My favorite form of fusion occurs on a palate, from a plate. While foods of Asian fusion tend to be hit-or-miss, Pomegranate had the right idea when they combined the literal “meat and potatoes” of Russian cuisine with the lesser-known gastronomies of its neighbor Georgia.
My familiarity with Russian cuisine limited at best, but everyone has heard of the beet soup Borscht, a pomegranate-colored broth, boiling with all the fresh, hearty-yet-light sweetness of a rarer root vegetable. And when it comes to borscht, Pomegranate doesn’t miss a beet.
I know very little about Russian cuisine, and the only exposure I’ve had to “Georgian” cuisine takes the form of an entire pig in a barrel-shaped grill. Then again, Florida-Georgia Line is one of my favorite bands right now so I figured I’d give the Russia-Georgia line a chance.
Believe me, crossing that Georgia line was one of my better decisions ever, a decision in the form of Khachapuri, a bread-bowl of dripping, gooey cheese made just that much goopier when mixed with a soft raw egg.
The best part of the khachapuri is that it goes well with anything you order. Dip in the borscht, and the cheese will give the beets a new dimension. Mix and eat with the Salad Sampler, and the veggies will balance out the dairy and starch. I didn’t care for what was basically the Russian version of a mayo-loaded potato salad, but I loved all the others. The Lobio is light and full of spice- and walnut-flavored beans. The Carrot Salad is sweet and simple, and since no Russian experience is complete without a good beeting, the Kavkaz Beet Salad doesn’t disappoint. The Ikra Badrijannaya is full of smoky, garlicky eggplant made with the perfect soft, seedy texture, and I think they’re onto something when they call it the poor man’s caviar. How can something as simple as a salad taste so good? Beets me.
At an American wedding, the perfect mix of “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” promises a lifetime of happiness, and every culture prefers a combination of their own. Every culture has their own tradition when it comes to dumplings too. The Chinese are perhaps the best known, with endless combinations of ground meats and various veggies, but chicken n’ dumplings have pleased many an American generation, and Italian ravioli is not to be sold short. The Geo-Russians also have their version, the Vareniki, which seems to borrow from its neighbors near and far. The body of tortellini, the thicker wrapper of an Asian dumpling, plus the cheesy, smushed potato filling of a Portuguese pierogi melds into a masterful mix.
So many mixes had me craving a simple Russian Beef Stroganoff, with its tender cubes of beef in a savory sour cream. But even this dish is partly borrowed. Although it’s traditionally served with mashed potatoes, this version has you spiraling sauce around rotini al dente. As the server astutely explained, “Americans like it with pasta, and it just tastes so good”.
I know that Russia is the literal meat and potatoes of cooking, but I could only hope the Georgians weren’t vegetarian. One bite of the tender meat-falling-off-the-bone shank of Chakapuli lamb had me eating my thoughts. Sure, I prefer the stroganoff, but this lamb is straight-off-the-spit good!
I love my cultures, and I love my traditions, but if SimCity is any indication, it’s the power of fusion that powers the future. When our cultures combine their power…we get Captain Planet. And when we combine the two great countries of Russia and Georgia we get an amazing place like Pomegranate. Seriously though, multiculturalism is fun, multilingualism is awesome, and mixed babies are both attractive and smart. Rihanna and Chris Brown aside, can you think of anytime when collaboration wasn’t for the better?
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