Kavkaz Restaurant

I have read about Georgian food for years but until last night had never taken the plunge. I'm go glad I did. I went with my girlfriend and an old friend from college who I hadn't seen since 1987. She was in town visiting relatives in Aventura and we wanted to take her out to something she wasn't familiar with. Since Aventura has so many people from Eastern Europe I thought now was the time to try Georgian cuisine at Kavkaz.

Kavkaz sits at the south end of an otherwise typically nondescript strip mall on Biscayne Blvd. Upon entering we got blasted by the live music. It's not a large space and the result is that the music was just to loud for comfort much less conversation. We were considering leaving when they showed us the tables outside which we took.

At that point, our server, Nana, immediately came over and welcomed us. We explained we really didn't know anything about the cuisine. She immediately smiled, grabbed a chair and sat down with us to explain what was typical and what else there was to consider. We took all her recommendations and waited for the goods.

We started off with the Khachapuri Adjarski: cheesebread with egg. This is akin to a pizza but the bread and cheese are richer than in a pizza, busting with flavor after the fresh egg was swirled into the cheese.

We followed with a plate of small apps which included a walnut stuffed eggplant, mixed beet with Georgian spices, a lightly mashed bean ball, and a spinach and spices mix. I didn't get the names of them but again, all were fantastic and perfectly spiced with what I understand is the typical Georgian spice mix. It was a new flavor for this somewhat experienced palate.

For mains we had Chicken Tabaka which is a pressed Cornish game hen in spices and then swimming in a rich garlic cream sauce that we eventually needed much bread to soak up. Last we had a chicken kabob that my friend said was the best chicken she's had in her life. And like myself, she ain't no spring chicken. The chicken was tender, smoky, fragrant, mild yet well-spiced.

We thought the prices reasonable, and though I've seen a bunch of reviews knocking the service, Nana was absolutely perfect so if you go, ask for her. I hope she sees this review, and I hope the boss sees it too. She represents the restaurant and the food in the best of all the ways. She's worth her weight in marigold leaves (which I discovered later is the secret ingredient to the Georgian spice mix). I wish we could have sat inside with the music at a tolerable volume. That's the only drawback to the entire experience. Regardless, I would definitely go again to Kavkaz to introduce more friends to the wonderful cuisine of the nation of Georgia.