Evanston Lunch Group - Sh. Rustaveli - 1/11 @ (now) 12:45 pm

Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, considered by many to be one of the greatest representatives of the literature of the medieval world. He is author of the literary work The Knight in the Panther's Skin ("Vepkhistqaosani" in Georgian), the Georgian national epic poem.
Rustaveli was a Georgian noble, the treasurer ("Mechurchletukhutsesi") of Queen of Georgia Tamar and also ordered frescoes in the Georgian monastery of the St. Cross in Jerusalem. One of the pillars of this monastery bears a portrait which is believed to be the portrait of the poet. Few facts are known about Rustaveli's life; in particular dates of his birth and death are unknown.
The meaning of the surname Rustaveli is landlord of Rustavi or a man from Rustavi. Rustavi was a city in Meskheti, south Georgia.

And he was also notable enough to have a restaurant in Skokie named after him.

It may be a mile or so west of Evanston, but rumor has it that Sh. Rustaveli is among the better Georgian restaurants in the area (not that it has a ton of competition). It should make for an interesting meal.

The menu:


Thursday, Jan 11 @ now @ 12:45 pm
Sh. Rustavelli
4902 W. Dempster St.
Skokie
847-677-6710
(If anyone wants to come via the El, it's only about two blocks east of the Dempster stop on the Skokie Swift/Yellow line (pick it up at Howard St.)

I think it's under new management since then, but this was one of my first major attempts to emulate my newfound Chowhound Chicago board idols, way back in the day (2002), by being the first to explore an obscure restaurant offering a very foreign cuisine. I actually went a few times, with assorted friends, but haven't been in years. I will await the report most eagerly and nostalgically.

Baby Mike G's first steps.

HI,

I have been there a few times with Josephine. While the menu teases you with a vast amount of items, in true Soviet-style only a few items are really available.

One item I am very interested to try is Solyanka, which in Russia is either a fish or meat soup with lemon, capers, pickled mushrooms, ect. It is one of my very favorite soups, though this restaurant said it is not a soup. I have spontaneously stopped in with the plan to stay if it was available. No dice.

I will call them to see if they would have it available on the 11th. If yes, then I will make an effort to come.

Nr 706 - Have you talked to them to check they will indeed be open? Lately they seem to be closed quite a bit. You might want to have a plan B in the area just in case.

Regards,

I'm glad that you arranged this, but Thursday are a difficult day for me (much NU activity seems to occur on Thursdays). Any possibility of a switch to Wednesday?

Cathy2 wrote:Nr 706 - Have you talked to them to check they will indeed be open? Lately they seem to be closed quite a bit. You might want to have a plan B in the area just in case.

When I picked up the menu, I asked if they'd be open for lunch Thu, and they said yes. But if they aren't we always go to Larsa just down the street.

I can't do Wednesday, but if most participants would rather move it to that date, go ahead. But unless there's a groundswell, I'll leave it at Thursday if that's alright.

Is this event open to newcomers? I just joined the forum, although I've been reading awhile. If the group is open, I'd like to come. How many people usually attend?

Judy

I loved the eggplant with nuts and the cheese pie that Cathy and I had there. The folks at the other tables always seem to be ordering the kebabs and drinking BYO vodka. I get the impression that they do a lot of special occasion large parties for local Georgians, and don't rely on walk-in business much. That could be why they are often closed. I'd love to be there, but I can't make it 'til 1PM on Thursdays. Wednesday can work for me, but I'd hate to leave you out, nr706, considering you are organizing. I know it's the Evanston lunch group, but any chance of people doing dinner Thursday instead?

Judy H-- absolutely, any LTHForum event announced in advance is open to everybody (though some events close when capacity is reached; and of course non-LTHForum events with their own rules are sometimes announced here). You should definitely come out for one, that's what they're for.

That's the one of your questions I can answer...

Judy H wrote:Is this event open to newcomers? I just joined the forum, although I've been reading awhile. If the group is open, I'd like to come. How many people usually attend?

Judy

Judy,

No such thing as closed to anyone, even newcomers! If you read it here and you desire to go, then advise you're in and show up.

For the Evanston lunch group, it can be as many as 8 people and sometimes less.

Regards,

We will be glad to join you. Can we make it a bit later to accomodate Josephine, if noone needs to leave early?
Robert and Catherine

chapulin wrote:We will be glad to join you. Can we make it a bit later to accomodate Josephine, if noone needs to leave early?
Robert and Catherine

Let's plan on arriving around 12:45 or so, then. Hope to see a new face there, Judy.

Thanks, guys, for your flexbility! I will be there as soon as I can on Thursday. Cathy is on the solyanka trail.

Hi,

I just stopped by to advise I was coming for lunch Thursday. I requested to have the solyanka, which they agreed to make. They are aware we will be 7-8 people, though I told them we would order once we were there. I was very specific I did not want any zakuski (appetizers) arranged in advance for us. We would order from the menu once we arrived.

Helen will be joining us, too.

Regards,

I will try to attend barring any last minute preparations for my new job I start on Monday.

I'll be there! Missed you guys over the holidays!

Okay, now that it is moved to 12:45, I'm not quite sure if I'll come. I have to be downtown at 2:30pm sharp. I'm thinking this restaurant must be right near the entrance to the Eden's, so I could hop on the highway and be in the loop in 45 minutes (is that crazy? I'm very bad at estimating highway times). So that would leave 1 hour for lunch. Those of you who have been to this place before, will the food just be arriving in an hour, or will everyone be sitting back sipping coffee by then? If I don't make it in January, I'll come to the next one. Let me know what you think about the timing, I think it depends on the restaurant and I haven't been there before. -- Judy

Oh, we order fast! You might not make it for the second round but an hour should be fine to eat and meet. At that time of day the Edens to downtown is pretty open and you are right the E bound entrance ramp is only 4-5 blocks west.

Have fun -- wish I could get away, as this is a place I've really wanted to try, but I'll be in Milwaukee on Thursday.
>>Brent

Great time as 10 LTHers got together this afternoon at Sh. Rustaveli for some of the best Georgian food I’ve had all week. And, as usual, it was the camaraderie that was the best part of the afternoon.

First off ... mea culpa. I didn’t get pix of the red caviar (served simply - but generously - in a small bowl), or the eggplant with nuts (an involtini-style preparation).

But I did get a few other pix.

The harcho was a flavorful beef soup:

Some of the meat fell out of the chebureky after slicing ("tastes like a huge wonton" according to rgl201):

But the khachapuri was flaky, "golden brown and delicious" (to quote Octarine):
Solyanka "not a soup", according to the owner:

Massive pork and lamb kebabs - some of the best marinated meat I've tasted in a long time:

I thought it was all good; the eggplant might have been my favorite dish, but I'm curious how other participants might weigh in on the various courses.

And thanks to C2 for handling all the ordering for the table and other details.

That looks pretty good. I should try this place.

The "meat blintz" actually looks like a cheburek to me and the "cheese blintzes" definitely look like hachapuri. Are you sure the captions are correct?

Oh, and the solyanka doesn't look like any I've ever had, but then it's not Georgian anyway.

I think you're right - I've corrected them, with the spellings from the menu. But the solyanka is definitely as labeled by the restaurant.

Cilantro,

The Solyanka wasn't anything like what I have been offered before. The 'Georgian' Solyanka was more a braised meat stew, while the meat or fish Solyanka has always been a soup. This was pretty good, though my whole curiosity to order was based on the small hope it might be the solyanka.

I made fish Solyanka soup once after Christmas using the smoked salmon frames. I have a Russian cookbook, which is a direct translation of an old pre-Revolutionary cookbook. Their Solyanka had sliced fresh dill, dill pickles, capers, lemon slices, pickled mushrooms and a bunch of stuff. I invited a Russian emigree friend who simply loved it. She admitted it was a more elaborate presentation than what she experienced during Soviet times. Of coure any old pre-Revolutionary cookbook had many preparations impossible for any Soviet citizen to achieve. My friend Lilya said, "Old Russian cookbooks are more like fairy tales: impossible to imagine in real life."

***

Back to our visit yesterday. If I had not ordered the Solyanka two days before, it would not have been available yesterday. On the appetizer menu we attempted to order Sturgeon and Salmon. They didn't have it and proposed white fish, so we skipped fish.

The caviar's presentation in a decorative bowl similar to those serving jello or pudding in many institutions. For $6 it was a pretty generous quantity with enough available for everyone to have a taste.

FYI - Our meal was ordered where there were a number of items to taste, though not bogged down eating one item and having to pass on something else. For instance, we ordered three soups, then got smaller bowls to serve everyone some. We had three of the chebureky and khachapuri, which were sliced into wedges. Only two bowls of Solyanka was ordered, which came as a hearty stew. We ordered one lamb and one pork kebab delivered with 5 chunks of meat each. The meal cost everyone $15. each.

Thanks nr706 for setting this up.

Next month we visit the new soulfood restaurant in Evanston.

Regards,

I stopped by to get a menu at the New Soul Cafe, and if we go on Friday, we can get Chitterlins (although I'm not sure if they are available for lunch) - perhaps we should call ahead.

And I haven't forgotten that I'm setting that up! Will post details in a week or so!