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Comment by varjag | Hacker News Reader

Fun fact, pizza was virtually unknown in USSR throughout its existence.

What you could get was Georgian-style khachapuri which is an amazing cheesy butter bread thing.

Now there’s a Dodo pizza in every city and pizza-sushi-etc places on every corner.

Khachapuri was certainly known but hardly could be ordered anywhere outside few large cities or Georgian SSR. Most people who knew about it have never tasted it (as is still the case with me).

You should fix that never tasting it thing, it's so worth it. Just make sure to eat it when you can afford to have a nice nap afterward, it's that filling and rich.

Oh absolutely. It's on my contingency TODO list.

There are a couple Georgian restaurants in the Bay Area, in Palo Alto and Los Altos.

The entire Georgian cuisine is just so good and relatively unknown in the West.

I just learned about it through this thread and there are already several dishes I want to try. Khachapuri and Chashushuli in particular.

Their wine is also really worth checking out too. They use a few grape varieties aren't really used outside of Georgia and some of the wine is still stored/aged in big earthenware things called "kvevri" which are pretty unique - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvevri

Oh and they'll also ferment + distill the solids from wine production into chacha - a strong clear spirit. When I was there lots of little shops would be selling it pretty cheap in leftover coke bottles etc. I smuggled a few back with me to share with friends.

I know I can easily Google this, but if anyone stumbles upon my comment and can recommend a delicious place serving it in NYC please let me know.

Old Tbilisi on Bleecker.

Thanks to your comment we ended up eating there yesterday. We had the Ajaruli Khachapuri, Megruli, and Chicken Skewers. Absolutely delicious. Thanks for recommending!

No problem! Megruli is my favorite, I don't think theirs can be finished by one person in one sitting.

Many people across the USSR made it at home. Recipes sharing was very popular.

They certainly did! How authentic the outcomes were though I'm not qualified to say. Making exotic food without a reference point is challenging even for most experienced cooks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev_Pizza_Hut_co... wasn't even screened in Russia!

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