Insider Tips and Tricks: How to Gain 5 Pounds in Tbilisi, Georgia
Looking to gain a few pounds? You’ve come to the right place! Georgia is a foodie’s dream! With bakeries selling gooey cheese bread on every corner, and hidden wine caves lining each street, succumb to the fact you’re going to put on a few pounds this vacation and enjoy yourself.
Here are a few must-dos on your weight gain quest:
1) Culinary Backstreets Food Tour
After booking tickets to Tbilisi, the next thing to do is book a tour with Paul Rimple from Culinary Backstreets. This is THE go-to food tour in the city and he will help orient you to all-things Georgian cuisine. The tour lasts approximately 7 hours and costs $95/person
First, you will visit a bakery in the basement of a seminary. You will get to see a family making “tone’s puri” which is bread made on the sides of a tandoori-like oven. It (unfortunately for our waistlines) only costs 20¢ for a massive loaf of this delicious bread.
Then you will try some “cottage cheese” and churchkhelas, a string of nuts dipped in a thick grape coating (which were not my favorite).
Next you head off to the “Deserter’s Bazaar,” which is called that because when Russians left the Czar’s army, they would come here to pawn their guns and other equipment. It is a very colorful place. Paul will walk you through the market, explaining different products, and allowing you to try a variety of tasty treats (bean bread called “lobiani” and soft gooey cheese wrap, in particular!). You will also have the opportunity to purchase whatever you’d like to take home (we bought spice blends).
After the bazaar you will also do a wine tasting and try the most delicious little clouds of dough called…
2) Khinkali
Khinkali are Georgian-style dumplings that hail from the Caucasus mountain region. They are usually stuffed with a blend of herbs and minced pork/beef and then boiled. When you bite into them you have to be very careful because they are very juicy and are reminiscent of Cantonese soup dumplings (it is recommended to nibble into the side of the dumpling, slurp the juice, and then proceed to eat the dumpling). They are ABSOLUTELY incredible and cost about 20 cents each. Ideally you eat them with a sprinkle of black pepper and a giant mug of beer.
I loved these little pieces of heaven so much that the first thing I did after returning home was find a recipe and try to recreate them.
3) Khachapuri
Another carb loved and adored by Georgians is khachapuri. There are several different types of khachapuri but the common theme is that it is a soft, chewy (delicious) bread that is either stuffed or topped with cheese. Georgians eat khachapuri morning, noon, and night. You can order it at nearly every restaurant, or if you are walking by a corner, there is often a bakery with the oh-so-enticing smell of khachapuri luring you in. The khachaupuri are normally huge — an entire one will leave you feeling like you had a whole pizza (which you sort of did).
When I was doing research for this post, I saw an article titled “Khachapuri is hotter than ever in New York,” so it makes me happy to see that this cheesy, fatty masterpiece is getting the appreciation it deserves.
4) Georgian wine
And nothing leads me to consume more unhealthy food than too many glasses of delicious wine (you’re starting to see how that five pounds adds up really fast, aren’t you?)
Georgians love wine and consume it in mass quantities. They actually claim to be the inventors of wine, and there is good evidence that they are telling the truth. Georgian wine making is different than what Westerners would consider “traditional” wine making for two separate reasons 1) the wine is made in a “qvevri” which is large, eggshaped clay vessel that is buried in the ground (there are no wood barrels) 2) the wine is made using the grapes, skins, stems, stalks, etc creating much more intense, dark colors in the wine. Nearly all Georgian wines are natural and organic.
The main wine region of Georgia, Kahketi, is located to the east of Tbilisi about an hour and a half drive. Although we didn’t get to visit, we highly considered making the trip. There are numerous boutique hotels, restaurants and ample vineyards to visit. It actually looks like Culinary Backstreets now offers a multi-day tour to the wine region, which I would definitely do if I make it back.
We did, however, visit numerous hidden wine bars/caves in Tbilisi. Georgia’s flagship grape is Saperavi, which is a very dark colored (almost black), dry red wine. If you are a fan of big reds, like Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the grape for you. Georgian wine is remarkably affordable and a good bottle of red wine will cost about $10 USD, a great bottle $20, and the kind you take home and keep in your wine fridge for a special occasion around $30-40 USD.
If you make it to Tbilisi for wine tasting, you must visit:
- Vino Underground: the mecca of natural Georgian wines. This is actually a stop on the Culinary Backstreets Food tour, but we returned two separate times because we liked it so much
- 8000 vintages: I don’t know if they actually have 8000 vintages but it looked like it. He will walk you through a wine tasting and pick out the perfect bottle to drink as well at bottles to take home
- Muse and Wine: Another underground wine bar that was near our hotel, perfect romantic spot for an after dinner bottle of wine
- Chateau Mukhrani: This is a wine shop, but their vineyard is not located far from Tbilisi. The shop is located in a very touristy area but makes for a quiet reprieve when you are out and about. They make a sparkling wine too which we didn’t see much of in Georgia.
5) Fine dining restaurants
Besides Georgian street food being delicious, there is actually a very active fine dining scene with young chefs opening restaurants all over town. On the nights we weren’t too full, we made reservations for a nice dinner out. At the time we went to Tbilisi (the summer of 2018), dining at the nicest restaurants in town cost about $50 USD for two people, including a bottle of wine or cocktails.
When we were in Tbilisi, our guiding source for choosing restaurants was a curated list by Eater. They have actually updated and changed the list since we were there, so I will tell you a few places we went and liked.
Hard to find, this quaint little restaurant has a secret garden with a view overlooking the city. The food and wine selections were nice. Reservations recommended (request outdoor table).
This restaurant and chef were actually featured on Anthony Bourdain’s episode of Georgia. It is a cute, modern restaurant in touristy Old Town. Get the walnut dip!
We didn’t actually dine here but we went for a pre-dinner cocktail. To be honest, the cocktails weren’t even that good but the 360 degree view of all of Tbilisi is incredible. So, do as we did, go for a quick drink right before sunset but plan on actually eating elsewhere.
That’s it! If you stick to my prescribed method of eating and drinking heavily in Tbilisi, those five extra pounds will magically appear! The good news is… the Caucasus Mountains are not too far away! You can see my post on the four day hike from Mestia to Ushguli for some spectacular views and a major calorie burn.
Pin the photo below so you remember this post for your next trip to Tbilisi!
Ah, Tbilisi…. Lived there for one year. How much I miss that time… Don’t know if you’ve tried their famous mineral waters, Borjomi being my favourite. 🙂
Hi Sinip! Do you mean the sulfur baths? If so, yes! We went to Bath House # 5 and I LOVED IT. I am considering writing a post comparing the Georgian bathhouses to the Turkish baths. I think I prefer Georgian!
Nope, didn’t mean that. My bad for not explaining it better. I was referring to the bottled mineral water you can buy in a supermarket or order in a restaurant. And speaking of that bathhouse, I didn’t try it. 🙂 Maybe next time when I hopefully get there.
I might have gained a few pounds while reading this delish post!
Haha, I think I have a love/hate relationship with Georgian food and wine.. it’s just too good!