 1996

This past December, I posted my annual No Predictions, Only Desires, a small list of my desires, those trends, issues and items which I would love to see step forward and take precedence in 2019. On that list was More Love For The Country of Georgia, as I've been disappointed there isn't a Georgian restaurant yet in the Boston area. Locally, there are several restaurants that serve Khachapuri, Georgian cheese bread, but almost no other Georgian dishes can be found. Plus, most of the Khachapuri that is available is only a single type, even though over 50 different varieties exist.

Some change may be coming in the near future as I've been told that Ilona, a new restaurant coming to the site of the former Parish Cafe on Tremont Street, will have several different Georgian dishes on their menu. No more details are currently available but I'm eagerly anticipating their menu to see which Georgian items they will include.

Khachapuri is hugely popular in Georgia and is considered an essential element of the supra, the famous Georgian feast, as well as an everyday item, even as street food. Different regions of Georgia have different recipes and versions, and recent research indicates there are at least 53 different varieties of khachapuri. Recently, The National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation even granted the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia to Khachapuri.

What's not to love about a delicious melding of bread and cheese? One of the most popular and well known types of Khachapuri is the Adjarian, also known as Adjaruli and Acharuli, where the bread is molded into a boat shape and the middle is topped by a soft-boiled egg or just the yolk. This variety of Khachapuri originated in the seaside region of Adjara.

The earliest U.S. newspaper reference I've found about Khachapuri is from the Columbia Missourian, November 11, 1983. The article provided several recipes from "Russian Cooking," a Times Life Foods of the World book, including one for Khachapuri. The recipe called for the use of "sweet Muenster cheese." In Georgia, they generally use a couple indigenous cheeses, such as Imeruli and Suluguni. As it is difficult to find those Georgian cheeses in the U.S., many places substitute a combination of mozzarella and feta, which is thought to be a worthy replacement.

Locally, you can find Khachapuri in several restaurants including:
---Broadsheet Coffee Roasters in Cambridge (Georgian Eggboat, Khachapuri, feta-mozzarella filled bread, soft egg, side salad, $10)
---Mediterranean Grill in Newton (Hachapuri, Mixed variety of cheeses, with two sunny side up eggs, served on our homemade bed of bread, $14.95)
---Flaming Pit in Watertown (see below)
---Jana Grill & Bakery in Watertown (see below)

The Flaming Pit, owned by Armenia-born Tigran Yesayan, is essentially a very casual, wood fire grill & pizza shop. Some of the grill specialities include Kebabs and Lulas (a type of kebab made from minced meat). Most of their pizzas are the type you might find anywhere, except for their Ardora, an Armenian pizza with white sauce, basturma, sun dried tomatoes, black olives, cilantro and mozzarella cheese.

They also serve Ajarakan (another term for Adjarian) Khachapuri ($9.99), made with feta cheese, mozzarella, egg and butter. It actually has two eggs in it, and you are supposed to use a fork to mix the egg and butter into the cheese, and then tear off parts of the bread and dip it into the middle. I found the bread to be slightly overcooked for my preferences, though overall the dish was quite tasty. The gooey cheese, with a salty kick, was enhanced by the rich umami of the egg yolks, and the bread was mostly light and crusty.

Only a short distance from the Flaming Pit, and also in Watertown, is the Jana Grill & Bakery, an Armenian restaurant. There is a small parking lot behind the restaurant making it easy to stop by.

It is also a casual spot, with a more rustic decor, and has a number of tables where you can sit and enjoy lunch or dinner.

Jana Grill serves Armenian and Mediterranean cuisine, from Hummus to Babaganush, Khorovats (charcoal grilled meats) to Losh-Kebabs (charcoal grilled ground meat). There is plenty of their menu that sounds enticing, and I need to return soon to try more of their dishes. My trip there last week was primarily to check out their Khachapuri.

However, I also wanted to check out their Lavash, a house baked Armenian bread. The ample stack of lavash in the above basket only cost $1.50, and you can also purchase a pound to take home for $5.

To accompany the Lavash, I ordered one of their House-Made Sauces, the Ajika, which is a Georgian spicy sauce with red peppers, garlic, hot peppers, & herbs. A Small is $0.95 and a Large is $4. Ajika is also listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia. It only had a small level of heat, but plenty of flavor, especially rich in peppers and garlic.

Jana Grill makes two different types of Khachapuri, which are listed on their menu under "Flatbreads" with a notation that there is an approximate wait time of 15-20 minutes. Above, you'll see the Megruli Khachapuri (Small $10, Large $13), which is listed as "Georgian cheese flatbread. A special blend of mixed cheese melted inside and over the top crust." The restaurant also describes the dish as "Think of cheese pizza, and triple the cheese." This style of Khachapuri is a specialty of the Samegrelo region, a forested region which borders the Black Sea. This certainly resembles a cheesy pizza, without any sauce, and the crust was light and chewy, with a nice crispness to the exterior, and plenty of gooey cheese.

I was thoroughly impressed with their Ajarian Khachapuri (Small $10, Large $13), which is listed as: "Popular Georgian flatbread shaped as a boat with cheese, eggs and topped with butter before serving." The crust was cooked perfectly, a nice golden brown, with a crisp exterior and a light, fluffy interior. The thick crust surrounding the middle even had cheese inside of it. The cheesy blend in the middle, when mixed with the egg yolk, was salty, cheesy, creamy and rich of umami. Each bite made me want to have another. I can easily understand the popularity of khachapuri if this is a good example of such. Highly recommended!

Jana Grill also serves one other Georgian speciality, but only on Wednesday evenings, from 5pm-9pm. They make Khinkali, a Georgian soup dumplings with a beef & lamb filling. They make each Khinkali fresh and they are priced at $1.95 each. I'm already planning a Wednesday evening visit to check out these intriguing dumplings.

Let's hope more Georgian cuisine comes to the Boston area. For now, seek out some Khachapuri and Khinkali. Jana Grill & Bakery is an excellent option.