New York Times: “Toné-Café Brings Georgian Cuisine to Gramercy Park”

Georgian cuisine is making a mark in America’s bustling metropolis New York.

Diners are lapping up some of Georgia’s finest and most traditional dishes at Toné-Café in Gramercy Park in New York City, particularly the iconic dishes khinkali and adjaruli khachapuri.

Toné-Café is a place where diners can get good food on the go and despite having no formal sit-down tables and food being presented on plastic, take-away plates, the eatery serves up food that is "a feast”, writes Ligaya Mishan for the New York Times.

The eatery is run by Georgian man and general manager Kakha Samalaidze and its chef is Mexican immigrant Fernando Harias, who learnt many secrets of Georgian cuisine after spending time in the post-Soviet nation.

In her review Mishan describes how Borjomi mineral water with its "tickle of salt, from springs in central Georgia” are displayed next to Natakhtari tarragon or berry flavoured lemonade, while next to the cashier are jars of pickled walnuts and tkemali (plum sauce). She also describes some of the traditional dishes on offer, created by Harias, who also learnt Georgian bread-making skills from a local baker in the mountainous village Dusheti.

Toné-Café is primarily a take-out spot, whose owners hope to make Georgian cuisine more accessible outside the neighbourhood. Pictured is khachapuri. Photo by New York Times.

His khinkali, leviathans in the world of dumplings, are classically slouchy and furrowed like brows. Inside, the meat (pork or, better, lamb) is febrile, a hot gush of black pepper, onions and fenugreek. Nip off a corner and drink the broth, then eat it up to the topknot. This you toss onto the plate, the way you flip a shot glass: a show of strength,” writes Mishan.

Greatest of all is adjaruli khachapuri, the ends drawn thin and the climax at the center: a bulge of farmers’ cheese and butter nearly frothing over. A just-cracked egg sinks into the mass, its yolk unmoored like a fallen sun.”

" "Baby adjaruli,” Mr. Samalaidze said affectionately. It is a scaled-down, almost petite version of its grandly sprawling Brooklyn counterparts, but make no mistake. It looks as if you could eat it all, and still it will defeat you.”

Read the full article here: www.nytimes.com