Another Georgian restaurant, Chito Gvrito, opened in my hood. I looked forward to sampling and comparing it to Chama Mama on West 14th Street that I had sampled last summer during the pandemic.

As we sat down on the blanket-covered metal chair,  we ordered the classic khachapuri, the freshly baked cheese-stuffed bread, knowing it would take at least 15 minutes to bake. We chose the ajaruli cheese pie ($14), the traditional open-faced one that comes topped with a fresh egg and chunk of butter.

When ours arrived, the server offered to ready it by tossing the melted hot cheese with the egg to “cook” it.  As I had learned at Chama Mama, to eat I ripped off some of the crust, dipped it into the hot mixture then ate it. It’s really rich. With that, we shared a bottle of Georgian wine, Saperavi Cabernet ($38) Vaziani, Khakheti, Georgia. A decent bargain.

We also shared their thin slices of eggplant rolled around a paste of walnuts, fenugreek and garlic and topped with red pomegranate arils ($13). Instead of the menu-promised stewed green beans (mtsvane lobio), we were served over-cooked snow peas with shallots, cilantro and basil.  I find over-cooked green beans more palatable than stewed snowpeas ($9).

My favorite dish was the soup dumplings filled with tarragon-scented grass-fed beef and lamb (four, $14). To eat, hold one by the fat pasta nub and carefully bite to suck-out the broth before enjoying meat wrapped in the pasta. I leave the nub used as a handle, as the pasta is quite thick.

 

Chito Gvrito
Gramercy
173 Third Ave
New York, NY 10003
https://chito-gvritonyc.com/