Some of the many Georgian cuisine offerings at Table (photo courtesy the restaurant)

by Peter Fortner

There is something intoxicating about visiting a new land. The sights, the sounds, the flavors, the unfamiliar offerings of everything from sauces to sodas — all enhance your understanding of culture and life for different people on our beautifully diverse globe. But right about now, you needn’t travel far, just to the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Lamont Street NW to experience the country of Georgia at Tabla Restaurant, where you can take in the feel of the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Each time I visit Tabla I discover something new. The first impressions are taken in by your eyes. The bright, open space with colorful art incorporates easily with the patio seating by raising the wall-sized glass-paned garage doors surrounding the restaurant.

The long, wrap around bar, communal high-top and individual standard seating create opportunities for both larger social gatherings or smaller intimate dinners. The menu also supports either, but more on that later.

You will also be struck by the colorful murals on the walls. At first glance, you will see nods to the current location with a DC flag on one wall and the White House adorning the other. LAMB is a Georgian street artist that you will encounter around Tbilisi and beyond. Graffiti is generally illegal in Georgia, but LAMB was brought to Tabla to share his art on their walls.

You will find his signature lamb and mountains (a salute to his hometown of Tusheti) on the White House image, and the stars of the DC flag are replaced with khinkali (Georgian dumplings), a main feature of Georgian cuisine. Khinkali is best ordered for sharing, and then ordered again, as they are quickly eaten by your companions.

Now that you’ve visually experienced a part of the streets of Tbilisi, it’s time to sit at the table and start being acquainted with Georgian traditions that go back centuries.

Most of the wine that is exported from Georgia is sweet red wines. But, according to Nelms, that’s not what Georgians typically drink — they mostly drink amber wines. “If they’re at home, they’re not drinking out of a bottle with a nice label,” said “They’re drinking something that they, their relatives, their friends have made at their country house, in one of those underground, egg-shaped Qvevri terracotta vessels. And they’re making it the old fashioned way, the way they’ve been making it for 8,000 years. It’s the world’s oldest wine culture. You take white skin grapes and you make it the way you make red wines. When you do that with white skin grapes, it comes out amber/whiskey color... Ancient wine was probably amber wine. Like in mythology or the Bible, they were probably drinking amber wine.”

Flying never tasted so good! (Tabla’s wine flight)

For my introduction. I tried Tabla’s wine flight. This is not only a Georgian experience, but an experience of the ancient history of wine drinking.

So how do you approach the food menu? It depends on your state of mind, but there is something for every occasion. Georgian’s don’t traditionally do courses at meals, but eat as their time and appetite permits.

My nutritional preferences focus on protein and a healthy dose of plant-based cuisine. That is not a problem at Tabla. Every single time I visit, I order the Carrot Pkhali. Carrots, walnuts, garlic, and spices blended into a vegan pate, spread over a khachapuri flatbread and sprinkled with sweet pops of pomegranate seeds is right up my alley. It is well accompanied by the Georgian Green Salad that adds the crunch of cabbage and peppers with the heartiness of chickpeas and sunflower seeds, lightly topped with crumbles of feta and sunflower-honey dressing.

The Makaldan section (from the grill) is all good, but I usually stick with the Chicken Thigh Tapaka because it provides a savory chicken thigh crisped up on the outside and tender on the inside with a sweet adornment of pomegranate seeds that are balanced out perfectly with the heat of the roasted ajika sauce on the side.

“The thing about Georgia being a very ancient Christian culture… That impacts their culture now with the Orthodox church,” said Nelms. “They have days that they eat no animal products. They have they lots and lots days of fasting days where they’re not eating animal products. There’s a fantastic array of vegan dishes… It’s very authentic.”

However, there are plenty of opportunities for indulgence at Tabla.

A friend of mine described their fries as the best in DC. Large rectangular pieces of potato are fried to perfection with a crispy outside and a soft pillowy inside. Dollops of a walnut-version of mayonnaise and Georgian ketchup accompany these beautiful potato morsels.

The most popular dishes come from the Khachapuri category, like the Ajaruli. A fresh baked oval of bread is filled with melted cheese, mixed at your table with a tab of butter and an egg. Other Ajaruli creations are seasonal and come with ingredients such as crab, goat cheese and pulled pork. The Chocolate-Walnut Truffles are a decadent way to end any meal.

For those of you who have missed out on travel over the past 19 months, look no further than Georgia Avenue. The sights and flavors of another world await.

When you visit, say hello to General Manager Jamey Schwank. He would be happy to guide you through your Georgian journey (although the staff is all very knowledgeable).

“We are very pleased to be in this growing area, which is seeing a lot of new businesses and displaying a level of diversity unprecedented in the past,” Jamey said. “Strong support from our neighbors is what’s keeping us pushing forward and many have expressed their appreciation for a mostly unfamiliar cuisine (in DC) to find a home in this neighborhood.”

Tabla
3227 Georgia Avenue NW
www.tabladc.com