“Of Georgian Food, Culture, and Tradition” - Russian Roulette Episode #49

In a delectable special edition of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff welcome Jonathan Nelms and welcome back Mamuka Tsereteli. Jonathan, along with his wife, Laura Nelms, is a co-founder of Supra, Washington, DC’s first Georgian restaurant. Mamuka is a senior fellow at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Principal at Georgian Wine House, a DC-based Georgian wine importer. They discuss how Jonathan fell in love with Georgian food and the process that led him to open a restaurant, and walk through Supra’s menu, all the while reflecting on how Georgian food is evolving as it finds a home in new parts of the world. In part two of the episode, they sample some Georgian specialties and chew on a few additional topics related to Georgian cuisine, including adaptation of methods and ingredients, wine, and beverages.

If you find yourself in DC, we highly encourage you to pay a visit to Supra. You’ll surely leave a more happy and enlightened person. Check out their website and book a reservation, here: https://www.supradc.com/. A burning desire to drink more Georgian wine may result from your trip to Supra. Luckily, we know just the guy. You can view Mamuka’s bio, here, https://www.silkroadstudies.org/staff/item/13047-mamuka-tsereteli.html, and peruse the excellent selection of Georgian wines offered by Georgian Wine House, here, http://www.georgianwinehouse.com/.

If you’re in New York, the Georgian restaurant Olya mentions having recently enjoyed is Marani. http://www.maraninyc.com

And here are some photos of Supra’s food, for your viewing pleasure and gastronomic inspiration. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yddazd62xnld4xo/AAChWy5gjFQ4kKx_iQXhsgL1a?dl=0

As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.