Peachy Picks Pepela Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
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We were impressed with Pepela during our takeout review last fall:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2013/10/terrific-takeout-pepela-our-coverage.html#.U5X0KfldWMM, so we decided to return for a formal dinner review. It's still the only Georgian (the country, not the peachy state) cuisine we've tried or even heard of, so that alone is a good reason to give it a try because of the quality and diversity of the food. Above, please meet the Ispanahi. As you know, we think salads are important, and this is a traditional Georgian Spinach Salad in herbs and spices. It has a nice consistency with very finely chopped spinach. This savory dish is evenly spiced and seemed to have a nutty quality to it. Dusted with paprika, this dish we noted also had some celery and dill elements.
By far the best thing to eat at Pepela is the Khachapuri: Legendary Georgian Baked Flat Cheese Bread with three kinds of cheese. It was just as good as the first time we had it. The service at Pepela was excellent by our waitress Anastasia. Yes we love bread and cheese, and if you like pizza, you'll love this especially.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do...and when at Pepela, we recommend you try the Georgian wine as it's a fantastic experience. Throughout the evening we tried three wines. The Khvanchkara 2011 is wine that Stalin used to drink we were told. It is on the sweeter side of things and more of a dessert wine in our opinion. The Kindzmarauli 2011 is semisweet and medium-bodied. Goldilocks Peachy of course liked the strongest one: the Mukuzani Marani 2008 which had notes of raspberry and blackberry that we adored.
Everything we tried at Pepela was totally new to us (Peachy is not Georgian!), and for our entree, above we treid the Mzvadi Ketze which is Pork Shashlike. It reminded us of a holiday dish. Moist, rich and juicy, the Mzvadi Ketze boasted a depth of spices.
We also tried the Chakhokhbili Chicken. This is a chicken filet with a traditional Georgian vegetable sauce made with tomato, onion, cilantro, parsley and dill prepared with Georgian spices and served with rice. There's a robust tomato flavor and it's slightly sweet.
The desserts at Pepela are absolutely divine. Please meet the Pelamushi above. It's listed as Vegan, if that is a factor for you. It is a thick grape juice that tastes just as spectacular as it looks.
The warm apple strudel with cinnamon and vanilla ice cream proved to be incredibly convincing.
And we also tried the Lemon Tart which was refreshing and fantastic for the summer season we are going into.
Peachy Picks Pepela!
