Yesterday was an unexpectedly awesome culinary adventure in the South Bay with my friends Hanah, Michelle and Brian. Hanah had heard good things about a new Georgian (country not the state) restaurant in Palo Alto called Bevri. So she gathered the troops and we met up there on a Wednesday night.
The place was hopping when we got there, despite it being fairly early mid-week. Only open for a couple of months, it was clear the business was still getting their legs under them. Our host / waitress was very apologetic about the wait and seemed nervously attentive to everything. There was a mix-up with our reservation, which they rectified in a few minutes thankfully.
Hanah knew the most about Georgian food, so I let her drive our order. The portions were meant for sharing, so definitely come with 3-4 people to get the full experience.
The highlight for me was the Adjaruli Khachapuri, a doughy fresh bread with a bowl in the middle that is filled with butter and cheese. (Also really fun to say!) Just as its brought to your table, an egg is cracked in the middle of it. You have to stir it up fast, so the egg cooks and mixes with the butter and eggs. The result is pure carb-y goodness.
Here’s Hanah mixing up the egg. AMAZING.
We also enjoyed the Khinkali soup dumplings. We tried the beef and lamb and the mushrooms and onion versions. Both of which are eaten exactly like the Chinese versions : hold it by the top, bite a tiny hole in the side, slurp out the soup, and then eat the filling carefully. Both were good, although the mushroom version was a little too salty.
The Ajapsandali mixed veggies were nicely cooked, but a little bland.
I enjoyed the Shashlik, chicken shish kabob, a lot more than I expected. Perfectly seasoned and roasted chicken, nice bread, great veggies, and lovely sauce.
A really lovely dinner. Not perfect, but pretty impressive for a new restaurant. And surprisingly affordable despite the location and nice setting. I hope to come back.
Since I was already going beyond my normal diet rules, I had to try the bonbons at a promising looking chocolatier across the street, Timothy Adam Chocolates. In my six years in the Bay Area, I have yet to find a chocolatier that could get close to what I was used to in Switzerland or even what I could find in New York City. Timothy Adam was the best I’ve had here.
They had a nice selection of bonbons, from ganache to caramel filled, from lighter to darker. I had a single-origin from Colombia that was amazingly dark and a little bitter. Just the way I like it, as you can see from the photos of me.
Another one to return to on an actual cheat day.
I feel so lucky to live in the Bay Area as a foodie, with lovely friends to enjoy meals with. Looking forward to many more culinary adventures like last night.