KAVKAZ: FOODS OF ARMENIA & GEORGIA (THE OTHER ONE) LAND IN STALLINGS
By Tricia Childress
Creative Loafing
08.11.09
The snow-capped mountains on the large sign for Kavkaz Family
Restaurant are Mount Ararat, the legendary resting stop for Noah’s
ark and the national symbol for Armenians. That sign stands in front
of a free-standing building on Stallings Road — a surprising place
to find an outcropping of southwestern Asian cuisine, but Kavkaz has
become a beckon for ex-pats from that part of the world.
One sign of the growing Armenian community in Charlotte was the
2005 opening of St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church on
Park Road. While part of population expansion is due to newcomers,
many American Armenians emigrated following the horrific genocide
which occurred nearly 100 years ago. Recent Armenian, Georgian, and
Azerbaijan emigres had been part of the former Soviet Union; therefore,
Russian is the lingua franca and some foods link these ex-pats.
Thus, while the ownership of the 37-seat Kavkaz is Armenian, the foods
represent a broad spectrum of appeal, one that has never found its way
into the Charlotte area beyond the specialty grocers and delis. For
the Ivanov family, Kavkaz is their first restaurant venture. Sargis
Ivanov and his son Arnak control the operations while Flora Ivanov
mans the open kitchen using her family recipes.
Kavkaz is a modest restaurant, converted from a fast food joint,
where the dishes are myriad and the resulting taste is grand. While
lamb, eggplant and yoghurt are the trinity of Armenian cooking, this
cuisine is enthused with robust dishes from surrounding countries or
former allied nations such as the Ottoman Empire provinces of Greece
and Lebanon.
Among the beverages offered are Georgian wines served by the glass and
bottle, a pomegranate wine from Armenia, a Maldovan dessert wine, and
beers, including some from Germany, Slovenia and the Ukraine. Although
icy cold tahn, aka aryan — a salty yogurt and water drink — had been
offered on the menu, it recently was removed. (Visit ethnic restaurants
when they first open. Typically, menu changes occur during the first
month, and though some dishes may be authentic and wonderful, if they
do not sell they are removed.) In the first wave of dishes to hit our
table, the most successful are the ones with origins near Ararat. Does
that mean I’m dishing the hummus? Yes. Although nowadays hummus has
as many flavor profiles as a trendy martini list, flavorful tahina and
fresh lemon juice must be the base. On the other hand, the khachapuri,
a Georgian cheese stuffed pastry baked to order, was a stunner. So
much warmth and care are issued from both the kitchen and staff that
you want to like all ensuing dishes. And we did. The meat platter
arrives with thinly sliced sujuk (aka yershig), kielbasa, and basturma,
the renowned Armenian spicy, air-dried raw beef — like pastrami on
flavor overload. More fun, however, are the Georgian khinkali: plump,
steamed meat dumplings in a beggar purse presentation. The trick is to
chew off the "hat" and suck the interior juices before being drenched,
then dunk the savory meat into the accompanying bowl of sour cream.
The majority of entrees are either larger orders of the appetizers or
kabobs. The latter comes as either whole morsels of marinated chicken,
lamb, pork, or beef or lulas, which are tubes of grilled minced meats
mixed with parsley and onions. A singular platter entree combines the
four meat kebobs on a bed of long grained rice flecked with broken
vermicelli. The blinchik, Armenian/Georgian/Azerbaijani crepes, ooze
with a hearty ground beef filling. Not all the sides are successful:
The mashed potatoes had the consistency of an uncooked pierogie. Better
was the cole slaw with a bright melange of crisp vegetables.
Flora Ivanov’s desserts, alluring for their extravagance, include a
Georgian Napoleon, a grapefruit sized mound of multi-layered pastry
filled with sweet cream, and nazuk gata, flakey Armenian pastries
served with a not-too-robust espresso. Prices for entrees range from
$10 to $15 while sandwiches ($6 to $11) are offered all day.
In the evening, patio tables fill with friends sharing the water
pipe and drinking beer. Why don’t they order the blinchiks? Or the
khachapuri? My best advice about Kavkaz? Go hungry.
Know of a restaurant that has opened, closed, or should be
reviewed? Does your restaurant or shop have news, menu changes,
and new additions to staff or building, upcoming cuisine or wine
events? To be included in our online blog, Eat My Charlotte, send
information to Tricia via e-mail (no attachments, please — these are
destined for the spam filter): [email protected].
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
