Eater: Khachapuri The New "Must-Have" Dish in New York

Eater NY has dedicated an article to the traditional Georgian dish khachapuri, saying in the last five years, khachapuri has become a NYC classic.

According to Eater, Georgia’s national dish of molten cheese bread dates back centuries, but the pizza-fondue hybrid has never been more popular in New York than it is now.

“The food is in no way new to New York City and has been written about breathlessly since at least 2011, but it’s hit a turning point as of late: The dish has moved beyond traditional Georgian restaurants and onto bar and brunch menus of various cuisines, mutated into very unorthodox riffs,” the article reads, adding one restaurant in NY is even entirely devoted to the dish.

It also says that like many trends these days, the rise in khachapuri’s popularity can be partly traced to Instagram. 

Eater notes that khachapuri has several varieties, with each region in Georgia boasting its own as the best — khachapuri is served as a tableside component that "neatly fits into the kind of excess that plays well on the social media platform."

The article focuses on Adjaruli khachapuri, saying it is composed of bread shaped like a boat, filled with a pool of melted cheese in which to dip the torn-off crust, and comes with an egg yolk and a hefty pat of butter that’s mixed in tableside.

According to the article, Chef John Fraser, who serves the dish at his American East Village drinking den Narcbar and who owns two other Michelin-starred venues, says that “Khachapuri is the butt shot of Instagram."

You can read the rest of the article here.

By Thea Morrison

Photo source: Georgian journal